No Quarters

Does the state own you and your skills?

Maybe the question would be better phrased "does the state have a lien on your knowledge?".

Seems a Utah politician thought that people who were educated in Utah and then move away should be punished and charged money.

In a Tax Reform Task Force subcommittee, Rep. Wayne Harper, the House chairman of the task force, submitted an innovative revenue recovery proposal that perplexed and stunned his colleagues, Republican and Democrat. Titled, "Tuition Increment Recovery from Higher Education Students who Move Out of State," the plan asked the task force to explore how to recover money from Utah residents who pay in-state tuition for their college education, then take their taxpayer-subsidized skills to foreign lands - like Colorado or Idaho. The proposal would demand those who leave pay the difference between resident and out-of-state tuition. At first the panel didn't understand the proposal was aimed at Utahns who go to Utah universities at the resident rate. Then, they laughed. Chairman Rep. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, acknowledged that the in-state tuition break for residents represents an "enormous subsidy," but wondered about the constitutionality of a program to track down graduates. Republican Sen. Howard Stephensen noted that college graduates are notoriously hard to track: "Maybe we could put ankle bracelets on them that would set off an alarm when they leave the state." Harper said several state and private employees, who must repay the cost of advanced training if they leave their job prematurely, had asked him to put the proposal before the task force. "Their point was that if it was good enough for industry, it is good enough for Utah graduates," Harper said. It is unlikely any other state has such a policy, he said. As the questions piled up, Harper sheepishly abandoned the proposal

So should a state charge a different sum for out of state and instate students? Not sure as I have not read into the issue much. But when a person thinks that punishing someone for moving away the politician shows how he sees people. As money/tax producing cattle.

What a dip. |

Homeless in New Hampshire - Part Two

In what is likely to become a regular act of social resistance another Supreme Court Judge is going to lose some land, if the Libertarian party gets it's way.

PLAINFIELD, N.H. (AP) - Libertarians upset about a Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain have proposed seizing Justice Stephen G. Breyer's vacation home and turning it into a park, echoing efforts aimed at another justice who lives in the state.
The state's Libertarian Party is trying to collect enough signatures to go before the town next spring to ask to use Breyer's 167-acre property for a "Constitution Park" with stone monuments to commemorate the U.S. and New Hampshire constitutions.

Makes a man almost feel sorry for the modern plight of the soon to be homeless. |

Another blogger with comment issues.

The Adventures of Accordian Guy in the 21st century is a Canadian blogger who had a small clash with the subject matter of a comment on his blog.

It took over 4,000 entries and almost four years, but it finally happened: my blog has finally gotten me into trouble. I'm finally a player!

Yesterday morning, as I was working at my desk, I got a phone call:
..........................
Me: And you say that this comment is not true?

FV: It is a lie. Let me put my boss on the line.

Gruff Male Voice with Eastern European Accent: Remove that comment. That's all I'm going to say. (click)

The comments on the post were he tells about this even has two comments that seem ominous according to some. |

Who is reading your blog?

I mean everyone wants readers. That's what a blog is for, but do you know who is reading it and what for?

One blogger I know was contacted by a reader and it was far different then what he thought it was about.

About three weeks ago I received a call from a guy whom I shall refer to as Mr. X. Since I also happened to be casting about for a new job at that time, (and I still am) I was kind of excited about the call. Unfortunately, the guy didn't leave his phone number. He called again a week later and still didn't leave his number. Finally, after a few weeks he left two phone numbers.

I called the number and received a voicemail but the announcement didn't say the name of the person or the name of the company. Very suspicious.

I suspected some sort of telemarketer or aggressive sales type and promptly forgot about it.
Until last night when I received a message on the home answering machine. This time the guy said the name of his company. It turns out he doesn't work for a company. He works for the US Govt. and not just any branch of the US Govt. He works for Military Intelligence.
...............................
He was looking into some posts made on my former blog about some force protection procedures for military units overseas. He was especially interested in what a few of the commenter were saying. Apparently someone said too much and they were looking for that person.
..............................
I'm a little disturbed by the fact that they are trolling blogs looking for secrets when there are probably a lot worse people to be rounded up, but that really isn't any of my business. For whomever they are after, words will have some consequences.

Now since the military has gotten some bad press about checking up on civilians I was intrigued to hear Grouchy Neocon's story. While it is not spying on civilians it is checking up on them(spying lite?).

Since most people do not give out a lot of information on the subject I was wondering if he might have contacted the company who was the service provider for his old blog..

I contacted Grouchy Neocon and he replied.

The guy that called me was out of Fort Meade. He said he was from
Army Intelligence on the answering machine but later identified
himself as "Agent (mr. X)". A civilian? He didn't necessarily
sound all that intelligent in discussing computer tech - but he's
assigned to cyber crimes? I guess that's our tax dollars at work.

I changed the name as he did not list it in his original post.

Looking at the Fort Meade site the only unit that Mr. X may be in is this one

902ND Military Intelligence Group

I wondered what they did so I went to their website.

The 902nd MI Group protects our nations forces, critical information and technology by detecting, neutralizing, exploiting, and defeating Foreign Intelligence Services

Now that we have their side of it lets look at the aluminum hat side of their job.

Army morning reports also seem to contradict another claim by conspiracists that the secretive 902nd Military Intelligence Group, which investigated espionage cases and reported directly to the Pentagon, was in Memphis when King was here. Reports for that outfit show no Memphis visits at that time.

Pepper said he is not surprised by the former 111th agents' comments, saying they may not have known about more covert elements of the Memphis mission. He said he stands by his contention that a Special Forces sniper team, coordinated by the 902nd intelligence group, had King and aide Andrew Young in their rifle sights the moment King was shot.

Wow. That's a two layer aluminum hat theory there.

But it gets better

Vince Foster went to a secret briefing on signals intelligence collection and cryptology at the NSA on May 4, 1993.

When he was found dead in Fort Marcy Park two months later, he had allegedly left "to meet a man employed by a company involved in construction of signals intelligence collection facilities for the National Security Agency." The same day the secret 902nd Military Intelligence Group co-located with the NSA at Ft. Meade entered the White House. Their visit is registered on Secret Service logs, and intelligence sources have given Sources journal the identity of the MIG (of which there are many). The function of the 902nd MIG is technical surveillance and counter-intelligence investigations. When Foster's computer was later reassigned to another staffer, it wouldn't boot. A computer repair shop was called and they took the machine apart and found that the hard drive was so badly damaged it couldn't be fixed. The hard disk was thrown away. The computer technician later related the story to FBI Agent Gary Aldrich.

This is a three layer aluminum beanie with painted over windows theory.

But the question that arise is this. Is it in the militaries field of abilities to do such investigating?

With the new powers the government has stolen yes it is.

Outstanding examples of integration and analysis are operating in support of the war on terrorism. The 902nd Military Intelligence Group created a Homeland Security Analytic Control Element to integrate data and information collected by its counterintelligence agents, to analyze that data and information to produce knowledge, and to then project that knowledge to intelligence, command, and law-enforcement entities. 902nd soldiers work with the FBI and Army Criminal Investigative Division to share information and protect the force.

so is Grouchy Neocon the subject of an investigation to "protect the force"?

Who is reading your blog and why? |

Resistance to sudden violence, for the preservation not only of my person, my limbs, and life, but of my property, is an indisputable right of nature which I have never surrendered to the public by the compact of society, and which perhaps, I could not surrender if I would. — JOHN ADAMS

Sounds good to me people. Now if we could simply get the politicians to believe the same thing. |

Anarchy rules, and it seems to work in one place.

Being a libertarian in spirit I have read many times the comeback that without the laws there would be anarchy and chaos.

But would there be chaos?

Kiev, Ukraine - Ever wonder what would happen if traffic cops were done away with and you could drive any way you wanted?

In Ukraine, less than a month ago, that's what happened and things are pretty much just fine.
..................
From his subordinates Yushchenko demanded - and received - a plan to dissolve the DAI and by the beginning of July the deed was done, the executive order signed.

Ukraine's once-feared traffic police ceased to exist.
..................
"If we received $300 or 400 a month we would do our jobs perfectly," he said, "but now, with no police out there, our roads will become slaughterhouses."

But that's not the way it turned out. Drivers in the Ukrainian provincial cities of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv reported traffic was moving quite normally and most drivers were obeying regulations, even though there were few, if any, traffic cops around to enforce them.

"Just like people have been driving before, breaking the rules when they can, they're driving now," said Arnold Shapyro, an Odessa taxi driver.

"The difference is that now the traffic cops aren't hassling us."

Give us more money and we would do our job right. The chant heard from police and other public service employees across this country.

Maybe, just maybe, we can rule ourselves. Original idea there people! |

NcStar brand

I'm thinking of getting a scope for my wife's handgun. She has a Smith and Wesson model 22S.



Since poverty has kept me from toying with the higher optics I have no experience with certain items.

I have come across a brand that look like they are inexpensive enough to buy, but cheap enough that if they do not work out I do not feel screwed.



The top one is described as a "Ruger 10/22 Reflex Sight With Mount *New* Silver 10-22". The price is listed as a buy now for $32.00. While I could use the mount for my 10/22 I am more interested in it for my wife's handgun. Now what a reflex sight is in comparison to what a red dot sight is, is one of the questions.

The bottom one is listed as a "NC Star Red Dot Scope 1 x 45 " and it is going for $31.95.

So how does a reflex sight compare to a red dot sight. The red dot seems to have some magnification so I am leaning towards it right now.

Has anyone experiance with this brand? I also was looking at a brand called "Hammers" if you have anything to add on that one.

The red dot is described as this at the Savvy Survivor website.

These scopes all feature standard zero magnification and red dot reticules with approximately 2 MOA dots suitable for most rifles, pistols and shotguns at moderate ranges. They are built mainly for low parallax speed aiming in a close quarters dynamic environment, but are sufficient for point targets out to 200 yards if your gun and your shooting skill are up to it. They are sealed to keep out rain and fog but NOT submersible.

The 30mm Scope will also work with most mounts developed for other 30mm scopes like the Aimpoint Comp M and Comp M-XD. This includes most of the various railgrabber and gooseneck mounts used with the M4 SOPMOD and similar systems

I may just end up getting her a regular scope, but would like to get her something nicer then a magnified tube. |

This is overboard people

A single woman alone in her house wants to verify the identity of someone who claims to be a cop. Result. She gets charged with a crime.

What are you supposed to do when a police officer knocks on your door at night? Officials with the Raleigh Police Department say in a particular case, the answer was obvious, but an elderly woman who had her doubts got charged with a crime.
Marie Venezia, 73, lives by herself in her Raleigh home. Last Tuesday night, a Raleigh police officer knocked on her door and asked her about damage to a neighbor's fence.
"I said 'I don't know what you want me to say. I don't know who it was.' He said, 'You know who it was.' I said, "I don't know who it was." He said you do," she said. "And at that point, I began to wonder if this guy really was a policeman because I didn't think officers acted like that."
"He said, 'Don't close that door.' I said I am going to close it and then I went and called 911," she said.
When Venezia came back, the officer charged her with misdemeanor obstructing and delaying, issuing her a ticket.

"don't close the door"?? Of course. Leave it open and if he was a fake cop he would stand there and let her call 911.

Late at night and acting strange. Good reason to shut the door. But he used the old "lawful command" and when a cop says jump you say "how high master". If you don't jump you get a summons.

So just take a submissive stance and mutter "yes'a massa" and let him do his job.

What an idiotic badged thug. |

Learned something new yesterday

In the back of my father in law's gun safe I can across a shotgun that surprised me some. A lot of companies like Sears and JCPenny's sold rifles and shotguns under their own name/stamp. Never really had a reason to study the history of them until last night.

When my MIL was organizing the gun safe after his death I came in right near the end. she had most of the long guns already in so i did not get to look at them, but on the bed was the pile of items all gun owners collect. Extra magazines, holster and such. I noticed right away several loaded Garand clips. So I talked her into letting me get my hands on the rifle to clean it and to check out its history.

So last night she opened the safe and dug around with me looking for the Garand. Turns out it was not there. Maybe at one time he did have one, but not now. But I did find a bolt action shotgun that peaked my interest.

Peppered with light surface rust I have brought it home to clean it up and check it out.

The first thing that grabbed my attention was the stamping on the barrel

Revelation
Model R316BB 16 GA FULL CHOKE
2 3/4 CHAMBER
WESTERN AUTO SUPPLY CO.

Western auto?!?! I knew some rather diverse stores sold rifles at one point, but not an auto store.

So I got on line and checked it out. Turns out Western Auto sold a crud load of firearms at one point. All produced by more common named manufacterers, but stamped Western Auto.

Checking out several lists online I found that the Western Auto model 316BB is the Mossberg 390T. Regretfully I can find little information on this product so the difference between a 390 and a 390T is unknown to me right now. Also cannot find what the "R" in the R316BB represents either.

The mossberg website looks like they took the lowest bidder to produce their site.

Here is just a small part of one list of the firearms sold under the Western Auto tag

HOUSE BRAND
MODEL NO.
ORIG MFGR.
ORIG. MODEL

Western Auto
230
Savage
340

Western Auto
250
Savage
110E

Western Auto
250A
Savage
110D

Western Auto
250D
Savage
110

Western Auto
260
Savage
170

Western Auto
260
Springfield
174

Western Auto
300
Springfield
67

Western Auto
300
Stevens
30

Western Auto
300A
Savage
30AC

Western Auto
300F
Stevens
77C

Western Auto
300H
Savage
30,H,AC

Western Auto
300-300AC
Springfield
67

Western Auto
310
Mossberg
500

Western Auto
310A
Mossberg
500A

Western Auto
310AB
Mossberg
500AB

Western Auto
310B
Mossberg
500B

Western Auto
310C
Mossberg
500C

Western Auto
310E
Mossberg
500E

Western Auto
312
Mossberg
395

Western Auto
312AK
Mossberg
395K

Western Auto
312SB
Mossberg
395T

Western Auto
316
Mossberg
390

Western Auto
316BB
Mossberg
390T

Western Auto
316BK
Mossberg
390K

Western Auto
325B
Mossberg
385T

Western Auto
325BK
Mossberg
385K

Western Auto
330
Mossberg
183,183K

Western Auto
330B
Mossberg
183T

Western Auto
335-3725
Marlin
59

That is a lot of firearms for an auto supply company.

so can anyone out there point me to a sight that could tell me what the "R" stands for and what makes a 390 different from a 390T? |

I'm to sexy for the regulations.

In the great(grate?) tradition of controlling the cheese threat the European community has cracked down on being to sexy.

HAS George Clooney sold his last Martini? Will macho heart-throbs never again seduce women into taking another glass?

Drinks companies have been ordered to hire paunchy, balding men for advertisements to meet new rules forbidding any link between women's drinking and sex. Watchdogs have issued a list of undesirable male characteristics that advertisers must abide by in order to comply with tougher rules designed to separate alcohol from sexual success.

Lambrini, the popular sparkling drink, is the first to suffer. Its manufacturers have complained after watchdogs rejected its latest campaign because it depicted women flirting with a man who was deemed too attractive.

The future for European twiggy models does not look good.

But the Committee of Advertising Practice declared: "We would advise that the man in the picture should be unattractive - overweight, middle-aged, balding etc."

The ruling continued: "We consider that the advert is in danger of implying that the drink may bring sexual/social success, because the man in question looks quite attractive and desirable to the girls. If the man was clearly unattractive, we think that this implication would be removed."

So if looks are everything and character is nothing then the future of European beer adds could look like this.

unattractive - overweight, middle-aged, balding etc

So if I quit blogging you can know that I shaved my head and have gone to earn my fortune in Europe pushing beer. "Long live the couch potatoes". |

Cry the Grand jury

There is a common theme among the second amendment community I would like to address. The subject of grand juries.

Almost everytime there is a shooting of a criminal the news is posted to blogs and other second amendment news sites all over. The crowing that occurs is sometimes overblown, but proper I feel. It is the next comments that occur that sort of bother me.

Almost all the news articles describing the event also states something along this line. "The county prosecutor has turned the case over to the grand jury". I am bothered by the howls of protest that this line draws from the readers. "They're trying to railroad him" or "they should give him a medal, not a criminal case".

Come on people. How many times have you read about some scum crying self defense when they killed their spouse, or paramour in a fit of rage.

The Grand jury system is there to give cases a non-partisan examination and make the choice if a case should be brought.

"I would rather be judged by twelve then carried by six" is chanted, but when it does go to the twelve(or whatever the number in a grand jury is) they protest of persecution and other nonsense.

The grand jury system does not only judge whether there is a case, but sometimes it helps the community judges the prosecutor. In the case of "Harold Fish" the prosecutor was exposed as having mislead the jury, and even kept some evidence from them.

A grand jury is not a railroad, it is part of the "judged by twelve" that you repeat you want. |

The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws. — Tacitus (A.D. 55?-130?) |

Is the war over?

I find it funny that how times and labels change. Right now the people are getting real tired of the War on Terror so the government has decided to make some large changes.

The Bush administration is retooling its slogan for the fight against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, pushing the idea that the long-term struggle is as much an ideological battle as a military mission, according to senior administration and military officials.

In recent speeches and news conferences, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the country's top military officer have spoken of "a global struggle against violent extremism" rather than "the global war on terror," which had been the catchphrase of choice.

Administration officials say the earlier phrase may have outlived its usefulness, because it focused attention solely, and incorrectly, on the military campaign.

Wow! The war on freedom terror is now the struggle against violent extremism.

Strange. I thought the struggle against violent extremism was the people struggle against the patriot act and Bush for his crimes against our rights.

They stole our catch phrase!!

This is almost sad. The same rights will be stolen, the same soldiers will die uselessly, and the same crimes will occur in the hallowed halls of the White House. But all is forgiven because the name is now changed. NOT! |

As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms.

Tench Coxe in `Remarks on the First Part of the Amendments to the Federal Constitution' under the Pseudonym "A Pennsylvanian" in the Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789 at 2 col. 1. |

Seems someone threw my name in the pile and I won an honor this month

Congratulations, Gunner!

Your site has received a "Best Blog in Tennessee" award.

...And YOU are one of Tennessee's Award-Winning Bloggers!

So I get a nice button on my blog and a swollen head.

Categories awarded: Best General Info Blogs | Best Middle Tennessee Blogs

Nice way to end the day. |

I heartily accept the motto, "That government is best which governs least."

HENRY DAVID THOREAU |

Homeless in New Hampshire

With the fact that those evil libertarian minded people are trying to seize Judge Souter's home you would feel that the good folks in the town he lives in would rally behind him and try to protect his homestead.

Nope.

Town Clerk Evelyn Connor has had to return checks from people wishing to donate to a hotel construction fund. A rival proposal from townspeople would turn Souter's land into a park commemorating the U.S. Constitution.

You have to know you messed up when your own neighbors turn against you. |

Apartheid in Columbus

Columbus Ohio is finding itself in the middle of a PR storm. The city decided to ban scary rifles. Simple and foolish, but it is what they did. The problem arose when the NRA decided to pullout of a large convention they was going to have there in a couple of years.

Now the city, the newspaper, and gun grabbing organizations across the country are chanting the line that the NRA is acting the part of a bully by taking their business elsewhere. "How dare those gun nuts!!!"

The thing is it brings back memories of the liberals doing the same thing during the 80's and 90's.

Remember big bad apartheid. The system of government they had in South Africa. Also remember how the liberals tried to impact them?

Many governments decided rightly not to do business with SA, and it did have an impact. It is what was done by small organizations and people that makes me laugh at the Columbus affair.

It became vogue to sell any stock in companies that dealt with SA. Universities sold whole piles of coke and other companies. After all they had the right to protest with their money. Now most of those people were outright liberals.

Now the shoe is on the other foot. Here we have people and an organization that say they will not give their money or business to a city practicing gun apartheid.

If the NRA is a bully now, does that mean you were one during the 80's and 90's? |

Should I label this post "Thanks Yahoo", or "collaborating with the enemy"?

The post is not very big but it says a lot. Especially in light of Cisco's bending over to help censor the internet in China and Microsluts helping to censor blogs in China.

In the court statement againt Shi Tao on June 2nd, the second evidence was provided by Yahoo. The Statement said: User information provided by Yahoo(HK) shows that the IP 218.76.8.201 (active at 23:32:17 on April 20, 2004) is used by: Tel.:0731-4376362, user's company is....., user's address is.... (boxun.com) This is the first case that shows publicly that Yahoo helps China government to prosecute an Internet user - journalist

So I think a mighty "Screw you Yahoo" is the most proper responce. |

There are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by the gradual and silent encroachment of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpation. — James Madison |

Resist damn you, resist PART TWO

In part one I linked to a press release that mentioned a study I have never heard of before. One that showed resisting crime was normally to the good of the victim. After a call to Minnesota and a few more to Florida I finally got my hands on the report.

Resisting Crime: The effects of victim action on the outcome of crimes
Jonhgeon Tark
Gary Kleck
Florida State University

When I talked to Mr. Kleck I asked him if he was surprised at the results he found especially when the police and press have always said that resisting leads to more violence.

His reply of "No, Not at all" surprised me. He went on that he had done other studies and research projects and findings elsewhere have shown that resisting normally lead to less injury to the victim.

The report starts by showing how data was recorded and interpreted. Then the results are shown. The results are shown in chart form and good explanations throughout.

But it is words in the conclusion that raised my eyebrows.

It is in this light that we offer tentative advice to victims. While there are exceptional situations, victims resistance is usually either successful or inconsequential, and on the rare occasion that it is harmful, it is rarely seriously so. There fore unless there are circumstances that clearly indicate resistance will lead to significant harm, the evidence reported in this paper indicates that some form of resistance should be the path generally taken.

Now this goes in the face of all the police and media have always said. The chanting from them that resisting will only lead to more violence does not stand up to the light of a university study.

He also says something that every second amendment activist should read.

Various kinds of forceful victim protective behavior, such as threatening the offender with a gun or other weapon, show the strongest negative coefficients, though none are significant. A conservative interpretation would be that armed and other forceful resistance does not appear to increase the victim's risk of injury.

Again against everything told by the police and media.

He ends the report with this

Future research might bring better evidence that contradicts these conclusions. At present, however, the best available evidence indictaes that victim resistance is generally wise.

The report is a good read, even though some of the breakdown material did confuse me a bit. I have it on a PDF file(7.9mb) and will send it to anyone who wants a copy. Drop me a line at "noquartersblog ***at*** yahoo ***dot*** com" and I will send a copy your way.

Justun Buist has hosted it on his server so here it is for your reading pleasure. |

Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. — Thomas Jefferson, quoting Cesare Beccaria in On Crimes and punishment (1764).


You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence. —CHARLES A. BEARD


As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms. — Tench Coxe in `Remarks on the First Part of the Amendments to the Federal Constitution' under the Pseudonym "A Pennsylvanian" in the Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789 at 2 col. 1. |

Stopping the Canadian flood?

In the committee reports of this new mega-bill called the Patriot renewal act they have this to say about the northern border with Canada.

SUBTITLE A--PROTECTING THE NORTHERN BORDER
Section 401: Ensuring Adequate Personnel on the Northern Border: Authorizes the waiver of any FTE cap on personnel assigned to the INS to address the national security on the Northern Border.

Section 402: Northern Border Personnel: Authorizes the appropriation of funds necessary to triple the number of Border Patrol, INS and Customs Service personnel in each State along the northern border. The bill also authorizes $50 million each to the INS and Customs Services for purposes of making improvements in technology for monitoring the northern border and acquiring additional equipment at the northern border.

The thing is there is no like section that mentions the southern border. It took me only a few seconds to realize something. There is no giant Canadian voting block, while there is a Hispanic voting block. If they did the same thing with the Southern border there would be called of bigotry and rascism. So they spend money to reinforce one border but leave the other open for votes.

How can they say the patriot act is about security when they allows threats in the form of a leaky border for the sake of votes? But ask yourself this. Would you expect anything less from the pick of parasites we have in Washington today? |

Committee reports.

The committee reports that involve the patriot act renewal are funnier then hell.

A good example is this one.

PREVENTING TERRORISTS FROM BUYING GUNS
over the course of a nine-month span last year, a total of fifty-six (56) firearm purchase attempts were made by individuals designated as known or suspected terrorists by the federal government.

[Footnote 116: G.A.O. Rep. No. 05-127, at 3 (2005).]

In forty-seven (47) of those cases, state and federal authorities were forced to permit such transactions to proceed because officials were unable to find any disqualifying information (such as a prior felony conviction or court-determined `mental defect') in the individual applicant's background.

To address this problem, during the course of the Committee's consideration of H.R. 3199, Mr. Conyers and Mr. Van Hollen offered an amendment to make the transfer of a firearm to someone the person knows is on the Justice Department's Violent Gang and Terrorist Organization File (a.k.a. the `terrorist watch list') fall under the prohibition of providing `material support' to terrorists. As the name implies, this is a list of known violent gang and terrorist organization members. It seems apparent that if the U.S. is willing to wage war in order to keep WMDs out of the hands of possible terrorists, the U.S. should keep domestic guns out of the hands of terrorists in the United States.

Unfortunately, this amendment failed by a vote of 15-22. Shockingly, a number of Republicans stated they opposed the amendment because it would harm the Second Amendment rights of known terrorists. While they are perfectly willing to intrude on Americans' free speech rights, search their houses without warrants and without cause, and to lock people up indefinitely without charging them of any crime, these same Members argued that a terrorist's right to bear arms was more important than trying to stop terrorists from buying guns and potentially using them for another deadly attack on the United States.

Whom ever wrote this is upset that people not convicted of a crime have all their rights. How unAmerican. Today we remove rights before conviction. I guess innocent until proven guilty would enrage this person. A simple charge is enough to take rights away according to this writer. Damned shameful.

Then they next committee item is this.

PREVENTING THE SALE AND MANUFACTURE OF .50-CALIBER GUNS..........During the course of the Committee's consideration of H.R. 3199, Ms. Lofgren introduced an amendment which would have made it a crime under the material support provision of the Patriot Act to transfer a .50-caliber sniper rifle to any person the transferor knows to be a member of Al Qaeda. Obviously, such an amendment would provide an important mechanism to help keep dangerous, high-powered weapons out of the hands of known terrorists. However, once again, the Republicans voted down this necessary and commonsense measure to help protect the United States from harm.

I'm not sure where I read it but someone said that anything that is pushed with the line "necessary and commonsense measure" isn't.

I did like how the writer threw in that .50 caliber rifles are high powered. So I guess that means my 7.62soviet is now just medium powered and my .22LR rifles are low powered. Yipee. No more stupid comments about high powered assault rifles. They are all now medium powered.

So if you need a good laugh go read some of the committee reports on the Patriot renewal act. |

Patriot act renewal smoking gun cigarette

One small amendment that shows where the real from in the war on terror is has the title of H.R.3199.

AMENDMENT PURPOSE:
An amendment numbered 12 printed in part B of House Report 109-178 to amend the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act (18 U.S.C. 2341 et seq.)("CCTA") which makes it unlawful for any person knowingly to ship, posses, sell, distribute or purchase contraband cigarettes. The CCTA would be amended by: (1) extending its provisions to cover contraband smokeless tobacco; (2)reducing the number of cigarettes that trigger application of the CCTA from 60,000 to 10,000 cigarettes; (3) imposing reporting requirements on persons, except tribal governments, who engage in delivery sales of more than 10,000 cigarettes or 500 single-unit cans or packages of smokeless tobacco in a single month; (4) requiring the destruction of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco seized and forfeited under the CCTA; and (5) authorizing state and local governments, and certain persons holding federal tobacco permits, to bring causes of action against violators of the CCTA.

Yes ladies and gentleman. They have added in section one smokeless tobacco. You may now sleep safe at home knowing the war on terror is moving forwards and will never stop until smokeless tobacco using terrorists are all brought down. Section two shows that even a small number of cigarettes will not be allowed in the war on terror.

Do they know how big a joke they have become? Do they know the anger and hatred they are creating? I'm not talking about the caves of Afghanistan. I'm talking about the homes of middle class America. The government is creating "terrorist in embryo" right here in good old USA.

One day in the future there is going to be a another Oklahoma city bombing and it will be related directly to the actions of our government today. |

Bill H.R. 3199 - Patriot renewal act

I just spent a little time reading on the Thomas site about the H.R. 3199 bill(Patriot renewal act). Although it is full of shit I had to laugh at a certain politician a few times. I would like to point out why.

The first is Bart Gordon. He is my local representative in Washington. Here by referred to as lying scum. I emailed lying scum about my worries when it came to the patriot act renewal and he replied with this.

Dear Gunner,

Thank you for sharing your concerns about the impact of the PATRIOT Act on individual civil liberties. It helps me do my job better when I hear from you. I understand how important it is to protect the liberties that Americans enjoy, even as we take precautions against terrorism. Your message is part of the
public dialog that must go on regarding laws like the PATRIOT Act as our country tries to find the balance between domestic security and individual liberty. When Congress works on legislation affecting your rights, you may be assured that I will support efforts to curtail laws that infringe Americans' civil liberties, as I did in voting during the last term of Congress for amendments that would have ended excesses allowed under the PATRIOT Act such as "sneak and peek" searches, searches of library records and roving wiretaps.

I hope you will continue to keep me informed on issues that are important to you when specific bills affecting your liberties are considered in Congress.

Stay in touch,
/s
BART GORDON

Sounds good I thought. Maybe he is worth supporting. After all he said

you may be assured that I will support efforts to curtail laws that infringe Americans' civil liberties

So I went and looked at the voting roll for the patriot act renewal and guess what column I found lying scum in? Go ahead guess. I'm waiting. I'll give you a small hint.
AYES
Yep. I was fooled by another politician. He voted yes.

But then I noticed what he really said.

I understand how important it is to protect the liberties that Americans enjoy, even as we take precautions against terrorism. Your message is part of the public dialog that must go on regarding laws like the PATRIOT Act as our country tries to find the balance between domestic security and individual liberty

I see. He sees the patriot act as a "precaution" or a "balance". So he did not lie. He simply mislead. So I shall dub him misleading scum for the rest of this post.

So like any good political bill there were amendments. One was titles H.AMDT.489. It was listed as this

H.AMDT.489
AMENDMENT PURPOSE:
An amendment numbered 2 printed in part B of House Report 109-178 to state that the Director of the FBI must personally approve any library or bookstore request for records by the FBI under section 215.

Now back to misleading scums email.

I did in voting during the last term of Congress for amendments that would have ended excesses allowed under the PATRIOT Act such as "sneak and peek" searches, searches of library records and roving wiretaps.

So he must vote against this right. It is a search of library records.

So once again do you want a hint on how he voted. A subject he said he voted against in the past?
AYES
Damn he is on the verge of being relabeled Lying scum.

So back to that email from misleading scum politician.

I did in voting during the last term of Congress for amendments that would have ended excesses allowed under the PATRIOT Act such as "sneak and peek" searches, searches of library records and roving wiretaps.

Hey people! He mentioned "roving wiretaps". Would you believe there was an amendment that involved that subject?

H.AMDT.490
An amendment numbered 3 printed in part B of House Report 109-178 to increase the oversight over the use of roving wiretaps by requiring an applicant to notify the issuing judge within a reasonable time(HA HA HA), as determined by the court but not more than 15 days, of the change of surveillance from the initial facility or place to a new one. Also requires the applicant to specify the total number of electronic surveillances that have been or are being conducted.

So they require reasonable notice but thats it. They still allow it.

But since misleading scum was against this excess he must vote against it right? So what did he vote on this?
AYES
Damn damn damn. Burned again. He voted to allow something he said he was against.

Hold one people. He has one more chance of trying to do right if his email is right.
He did say he was against "Sneak and peak" search warrants. Lets see what the amendment that involved that does to his word.

H.AMDT.495
An amendment numbered 8 printed in part B of House Report 109-178 to require reporting by the Administrative Office of the Courts on search warrants and also eliminates the provision "unduly delaying trial" in the delayed notification section of the Patriot Act for "sneak and peak" searches.

Kind of wimpy. They simply drop one provision.

So at least if he voted Ayes on this it would be better then nothing. Close enough to bite it on the ass, but not totally nothing.

Is it even worth asking you to guess what he voted?
AYES

So once again a politician went to the top of the mountain and declared his righteous anger against something, then went and voted for it.

But as a good politician did he lie? He did curtail those laws by dropping a word here and a small phrase there. Don't you just feel the freedom in the air. Makes a man want to sing out loud.

Bart Gordon. He did not lie, he simply mislead. So I dub him misleading scum of the day and week here on No Quarters Blog. |

"Ignore everything we said. We did not say it"

Well the term rat bastard and government official comes closer and closer to having the same definition in the dictionary.

A government official is saying what they announced yesterday is not what is really going on.

LOS ANGELES The Department of Homeland Security says it has NO plans to use citizen volunteers to help patrol the border.

The message comes a day after Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert Bonner said his agency was considering training volunteers as a patrol auxiliary.

Today, Homeland Security issued a statement saying there are _ quote _ "no plans" to use civilians for border patrol. It says the job should be left to professionals.

I have not read up a lot on the Minuteman issue as it is outside of my area of interest. I do find one thing rather humorous.

If you or I set up a neighborhood watch of volunteers we would be thanked for fighting crime. But set a watch up on a larger scale that may insult a large voting block and you get titles racists and vigilante. I guess thieves and thugs do not have a large voting block or donate enough to political races(with the exception of the Clinton races). |

Tarnished

So many people are talking about the SC nominee that I thought I would throw my 2cents in.

I don't like him.

On Say Uncle it was pointed out this statement

Roberts generally voted with the government in the cases he has handled on the bench.
Yay, another statist

As statist is a word right up there with prostitute I started to look into him more.

That's when I found this item and it is not good.

Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the petitioner in the case that Roberts ruled on, is the former bodyguard to Osama bin Laden and therefore probably very, very guilty. However, as the Hamdi ruling re-emphasized, he is entitled to a day in court. But when there are no established criteria of impartial review and no guarantees of appeal to an Article III judge, his day in court will look like this:

Hamdan has no right to be present at his trial. Unsworn statements, rather than live testimony, can be presented as evidence against him. The presumption of innocence can be taken away from him at any time; so can his right not to testify to avoid self-incrimination. If Hamdan is convicted, he can be sentenced to death.
Roberts approved of that sort of trial on the grounds, in the words of the opinion written by his co-panelist A. Raymond Randolph, that Congress' enabling of the executive branch to use "all necessary and appropriate force" after September 11 was in effect an authorization of review by military tribunals.

Bush has chosen a man who's loyalty resides with the state and the machine, not rights and liberties. Oh he may think he is a supporter of liberty and such, but when the rules come down on the side of the state to much he loses in my eyes.

......

I just reread what I wrote and I had to laugh. I rant to my wife about liberal activist judges and their interpretation of the law, yet when Roberts goes by the law and shafts rights I am upset he is not an activist.

I guess I want the best of both worlds and may end up with the worst.

No matter if he is a conservative, moderate, or a hidden liberal the fact is that the citizens of this country will still suffer under one fact. Both sides bow before the statist idol. Our rights are the sacrifice. |

You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am. — Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) |

Pimping the War on Terror

The government has again found an issue that somehow would hurt the war on terror if they do not get their way.

WASHINGTON · The Justice Department is opposing a bipartisan effort on Capitol Hill to protect journalists from having to reveal confidential sources, calling the legislation "bad public policy" that would impair the administration's ability "to effectively enforce the law and fight terrorism."

This war on terrorism is being used as the excuse for all of their actions. Washington has no shame. |

Old news is... OLD!

I dropped by WorldNetDaily to see what articles they may have found to scare their readers with. I saw one story that grabbed my attention right off.



I am showing you the link as an image because if I type it out Google may link to me and I do not want any links to this crap.

So this must be a really bad game. The type the ACLU would scream about. So I went to see what it looked like. I noticed something in the description. This game was released two years ago.



But wait. Maybe those evil people lied about the games release date. So I read the 100 plus comments on the Eurogamer story the WND linked to. Yep! This "news" is two years old. Several other people brought up the same issue.

Looks bad for Eurogamer, and looks really bad for WND.

Then I realized that it is news in a way. With Hillary Clinton coming out against violent and sexual video games maybe the WND wants to help her in her fight to look important and win the White House.

Is the WND becoming so main stream media that they are dusting off old stories and letting quality slide? That is one of the prime issues that made me give up TV and start looking for the truth in news myself. The old regurgitated news the MSM doles out as "New and Improved" does not cut it.

Seems WND is becoming to main stream for their own good. |

The small things in life

It is the small things in life that effect me the most.

For example I can go purchase myself a 100$ knife and enjoy the heck out of it. A good knife is worth good money. But free ones are worth even more.

I was sitting in the car at Big Lots while my wife went in to check out if they had an item. Well with the sun I hopped out and went to sit on a bench in the shade. I noticed something on the bench as I approached and I found one of these.

Buck Cadet®

Mid-sized 3-bladed traditional pocket knife. Anvil/hammer logo in handle, nickel silver bolsters.

Category End Use: EveryDay, pocket knife
Weight: 1.9 oz. (54 g.)
Handle Material: Tough, long-lasting plastic, stainless steel bolsters
Blade Steel: 420HC
Length Closed: 3 1/4" (8.3 cm.)
Blade Shape: Clip, spey, sheepsfoot
Catalog #: 9203

Price: $ 37.00

While showing a little wear I can tell right off it was taken care of. The metal is slightly tarnished and the blades are sharp and nick free so it is good condition.

How it came to be laying there I do not know. I waited till me wife returned to see if someone would come up looking for it. So now it resides here at my house.

So I'm one knife richer and happy. Nothing is better then a free knife. |

Resist damn you, resist

This is just another in a long line of reports that shows the gun grabbing lobby is full of lies.

July 16, 2005 -- Recently the Florida State University department of Criminology released a study indicating that people who employed self protection strategies reduced their likelihood of injury when compared to nonresistance.

Old research seemed to indicate that resistance to confrontational crime contributed to victim injury. New information reveals the old assumptions were found to be largely attributable to confusion concerning the sequence of self protective actions and injury. In crimes where both occurred, injury followed self protection in only 10 percent of the incidents. Combined with the fact that injuries following resistance are almost always relatively minor, victim resistance appears to be generally a wise course of action.

This is good news. Would I be stupid to think this may change a few minds in the gun grabbing community? |

This quote should be the rally cry of bloggers all over the world and why I like it so much

It doesn't require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires to people's minds. - Samuel Adams American Patriot

Last week I was thinking of slowing down my blogging. Not sure of why I was blogging. How the hell can the few articles I link to and the few mis-spelled rants I write effect the world when I get only a hundred or so hits a day.

I like blogging and the interaction I have with some other blogs. In life I feel that most of the people I meet are oblivious to the world around them, and that scares me. So I do enjoy blogging.

But why I am blogging was bothering me. I write and I link pointing out the piles of dogshit in your path and some may answer "Yes. That's dog shit" , but few do anything about it. I came to the conclusion I was so busy pointing out the smelly piles that I also was not doing anything about it. I had become the people I disliked. I had become that fat drug addict Rush Limbaugh. He's so busy pointing out the issues that he does not take time to do anything about them.

So last week I was thinking about slowing down or even shutting down this blog. I've never been to a city council meeting, I've never asked to ride along with the city police, I've written only a few letters to politicians, and I've never gone to a rally. So last week I decided to start getting out, looking around, and being part of the world, or at least my community.

In the future this blog may "taste" a little differentt from now on. I may throw some links out to articles that interest me and may even do a mini-rant, but that's about it. What I am going to do is find out how my community works and see what I can do.

So if you are a blogger who rants and yells at the world I ask you to stop. Take a moment and look to see where you live and what you can do to improve things.

Start small. Perform miracles. |

Well I sure feel like a Middle Ages peasant today

Strange title for a post written by a fat white redneck but hear me out.

I was reading an article about this nut who shot his postman so he could go to jail and not have to pay his medical bills. I guess that's why I'm taxed so much. This guy is a prime example of the modern social welfare system. "The state is supposed to pay and I will force it to pay for me". That village Hillary talks about must be so proud.

But right at the end of the story I read this small line.

Mr Crutchfield remains in jail charged with attempting to kill a federal employee.

I was a bit confused. I thought most federal employees were human. My wife works for a state run, federally funded agency and I know she's human. So why is there a separate charge for killing or attempting to kill a federal employee?

I went looking and found a few United states codes and it seems there are several laws on the books.

Sec. 1111. Murder.
Sec. 1112. Manslaughter.
Sec. 1113. Attempt to commit murder or manslaughter.
Sec. 1114. Protection of officers and employees of the United States.

Now the first three I understand but I am not to sure why there is that forth one. Is a federal employee more human then I? The old saying "do we not bleed the same blood?".

Then it hit me. We don't according to some.

The laws seem the same. Section 1114 even simply says that the first three count good enough.

Whoever kills or attempts to kill any officer or employee of the United States or of any agency in any branch of the United States Government (including any member of the uniformed services) while such officer or employee is engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties, or any person assisting such an officer or employee in the performance of such duties or on account of that assistance, shall be punished--
(1) in the case of murder, as provided under section 1111;
(2) in the case of manslaughter, as provided under section 1112;
or
(3) in the case of attempted murder or manslaughter, as provided in section 1113.

So why is there a special law for the federal employees? Regretfully laws do not have crib notes.

I did find this small comment on officer.com

The FBI profilers respond to requests from assistance from local and state law enforcement agencies. Unless a murder violated some federal law (murder of a federal employee, murder on a federal reservation), homicide investigation is a local or state responsibility.

Of course. You kill someone it is a local issue and the locals will deal with it. You kill a federal employee and the feds will drop on you like an Acme anvil on Wiley coyote. With the run of bad luck the local California prosecutors have been having ((cough cough Simpson, Jackson, cough cough)) I can see why the feds would want to protect their own.

But it is not right. The life of a person is equal through out society.

Locals may desire to get a conviction by plea bargaining or lowering charges. Federal prosecutors will work to have your balls bronzed on his trophy case, thus getting you the worst sentence he can get. After all a peasants life is worth less money and effort.

Before the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms appeared there was little that could be called a system of law and order. The basic unit among the Germanic tribes was the family and loyalty to it was a basic instinct. At first the punishment of criminals was therefore left to the victim or his family. Hence the blood-feud - the right and responsibility of a family to take revenge on any family that had wronged them. By the 600s, with the division of England into seven kingdoms and the coming of Christianity, stable government was restored and less violent procedures were established. The early Saxon kings tried to replace revenge and the blood-feud with payments made by the accused to the wronged person or his family - the wergeld as compensation for death and the botgeld for injury. A society which regarded people as unequal naturally drew up a tariff of charges for different classes of victim - you could murder a peasant for a sixth of the price of a noble.

Today I'm not very happy with the federal government. Maybe I should say this. Today I'm not very happy with the lords in Washington and their protected servants. |

Put up or shut up

Seems Columbus Ohio has passed it own scary weapons law to make the streets safe from a non threat. Now this is a great opportunity to see how the NRA reacts.

The NRA has gotten a lot of bad press lately because they seem to like the game of politics more then the cause they supposedly support. So today we have a chance to see what they are made of.

The recently-enacted assault weapons ban in the city of Columbus might wind up costing the capital city the 2007 National Rifle Association convention.

City leaders were holding their breath Friday night, wondering if one of the biggest conventions planned to hit Columbus will cancel.

The NRA announced in May that it chose Columbus over two other cities for its 2007 convention. But now the organization is planning another announcement scheduled for Monday that could change its plans.

On Friday, the NRA would neither confirm nor deny that it plans to leave Columbus. There is speculation that the city's recent vote to ban assault weapons has the group worried about the impact on exhibitors.

So this coming Monday we find out if the NRA has some balls or are they a gelded puppy for the republican party machine.

Moving a convention that is not to occur for almost two years is not a bug thing so I personally think they will do it. "Show before substance" the new NRA motto. |

...to disarm the people - that was the best and most effectual way to enslave them. — George Mason, 3 Elliot, Debates at 380.


Americans have the right and advantage of being armed - unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. — James Madison, The Federalist Papers No. 46 at 243-244. |

Who is Jim Lesczynski and why does the press not care?

I posted yesterday about Jim and a planned protest against the regulatory might of the New York police and city. I posted Thursday morning and the protest was going to be later that same day.

So today I go and check out the news sites and can find not a single mention of this protest. Almost like it did not happen. So I emailed Jim and asked him what was up.

He replied.

Hi Gunner,

Yes, the protest happened last night at 1 Police Plaza as announced. The media coverage was very strange. We had TV crews there from Channels 1, 2, 4, 5, and 9, and reporters from the Daily News, Post, Sun, Downtown Express, and some freelancers. Channels 2, 5, and 9 ran reports last night, but none of the papers that were there reported it this morning.

The reaction of the police was to flat-out lie. Their spokesperson told Fox 5 that the money seized is "evidence of illegal gambling activity" (a dubious claim) and the clubs were raking pots (totally untrue).

On the other hand, the police did not hassle us at all at the protest.

Feel free to call me at 646-***-**** if you'd like to discuss further.

Regards,
Jim Lesczynski

So right in front of 1 Police Plaza they break the law and the law yawned. Maybe there was not enough money involved for the city to stealseize to act. But what is puzzling is the total lack of press online or off of this action.

So thumbs up to Jim for what he did, and middle fingers up to the police, press, and city government of New York. |

"Let us contemplate our forefathers, and posterity, and resolve to maintain the rights bequeathed to us from the former, for the sake of the latter. The necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude, and perseverance. Let us remember that `if we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom.' It is a very serious consideration...that millions yet unborn may be the miserable sharers of the event."

Samuel Adams, speech in Boston, 1771 |

Ante up people

Looks like we will have either some good libertarian press today or a lot of people going to jail in New York. Seems some private poker clubs were raided and a lot of money stolen by the police....errr. I mean seized for the continuing investigation.

In response to the raids, Jim Lesczynski, the Libertarian contender for Public Advocate, is organizing a protest poker tournament, slated for this Thursday, July 14. The "No Poker, No Peace Penny Poker Tournament" will take place following a press conference, whose main focus will be the police's confiscation of $100,000, which Lesczynski believes to be illegal.

The police are investigating a potential connection between the poker clubs and organized crime. Therefore, they say that the confiscation was warranted, as the money is considered evidence in the investigation.

The specter of organized crime. The government used the specter of communism to perform a lot of abuses in the past and today in the name of war on freedom terror they perform even worse crimes against us.

I like how there always is a bogeyman involved in everything. Normally there is no evidence of it, but that means the bad guys are just smart so we need more infringements on your rights.

So knowing the history of how the NYPD and the NY government works I see arrests in the future for these people.

Good luck Mr. Lesczynski. |

When the little guy ignores government

What happens when that occurs? Sometimes very good things.

Three stories meshed in my head recently and I thought I would bring them to your attention. The first is an older story about friendly unregulated restaurants in the US and how well they are doing.

IT was 9 o'clock on a Friday night at Mamasan's Bistro in the Mission District and the food was running a little late, but no one seemed to mind. Two dozen diners perched on folding chairs, listening to a hip-hop D.J. spin classic De La Soul in the glow of the Christmas lights dangling overhead. The restaurant's proprietor, a willowy 37-year-old woman who would reveal only her first name, Lynette, was in the kitchen placidly doctoring coconut yams on her crowded four-burner stove.

''This place has become my second home,'' said Carlos Castille, an artist, as he sipped a coconut-mango cocktail. ''There's a comfort to it. It's so mellow. I've brought all my friends.''


But securing a seat at Mamasan's is not easy. The restaurant, which also happens to be Lynette's apartment, has no sign, and the only way you will ever find it is if someone tells you where it is (a quiet street, a hidden door, up a dark stairwell to the top apartment). Even then, you can't just show up: you must have an invitation. To get one you need an introduction from a previous guest. This may seem as if it's a complicated way to get a plate of grilled salmon, but Mamasan's Bistro is not a legal endeavor. Its kitchen lacks the certificates, permits and inspections required by the city of San Francisco. And although the coconut-mango cocktails flowed, Lynette does not have a liquor license.

Mamasan's is not, however, an anomaly. Restaurants of dubious legality, where food is cooked in apartments and backyards, abound across the United States. These underground restaurants range from upscale to gritty, and are born from youthful idealism, ethnic tradition or economic necessity. They lack certification from any government agency and are, strictly speaking, against the law. You dine in them at your own risk. If you can find them.

A real underground economy that is free of Uncle Sam's regulatory fist. The article goes into detail about why many of these eateries start.

In many ways stories like this make me feel good. The human spirit has not been totally regulated out of our lives. People want to live free and work. The government has become a barrier to so much advancement. Everything from trying to start cooking to make money to trying to build a space plane must be regulated and hampered by government control. How far would we be as a nation if the government simply backed the hell away from us?

So the next story is from Italy and their semi-underground restaurants.

An old farmhouse that serves up delectable food at absurdly low prices is the new hot-spot for Rome's gourmets, still hoping to dine out well however dire the state of the economy and their personal finances.

But Mario's, as the place is called, is not a restaurant. Rather, it is a home where the owner chooses to cook for guests he welcomes as friends in return for "a small contribution".

Known as a private or fai da te (DIY) trattoria, it is one of a new category of eateries springing up across Italy, a response to soaring prices since the introduction of the euro that have put good food beyond the reach of many people.

If you think we have it bad here with regulations then you have never worked in Europe. The regulatory stranglehold that exists there is horrible, and sometimes ludicrous.

Several reasons are given for why these fai da te (DIY) trattoria restaurants work so well.

An added attraction of such unofficial establishments is that diners can still smoke at the table despite draconian anti-tobacco laws.

Also, running a DIY trattoria often means paying no taxes, as well as evading strict health and safety rules and the requirement for a licence, which on its own can cost a restaurateur 70,000euro (47,000 british pounds).

Profit for the owner and the freedom to smoke.

Now as great as these stories are another restaurant story needs to be brought to your attention. A story of when a restaurant simply ignores a dumb regulation and keeps serving food.

The owners of a Morgan County restaurant are vowing not to ban smoking at the eatery despite the threat of a lawsuit for refusing to comply with the county's recently imposed smoking restrictions.

The southern Indiana county's smoking ordinance that took effect in January requires restaurants that allow smoking to have separate rooms with separate heating and cooling systems.

Bob Williams and Linda Dunigan, owners of Charlie's Drive-In Restaurant, have been fined $200 for refusing to comply with the ordinance. A note posted on the restaurant's door spells out their position.

"This restaurant allows smoking. If this offends you, please feel free to visit one of our competitors," the sign reads. "If you choose to come in, then you enter at your own risk. Thank You."

The note says it all and the sad fact is that the nannies of the world can not understand that. If the smoke bothers you then leave. You do not have the right to tell others to stop just for you. There are many smoke free restaurants that would love your business. So telling someone to stop smoking in public means that you feel you have the right to control him. YOU DON'T!

So in restaurants around the world small battles are being waged and guerilla entrepreneurs are winning. Good for you and I, but a crime worthy of punishment for the government. |

Reply from Canada

I sent an email to the distributer of the company that has crapped on a lot of rights in Canada. There reply was less then informative.

Thank you for writing to Raincoast Books to express your opinion. I understand that the injunction is a complicated issue and that there are valid points and conversations to be had about it. Raincoast is working to clarify a number of issues and I hope to post a respond tomorrow.
Kind Regards,
Monique Trottier

Internet Marketing Manager
Raincoast Books
www.raincoast.com
services.raincoast.com

Translation: So what? |

Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American... The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state government, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.

Tench Coxe, Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788.

. |

The mentality of the system

One of the main problems with large social systems is that they do not like competition. Now when I say social systems I am referring to what are normally socialist programs like state medicine, national transportation corporations, or even communication. Big companies that have control and do not wish to give it up.

Here in the US the biggest one we all suffer under is the standard cable companies. Most areas have ONE company. That company normally has enough pull politically to keep others out.

I was reading this story about some French cleaning ladies who decided to carpool to work and the reaction of the busline they did deal with.

They might have been congratulated for their "green" efforts in an area of heavy air pollution.
Instead a group of French cleaning ladies who organised a car-sharing scheme to get to work are being taken to court by a coach company which accuses them of "an act of unfair and parasitical competition".

The women, who live in Moselle and work five days a week at EU offices in Luxembourg, are being taken to court by Transports Schiocchet Excursions, which runs a service along the route. It wants the women to be fined and their cars confiscated.

They not just want them to be fined but they want their cars seized. What legal leg they are standing on is unknown, but damn!

They cleaning ladies have all the right to decide how to get to work, and it sounds like the bus service was not that great to start with.

"Using our cars is quicker and at least twice as cheap. And on the bus we didn't have the right to eat or even to speak," said Martine Bourguignon. Odette Friedmann added: "In the evening instead of coming to get us at 9.30pm the bus would arrive at 10.30pm. If you made any comment to the driver you'd get a mouthful of abuse."

So they control the market and then deliver crappy service. Thinking they have the law on their side they really don't care. That is the problem with most large "protected" companies. Just look to the national health service in England or Canada.

The law should not protect companies from fair competition. The law should help it. |

"Judges ought to remember that their office is jus dicere, and not jus dare; to interpret law, and not to make law, or give law." --Francis Bacon, From "The Essays of Counsels, Civil and Moral" |

Yea right.

In Canada a bookstore let slip out of it's door some copies of the latest Harry Potter book. So the distributer went to court and received a ruling that seems to me damned wrong.

Raincoast Books Ltd., which distributes the books in Canada, said a "small number" of the books were sold, and it has won a court injunction barring the buyers of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" from disclosing the plot.

The court also ordered all the copies be returned to Raincoast, which has promised the early buyers book plates autographed by Rowling once the embargo is lifted.

First thing is that if I own a book I can tell anyone about it I want. They bought the book legally. Simply releasing the book early is not a crime. That is the stores fault. So they go and have a ban put on the new owners. I guess free speech is less important then a book.

But then they order all books returned!! Why. They bought the books. They own the books. A store cannot unsell a book. Well at least not in a free country.

What type of screwed up laws do they have in that country? I buy something it belongs to me. You may have released it early, but that does not un-buy it. Ownership is not that big a thing in Canada it seems.

The courts seem out of control all over the place recently. |

Fun in the "No Quarters" household.

I'm not sure where the desire came from but I'm on a canning kick. Not caning. No Singapore blood in me. I'm talking Kerr and Bass mason jars and the food I put into them.

I started about three months ago with eggs. Pickled eggs. Mostly Cajun posted a recipe and I was off and running. I am now eating my way through my second batch of eggs. I did some white wine vinager and some sugar based recipes and they are pretty good. Tonight my wife and I just did 6 pints of Bread and Butter Pickles and 6 pints of salsa. On the table in the kitchen is a dozen large sweet looking vidalia onions that I will process tomorrow and can Wednesday night. The will end up as sweet onion relish.

Right now we are doing simple recipes that involve hot bath sealing. Avoiding the low acid foods. I have a presure cooker and after I finally get a pressure test on it I will start doing low acid foods. Even have been thinking of trying to brine same kraut.

Living in a suburb with houses 12 feet apart and massive old trees casting shade all over a garden is not in the making. So for now it is trips to the farmers market for produce.

I am surprised how much fun I am having. I understand that if I had to do 50 pints I would not be having so much fun. But for now I am. |

Obscene is in the eye of the beholder

I just read an article about the new federal crackdown using obscenity laws and how they really plan to go after the criminals again. (((YAWN)))

But one part stood out for the narrow minded self righteous nature of it.

Dr. Bob Bevington, who has pastored at Knoxville Baptist Tabernacle in East Knoxville for 53 years, said he welcomes the government's decision to enforce obscenity statutes.
..................
Pornography, he maintains, "is about money and greed and covetousness."

So "Bob" feels that people liking to look at nude pictures is wrong and useless laws should be enforced. Why? Because he knows what is obscene.

The problem with judging what is obscene is two fold.

One is that when you decide what is bad you are making moral decisions for other people. You are taking away their freedom. You are becoming an asshole. Thus most laws like this have total dicks pushing them.

The second is when you take that first step into judging what is moral and obscene you might find yourself the victim of your own success. In Canada they have decided what is obscene using "Bob's" method and the churches up there are rather upset. Seems some like to preach against the homosexual lifestyle in some fiery terms and some are offended and consider that (((drum roll)) OBSCENE. So they have outlawed "hate" speech. The "Canadian Bob's" aren't to happy right now.

So then he says something that boggles my mind.

"There's always going to be pornography," he said. "I know that. But we need to tell our boys and girls that it's not welcome."

Now this may blow your mind but I agree with him. The problem is he likely doesn't agree with himself. He should tell "our boys and girls" that porn is bad. His boys and girls. But when he is supporting this crackdown he is also saying that he should not just tell people that porn is bad, but force you to live his moral rules. The rules that Canadian Christians are not to happy with.

You take that first step in making laws based on what you and a voting block consider moral then prepare to have another group decide what is moral also, and you may not like it at all "Bob".

I'm thinking of creating a nice asshole of the week award and sending it with the specific post printed on the back that honored them as the asshole winner.

So "Bob". If you don't like it then don't go there. While he is likely a good Christian who votes republican everytime he is using the old "it takes a village" theme straight from the horses mouth. |

Drawing the curtain on a free press.

I will admit i'm not well read on the subject of press freedom and confidential sources. But even unread on the subject I knew this witch hunt against the press was going to turn out bad and it has.

The editor of The Cleveland Plain Dealer said last night that the newspaper, acting on the advice of its lawyers, was withholding publication of two major investigative articles because they were based on illegally leaked documents and could lead to penalties against the paper and the jailing of reporters
The editor, Doug Clifton, said lawyers for The Plain Dealer had concluded that the newspaper, Ohio's largest daily, would probably be found culpable if the authorities were to investigate the leaks and that reporters might be forced to identify confidential sources to a grand jury or go to jail.

So if the newspaper find through sources the government is doing something illegal they cannot say anything under fear of arrest. Would you as a possible source give the pres information knowing you would be exposed, even if your act is moral?

The whole thing is crushing press freedom without legislation.

I have seen more rights and freedoms shit upon by this government in the last several years then decades before.

Uncle Sam is starting to turn out to be that strange uncle every family has that you keep the kids away from and never loan money. Untrustworthy and sick. |

In the news

I posted on a small town called Yelm last month. A curious city where open debate is not allowed in the city council meetings. Seems the city got tired of hearing some issues so if they are brought up, you are told to sit down. Nicely of course.

So the ACLU has sent a letter to them challenging that policy.

YELM, Wash. --The town council barred residents from mentioning Wal-Mart at meetings, prompting a challenge by civil libertarians who said a "free and accountable" government depends on a citizen's ability to voice concerns openly.

Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts The retailing giant has an application pending to build a superstore, spurring controversy in the small town about 15 miles southeast of Olympia.

In a letter to the council, American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Aaron H. Caplan said his group believes it is unconstitutional to ban any mention of Wal-Mart at council meetings. The term "big-box stores" also is banned, as is "moratorium."

Regretfully the ACLU does not plan to sue. So a letter that says "Stop this or we will say stop again". In another words a waste of paper.

Now the mayor says something so true.

Mayor Adam Rivas said he does not expect the ACLU protest to spark any policy changes and doesn't plan to respond to the letter.

"We don't answer to the ACLU," Rivas said

Seems they also do not answer to their citizens either. |

To have no proud monarch driving over me with his gilt coaches; nor his host of excise-men and tax-gatherers insulting and robbing me; but to be my own master, my own prince and sovereign, gloriously preserving my national dignity, and pursuing my true happiness; planting my vineyards, and eating their luscious fruits; and sowing my fields, and reaping the golden grain: and seeing millions of brothers all around me, equally free and happy as myself. This, sir, is what I long for. -- General Francis Marion, American War of Independence, Georgetown, SC [Source: 'Marion, The Life of Gen. Francis Marion' by M. L. Weems, Ch.18] |

Guns, guns, guns, and gear...plus ammo

Time for my monthly firearms sweepstakes post. so lets hop in and get started.

I'll begin with the very regular Remington Sweepstake. This month they are giving away a Model 700 SPS Stainless in 7mm Rem Mag with a value of $613.



From their website this rifle is described as such.

There is a cost that comes with high performance, in this case, it's a lot less than you think. The Model 700 SPS Stainless (Special Purpose Synthetic) offers everything you love about the legendary Model 700, all at an extremely affordable price.

Built to carry on the tradition of the Model 700 BDL Stainless Synthetic, the Model 700 SPS Stainless is leading the way for the next generation of hard-hitting, fully featured, affordable priced rifles. From the rock-solid receiver design to the famous "three rings of steel", the Model 700 SPS Stainless offers the unrivaled out-of-the-box accuracy and high-end performance you've come to expect from America's most popular bolt-action centerfire rifle.

The Model 700 SPS Stainless features an improved, ergonomically designed synthetic stock for better handling and enhanced overall functionality. The bead blasted 416 stainless steel barreled action comes clean without sights and is drilled and tapped for scope mounts. For added corrosion resistance the internal fire control components are plated. Standard amenities include the revolutionary recoil-reducing R3® recoil pad, a hinged floor plate magazine, and swivel studs.

Well elaquent as that is the real info is told in hard numbers.

Caliber 7mm Rem Mag.
Magazine capacity 3
Barrel length 26"
rate of twist 9 1/4"
Over all length 46 1/2"
Avg. Weight 7 5/8
MSRP $613

So drop by and enter. One attempt per person and membership is required. They are spam free.

Next up is Gallery of Guns monthly contest. This month the prise is a praise worthy ZDA in 9mm manufactered by KBI Inc.|Charles Daly .

Action: Double Action
Stock: Black Composite Grips
Receiver: Forged Aluminum
Capacity: 15+1
# of Mags: 1
Safety: Decocker
Sights: Fixed 3 Dot Sights
Barrel Length: 4.25"
Overall Length: 7.75"
Weight: 32 oz
Add'l Features 1: Ambi-Mag and Slide Release,Loaded Chamber Indicator
Add'l Features 2: MFG'D By: Zastava in Serbia and Montenegro

This contest is one per person so good luck. Not really. I hope to win so I wish you bad luck, but it seems rude to say that so "good luck".

This one is the only mail-in I list each month. Guns Magazine is giving away a nice package. The problem is that I am not sure what they are giving away. The rifle and kit is listed as a Savage 112BVSS in one part and a Savage 112VLP in another. So enter and win this.



It comes with a Shooter’s Ridge Rock Steady Bi-pod, Five Boxes of Hornady .204 Ruger Ammo, and a Burris Fullfield II 4.5-14X scope thus rounding the kit out nicely.




Now that is all the new ones I have for this month. Here is a recycle of ones still running from last month.

Arma world seems to be an online dealers site. An FFL yellow pages you might say for anyone who wants to sell. since I was not sure about them I entered awhile ago using an old email address of mine to check them out. After almost two months I received a couple of newsletters but that's it.

Arma world requires membership registration and then for you to confirm the membership through an email they send you. Simple and the prizes are worth it.

They are giving away a chance to win either a Steyr M-9 or a Kel-Tec. I guess your choise.





Their rules say one per person aged 21 and over.

This one is a recycle from last month. So if you entered it then, do not enter it now or you will be disqualified.

Shotgun News is running a sweep with Primedia to give away three packages. You do not need to subscribe, simply click the option button that says this.

No, I don't wish to subscribe at this time, but please enter me in the sweepstakes.

Fill out the rest of the form with address and such and win.

Grand prize, and it is so so grand, is the following.

One (1) grand prize will be awarded, consisting of: a) A DPMS Panther™ Long Range 308 rifle (approximate retail value ("ARV"): $1,149); b) A Leupold 3.5-10x40 Mark 4 LR/T 30mm scope (ARV: $1,019); c) 2,500 rounds of Hornady TAP FPD ammo (ARV: $400); d) A pair of RidgeLine Pro Ears Stalker hearing protectors and CrossFire Sling (ARV: $270); e) A Kleen-Bore Universal Weapons Care System (ARV: $200); f) A B-Square tactical bipod (ARV: $100); g) A Bagmaster AR15 Pro Shooter’s Bag (ARV: $90); h) A Ziegel Engineering WD-3 aluminum case (ARV: $108); i) A Buffer Technologies recoil buffer and Mag-Cinch (ARV: $30); j) A 3-day/3-night trip for the winner only to attend a tactical precision course at Del-Tone Luth Club in St. Cloud, MN (the "Trip"). Trip includes: a) Coach-class round-trip airfare for winner from a major gateway airport closest to winner's U.S. residence to Minneapolis/St. Paul; b) 3-nights lodging; c) ground transportation to and from the airport and hotel; d) Tactical precision course attendance. The total ARV of the Trip is $2,400 (actual value may vary depending upon location of winner and fares/rates when booked). Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to award a cash travel allowance or ground transportation in lieu of air transportation if winner resides within 300 miles of the Trip location. All Trip details (including, but not limited to Trip dates, airline(s), flights, seats, hotel, room, ground transportation) will be designated solely by Sponsors, and may be changed at any time based on Sponsors’ sole discretion. Trip does not include incidentals, personal expenses, meals, room service, transfers, gratuities or any other expenses not specifically listed herein. Grand-prize winner (and any subsequent winner awarded the Trip) will be given a maximum of three possible Trip dates (each Trip date must be declined before alternate date offered). If grand-prize winner (or any subsequent winner awarded the Trip) is not able to travel to Del-Tone Luth Club in St. Cloud, MN for one of the above-mentioned possible Trip dates, winner will forfeit any right to the Trip portion of the prize, and the Trip portion of the prize will be awarded to the winner of the next lower prize level. The total ARV of the grand prize is $5,766.

That is just the grand prize people.

The first prize is almost as good.

One (1) first prize will be awarded, consisting of: a) A DPMS Panther™ Lo-Pro Classic rifle (ARV: $699); b) A Leupold 3.5-10x40 Mark 4 LR/T 30mm scope (ARV: $1,019); c) 2,500 rounds of Hornady TAP FPD ammo (ARV: $400); d) A pair of RidgeLine Pro Ears Stalker hearing protectors and CrossFire Sling (ARV: $270) e) A Kleen-Bore Universal Weapons Care System (ARV: $200); f) A B-Square tactical bipod (ARV: $100); g) A Bagmaster AR15 Pro Shooter’s Bag (ARV: $90); h) A Ziegel Engineering WD-2 aluminum case (ARV: $90); i) A Buffer Technologies recoil buffer and Mag-Cinch (ARV: $30). The total ARV of the first prize is $2,898.

This nice black rifle, in .223, is just looking to come home to me. But if not I will even lower myself to take the second prize here.

One (1) second prize will be awarded, consisting of: a) A DPMS Panther™ AP4 Training Rifle .22LR (ARV: $799); b) A Leupold 3.5-10x40 Mark 4 LR/T 30mm scope (ARV: $1,019); c) A pair of RidgeLine Pro Ears Stalker hearing protectors and CrossFire Sling (ARV: $270). d) A Kleen-Bore Universal Weapons Care System (ARV: $200); e) A B-Square tactical bipod (ARV: $100); f) A Bagmaster AR15 Pro Shooter’s Bag (ARV: $90); g) A Ziegel Engineering WD-2 aluminum case (ARV: $90); h) A Buffer Technologies Mag-Cinch (ARV: $20). The total ARV of the second prize is $2,588.

Now on the DPMS website, with their horrible flash interface, they have the AP4 rifle listed as a diferent price then listed here in the rules.

This contest, full of black rifle goodness, is one entry per person, per email address. So do not try to cheat and enter many times.

Now this is one that is to big to show images of each of the items. This NRA Quigley Rifle contest is one time per person and does not end until January 31st of next year. So enter one time only so you do not disqualify yourself. If you entered last month just skip this mouth watering prize list.

Grand Prize: Tom Selleck's Shiloh Sharps .45-110 featured in Quigley Down Under and Browning NRA Edition safe (ARV $102,000).
First Prize: Charlton Heston Commemorative Peacemaker, six sterling silver cartridges, handmade presentation case and classic grade (ARV $13,300).
Second Prize: Lazzeroni custom rifle in Lazzeroni Long magnum cal 7.82 (.308) Warbird with Schmidt & Bender scope (ARV $7,650).
Third Prize: Winchester Deluxe Model 94 Takedown in 30-30 (ARV $3,500).
Fourth Prize: NRA Tribute M1 Garand rifle (ARV $2,895).
Fifth Prize: NRA Armed Citizen Springfield custom gun limited edition .45 Auto (ARV $1,995).
Sixth Prize: Brunton Epoch zoom binoculars (ARV $1,900).
Seventh Prize: Brunton Epoch full-size binoculars (ARV $1,550).
Eighth Prize: Zeiss scope (ARV $1,449.99).
Ninth Prize: NRA Beretta Partners in 12 and 20 gauge (ARV $1,400).
Tenth Prize: Henry Big Boy .44 magnum (ARV $750).
Eleventh Prize: Brunton 50mm Spotting Scope (ARV $599).
Twelfth Prize: NRA First Gun Ruger 10/22 .22 cal semi auto (ARV $550).
Thirteenth Prize: Bill Ruger NRA Special Edition Mark II (ARV $334).
Bonus Prizes (50 - 25 per Bonus Drawing): NRA platinum gun case (ARV $150).

One word if you win the grand prize. TAXES and the IRS will be your friend.

Finally ran out of firearms. Now to gear and ammo. A lot of this section is a recycle from last months but most are monthly entries so good luck.

GEAR
An old faithful contest here is by Dillon press.

Enjoy your own copy of Dillon Precision's "The Blue Press." Just complete our catalog request form and we'll send you a copy with our next mailing. By requesting a copy you will automatically be registered to WIN a HP1 Electronic Hearing Protector!

Crimson trace is offering up a set of Lasergrips each month



It says you get to pick the specific model so I picked this Ruger to show how they look. Nice in my view. This model is valued at $229. Go here to see if they have one you would want to win.

This contest is one per household per month.

AMMO
Shotgun shells are the main prize from Lightfield Slugs. They are running a multi-month contest like such. Every month one winner is picked and wins his, or her, choice of five boxes of shotgun slugs.



When September roles around the grand prize winner is picked and they will receive a lifetime supply of slugs. So drop by monthly and increase your chance of winning a crap load of slugs.

So good luck and if you win drop me a line. If you live in Tennessee and win I'll see you at the range. As always if you see a firearm related contest please email me or leave a link in comments so I can post it for others to enter. |

Maybe it is the weather

I'm not sure what it is but I am reading more and more about police and strong armed intimidation. While a lot can be blamed on 9/11 I think even more can be blamed on the fact that some cops feel the leash has been removed.

I was looking up a reference to a story and came across this tale of a pair of cops and the threats from one that goes over the line.

What have you been shooting? I show him that there are no images in the camera. I had taken out the memory chip. The other cop says he took out the memory chip. He erased all the pictures. Did you erase the pictures? The cop says what are you doing. I say I have been photographing in Georgetown for 20 years.

The cop asks me how long do I think he has been a cop. I say about 20 years. He smiles and says almost. I saw I live in Georgetown, and snaps back I know where you live, you live at 4 . . . Tunlaw. He says don't ever be photographing in Georgetown, its my Area. I am humble and say ok I made a mistake. The Cop says you better watch out if I saw you photographing my wife's ass I'd break your camera. Somebody is going to break your camera.
..............
The Cop then gets a clipboard and starts escalating the situation attempting to intimidate me into doing something so he can hand cuff me and take me away. He goes on to state that there are Stalkers, very bad people, and people putting things on the Internet. The Cop supervisor now has both of my I.D. and asks for my work supervisors phone number. They seem obsessed that I have DC Government Supervisor I.D., and one that protects children and families. Social Workers are really Angels.
..............
He then tells me he is giving me a warning and that he is not going to process the report. He warns not to photograph in Georgetown. I ask him if he has a business card and he says he has none and quickly gives me his name without his badge number. It's either an Italian or a Polish name. The other cop complains to him that he has scratched the hood of his cruiser.

Now what gets me is the cops feels he has the privilege to order someone to not take photos in a whole city. What gall. What unmitigated bullshit on his part. The cop was proven wrong so he has to throw in a threat.

This story is simply another symptom of a broken system. |

This is a case I support

The guy has a good arguent. Is it legal to be drunk on privte property?

A man arrested when police showed up to break up a New Year's Eve party at a friend's house has filed a lawsuit, arguing he has a constitutional right to get drunk on private property as long as he doesn't cause a public disturbance.

Eric Laverriere, 25, of Portland, Maine, was taken into protective custody by Waltham police and locked in a cell for nine hours until the effects of the alcohol wore off.

Legal experts said his lawsuit, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Boston, is the first to challenge a state law allowing police to lock up drunk people against their will.

Laverriere argues that the Massachusetts Protective Custody Law was written to combat public drunkenness and that the police had no right to use it to take him from a private residence.

"One thing people should be able to do is drink in their own house," Laverriere told The Boston Globe. "That's the beauty of the land of the free."

The police have one story and he has another, but I think this last part gives an idea of what is the real story.

When the partygoers denied throwing bottles, Laverriere said, the officers became angry, prompting him to pick up a friend's camera and start videotaping. Laverriere told the Globe that Officer Jorge Orta ripped the camera from his hands and threw him to the floor, injuring his shoulder.
One police report says that Laverriere appeared intoxicated and expressed "displeasure" at being told he had to leave the party because he lived in Maine. He was then taken into custody. The report says he fell to the floor while resisting Orta's efforts to handcuff him.

Cops do not like cameras. Their own yes, yours no. So I believe the story of the cop ripping it out of his hands.

Police like to use what is called a "lawful command". You follow his order or you go to jail. Sort of him making up laws as he goes along, then punishing you under disturbing the public or such other nonsense. If he was filming then the camera may show exactly wheat happened. If it isn't accidentaly erased. |

To trust arms in the hands of the people at large has, in Europe, been believed...to be an experiment fraught only with danger. Here by a long trial it has been proved to be perfectly harmless...If the government be equitable; if it be reasonable in its exactions; if proper attention be paid to the education of children in knowledge and religion, few men will be disposed to use arms, unless for their amusement, and for the defence of themselves and their country. — Timothy Dwight, Travels in New England and New York [London 1823] |

Montana

I have been pretty happy with Montana lately. Their actions against the federal government has made me feel hope that all the states will not roll over like a lap dog. Then I find them doing something like this.

For motorists wondering whether police are working on a quota system, an answer can be found in Montana.

A new policy requires state troopers to stop at least one vehicle an hour, whether the driver has done anything wrong or not. But the driver doesn't have to be ticketed, so police officials say it's not a quota system.

Even if you have done NOTHING wrong you might get pulled over in Montana. While I almost started to hammer the cops I feel the real assholes are the politicians.

"Hassle people for no reason to show them we are the power" is what they are saying in so many words. Then what of the police? Every forced stop is another chance for something bad to occur. Putting the life of a police officer in danger to deliver a message. |

THIS IS A CRIMINAL!?!?

With all of the crimes out there this lady is most likely going to go to jail to justify the war on freedom drugs.

Every Sunday for the past two years, I spent two hours at the intersection of 6th and G Streets in beautiful Grants Pass, Ore., holding a protest sign, dancing to 70's rock music, and handing out leaflets. The police left me alone, I became quite popular, and I had lots of fun. Occasionally, I gave away cookies made with pot butter. Most of these were given to protest helpers or medical marijuana patients.

"Pot butter", I like the sound of that. Never heard of it before.

In todays society there is no way for you not to be a criminal. Some like this lady decided to not only be a criminal, but be damned proud of the fact.

I like that. |

Reality just hit him hard

After 9/11 many things changed and not all were good. We still work, make money, raise kids, and do the things we always did. In that we won. The bad change was in the government. A paranoid delusion of terrorists in every shadow has taken it by the throat. Our government lives and breaths terror.

Since most people live inside of a small circle they do not notice the nature of the change in government. After all "I'm not a terrorist!" so why should they worry. Most will never worry as long as they can stay peacefully in their circle, and the government likes that.

Some though are a bit shocked and disturbed when that circle is breached and their safe zone is corrupted by the "terror bug"

I'm embarrassed that it took my own ox being gored for me to see the threat posed by the Administration's current restricting of civil liberties. I'm being accused of a serious--even treasonous--criminal intent by a faceless bureaucracy, with no chance (that I can find) to refute any errors or false charges. My ability to earn a living is threatened--I speak on civic action and leadership all over the world, including recently at the US Air Force Academy. Plane travel is key to my livelihood.

According to a recent MSNBC piece, thousands of Americans are having similar experiences. And this is not Chile under Pinochet. It's America. My country and yours.

This guy tried to find out why he was "suspect" of anything. He then found out the second large issue of the day.

Back home from Oakland, I called the TSA 800 number, where I rode a merry-go-round of pleasant recorded voices until I gave up. Turning to the TSA website, I downloaded a Passenger Identity Verification Form that would assist the TSA in "assessing" my situation if I sent it in with a package of certified documents attesting to who I was.

I collected all this stuff and sent it in. Another twenty minutes on the phone to the TSA uncovered no live human being at all, let alone one who would tell me what I'd presumably done to get on The List.

Yep. Not a single way to get find out why. Secrecy and all. They have to have secrecy because "you don't want to help the terrorist.. DO YOU???"

So here he is stuck on a list. The most disturbing part of this post was a few lines on the form he filled out for the TSA.

The worst of it is that being put on a list of America's enemies seems to be permanent. The TSA form states: "the TSA clearance process will not remove a name from the Watch Lists. Instead this process distinguishes passengers from persons who are in fact on the Watch Lists by placing their names and identifying information in a cleared portion of the Lists" (which may or may not, the form continues, reduce the airport hassles).

Once on the list, always on the list. That one line is just another action by the government that makes me want for a second revolution. I don't say that easily or quickly. But I'm past the point of losing hope for reforming change. Now I am trying to build hope for action. |

Bastards strike again

The day after 9/11 the headlines were full of the over used "America attacked" headlines. Almost all newspapers used varieties of the same few words. That is except one. In bold type across the front one paper had a headline that stood out and said the true thoughts of our country that day
BASTARDS
So once again I see the same tired words being used in every article when it involves Londons suffering. I wish a newspaper out there would stand up and say what they really think and not worry about some PC issues. When did the news services geld themselves?

So are these terrorists an offshoot of Michael Moores minutemen? Is he sitting back and saying that this is a blow for their freedoms?

On Drudge I saw one article that bothered me. The title was simple

Netanyahu Changed Plans Due to Warning...

So he was called by the London police and warned of a threat and he changed plans. Regretfully the mindless scum of the world will read into this some Jewish conspiracy that the "evil Hebrew" planned this all simply to make the "religion of peace" look bad. We all KNOW that the 4000 Jews were out of the WTC. Right?

Why is it the worst sort of racist conspiracy theories get the most play? Why is it if there is a Jew within a hundred miles of something it has to be the evil Zionists.



Here is a map of the London underground system. Notice that it is totally shut down.

The British are regretfully better prepared for this then we ever were. Their troubles with the IRA and its many cousins created a history of bombings.

So do not give me the bullshit line that this is because of Iraq or Iran. Hate in some cultures run deep.

I can have nothing but hatred for anyone who targets civilians. |

Not a good idea.

In this age and time when the government feels that everyone of us is a suspect for something and just waiting to become a terrorist I would recommend against this fashion statement. Well at least boarding a plane.

A Boing Boing reader saw them shown on their site and purchased it for his girlfriend. Things went bad quickly.

I bought the brass knuckle handbag you cats mentioned on BB a while ago for my girlfriend... she just got arrested at Miami International Airport for having the brass knuckle handbag in her luggage...they considered it a "concealed weapon". After holding her for a few hours and some serious questioning (during which she was terrified), they took the bag BUT let her on the plane. She has to return in August for a Court date, the charges are unclear so far, but serious enough that she needs a lawyer.
I guess the Department of Homeland Security has a fashion police division now...we wouldn't want fundamentalist fashionistas boarding planes with clothes of questionable taste.

Perhaps she would have gotten different treatment if they didn't know that she had just attended one of her (Muslim) friend's wedding...or perhaps the handbag really is dangerous. Land of the free indeed.

I also do not recommend the double barrel walking cane or the hand grenade stress ball. |

I LIKE THIS QUOTE A LOT

No law ever written has stopped any robber, rapist or killer, like cold blue steel in the hands of their last intended victim. — W. Emerson Wright |

Beware the nannies

The dumbest things become law.

A state lawmaker is pushing for doggy seat belts on the advice of an 11-year-old constituent. Marc McCann of Green Tree came up with the idea as part of state Rep. Tom Stevenson's annual "There Ought to be a Law" contest.
......
Stevenson said the bill will protect "not only human lives, but pet lives. I think it's going to be a great idea because it's going to cut down on driver distractions."

The same could be said for children screaming, spouses talking, radio blaring, and even a pretty girl walking on the sidewalk. Everything in the damn world is a distraction to someone.

Oooops! I was about to say "why don't you regulate the whole world you nanny Nazi?" but then realized they are trying to. |

In the company of the enemy

I am surprised by some of the larger name companies that are involved with limiting rights in other countries. While the latest company from the US to get some well deserved bad publicity was Cisco due to their bending over backward to help the Chinese censor damn near everything. I found one that surprised me a lot.

EDS is an example of what America is about.

Over 42 years, EDS evolved from a $1,000 investment into a $20+ billion technology services industry leader. The people of EDS deserve the credit.

President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Heller said: “EDS has always been just ordinary people who came here and achieved more than they ever thought possible because of the opportunity and support they found.”

EDS was started by Ross Perot, of presidental candidate fame.

I always admired him and the company for something they did that received little attention at the time it happened.

On Dec. 28, 1978, two top EDS executives were arrested in Iran, and their bail was set at a staggering $12.75 million. Not only did Perot judge the official efforts in the State Department and the US Embassy in Iran as inadequate, but he became convinced that his employees had been criminally kidnapped, while the State Department the Embassy considered they may have been detained as part of an aggressive Iranian inquiry into possible corruption. By Dec. 31, Perot decided to take things into his own hands. He started to gather a team that could rescue his executives.
On Jan. 16, the shah and his personal entourage fled the country. The EDS executives were moved to the more secure Gasr prison. On February 11, Gasr, as well as every other prison in Tehran, had been stormed by revolutionary crowds. The prisoners walked out after the crowds moved in, and the guards fofered no resistance. The EDS rescue team met the EDS executives and [smuggled and bribed their way] out of the country.

While rescue team seems nice this team was lead by Col. Bull Simons, of the Special forces fame. What company would hire special ops to rescue workers?

So I have always been rather impressed with EDS. Untill today.

England is about to get their own branding system national ID. One of the main suppliers is EDS.

Participants
Four companies were chosen to provide computer chips:

Axalto Inc, (www.axalto.com) (http://www.axalto.com)
Infineon Technologies, (www.infineon.com) (http://www.infineon.com)
BearingPoint/SuperCom Inc. (www.supercomgroup.com) (http://www.supercomgroup.com)
SuperCom Inc. (www.supercomgroup.com) (http://www.supercomgroup.com)

Four companies were chosen to begin the first phase testing:

ASK Contactless Technologies (www.ask.fr) (http://www.ask.fr)
Electronic Data Systems Corporation (www.eds.com) (http://www.eds.com)
Oberthur Card Systems (www.oberthurcs.com) (http://www.oberthurcs.com)
OTI America Inc. (www.otiglobal.com) (http://www.otiglobal.com)

While there are others I was bothered that a company I respected ws involved in the BS. But by reading more and doing some research i find that EDS has fallen hard from when they were a company I could respect.

With more than $20 billion in annual revenue, EDS is ranked 87th on the Fortune 500. The company's stock is traded on the New York (NYSE: EDS) and London stock exchanges.

EDS were co-sponsors of the “Identity Cards – The Next Steps” conference in May 2004 and also gave an industry presentation at that event. EDS were also joint sponsors (with Thales) of the “Digital Identity” conference in November 2004.

In November 2004 EDS also sponsored some research in the US which showed that in the US 69% of people “are open to the idea of using biometric identification methods”. Paul Martin, Executive Director for EDS, said: "The findings reinforce our belief that, implemented correctly, ID cards actually enhance citizens' privacy”.

EDS is the largest issuer of smart cards in the US, where it is responsible for a number of high profile implementations including the Department of Defense Common Access Card, and the Transportation Security Agency's Registered Traveler programme.

EDS is up to their eyeballs in IT systems. Now I understand a company has the right to make money, and should. Does the company have the right to hurt society?

Now before you hammer me down for saying something bad against an American company I will give you the words from a ranked EDS employee.

Thorpe's views are reinforced with gusto by his boss, John Bateman, Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Part Australian, part South African, part British, the gravel voiced Supremo comes across as a bluff mixture of pragmatism and ruthlessness. The EDS vision, he tells me, is not merely national. It is global. It transcends boundaries of time, context and geography. Bateman believes that the localised way of doing business is disappearing. The way people work is transcending culture
..........
In this truly multinational world, John Bateman believes data protection law is pointless. Everything is rising above the national consideration. Countries that try to protect data within the confines of their own borders are trying to legislate against the sea.

I have to agree. I've seen his world. I've seen the gleaming new buildings set into the solid traffic of Bangkok. One gun toting security guard per satellite dish. Container loads of sensitive personal information - health records, police files, insurance data, credit card accounts and government records - are despatched from all over the world for processing here. EDS, needless to say, is a player. Right now, investment is concentrated on American health and insurance industry, but the clients for data outsourcing come from all sectors and all countries - particularly Britain. Conventional borders disappear before our eyes, and where our most intimate personal details are shunted around the globe behind our back. Its cheaper for companies and governments. Its more efficient.

Bateman, like everyone else in this organisation, believes that efficient, market based information management is the only solution for a troubled economy. Governments are steeped in obsolescence. The civil service is an oxymoron. All things are possible through the application of logic, commonsense, innovation, partnership and passion. In EDS, such ideas are not discussion points: they are axiomatic truths. Without so much as a blush of reserve, people here will tell you EDS is creating templates for the worlds future.

I ask Bateman if he sees any role for government in the future.

"The role of government may well be associated with...", He pauses for reflection. "To be honest I really struggle to come up with a clear definition of ultimately what role government has."

And then he laughs.

Our future ruled by company policy. The EDS plan?

More and more |

Now this article delivers a message

I'm just not to sure if it is the right one at this time. You have to understand that Freeport Texas has a government that has taken the Kelo ruling to heart and has gone on a robbery seizing spree.

Freeport Police, the Brazoria County Sheriff, and Texas Rangers are considering asking the FBI and Homeland Security for assistance after a grisly discovery in Freeport Municipal Park this morning. The bodies of twelve people, three of them women, were found hanged from tall overhanging branches and lamp posts in the early morning hours. All had expired. The exact cause of death is still under investigation.

The city government of Freeport is effectively without leadership, as all the bodies were identified as members of the city government and staff. Mayor Jim Phillips, City Manager Ron Bottoms, and Lee Cameron, director of the city's Economic Development Corp. were among the slain, as were all four council members.
.............
The bodies had been completely stripped, the only adornment were placards placed around the necks of the victims over the noose. Those placards contained the letterhead of Freeport Marina with various insults included. "Useful Idiot" adorned the bodies of the Mayor and City Manager. "Horsethief" was placed on all four councilmen. "Collaborator" was found on three people, two of them women, identified as attorneys involved in the eminent domain proceedings that forced the closure of the Western Seafood processing plant and the loss of 300 jobs in the city for the Freeport Marina project.

Since this article is pretty in your face I would suspect the local not-Freeport authorities to freak and ask for an immediate investigation.

Why do I think this article delivers the wrong message? Because you first need to warn them with a nice tar and feather incident. Always give the idiots a chance to change their minds. |

Both the oligarch and Tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of arms. — Aristotle |

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent. — Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) |

Expensive photo

The post below refers to an article in the Telegraph from the England. I noticed at the bottom this small statement.

Publishers wishing to reproduce photographs on this page should phone 44 (0) 207 538 7505 or e-mail syndication@telegraph.co.uk

Hmmmm! I wonder what they would charge a blogger to use the picture. Bloggers have a habit of rather freely using pictures from the web so I emailed them the following request.

I would like to get permission to use the photo included with this article on my website.
The specific article link
The specific photo link

I get about 130 average hits in a single day. The theme for my webpage is liberty and individual rights based.

My blogs name is "No Quarters".

Gunner

I mentioned it was for a blog to see if the MLM would turn me down for that reason. Everyone likes to mutter about the medias hatred of blogs. Well I was surprised at the fast response.

Dear Gunner

Thank you for your e-mail sent to syndication@telegraph.co.uk.

This article and photograph can be reproduced as a package for a total fee of £200.

Kind regards

Dawn O'Driscoll
Office Manager - Syndication
The Daily Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph
http://syndication.telegraph.co.uk
Phone: +44 20 7538 7677
Fax: +44 20 7538 7319
email: dawn.o'driscoll@telegraph.co.uk

£200 pounds. Not sure how much that is in US FRN's(Federal reserve notes) so I did a currency conversion online and got this price.

200.00 GBP United Kingdom Pounds = 351.681 USD United States Dollars

That's a lot for the "package". Guess I will just have to go without Telegraph images. I also wonder why the picture is not for sale without the article? |

The machine verses the people

England is about to get a lesson in power politics and will learn if they are a free people with the ability to control their own future, or cattle.

The social machine government there is pushing a national ID as the solution to all of their problems. This little piece of plastic will lower crime, improve government services, and cure baldness. Of course the government is doing this because the people support the idea of the card.

Until today.

Tony Blair's hopes of bringing in a national system of identity cards were looking increasingly imperilled last night amid signs of collapsing public support and panic within the Government.

A YouGov poll for The Daily Telegraph shows that backing for ID cards has plummeted from 78 per cent less than two years ago to 45 per cent.

The figures, released as MPs begin detailed debate of the legislation this week, will dismay ministers who have claimed public support for the project. It will also embolden opponents at Westminster to redouble their fight

So the people are against it and the government answers to the people. In theory that is.

So will this be a lesson in the will of the people, or will it be a kick to the groin by the machine?

Who rules in England? |

|

Who does your car work for?

It tracks you
It listens to you
It tells on you
It charges you
and now it will even tell you how fast to go.

So do I own my own car or should my car get an informant paycheck for all the work it is going to be doing for the government?

While some of the stories are from England the truth is that many infringements being tested there today will be here tomorrow. |

The document that we forgot.

A misconception of the American revolution is in the timeline. When asked most people would state that we declared our independence and then went to war. The reality is far different and I will briefly explain.

The first shots of the revolution occurred at Lexington on April 19 1775. This battle was followed by many other actions.

April 23, 1775 - The Provincial Congress in Massachusetts orders 13,600 American soldiers to be mobilized. Colonial volunteers from all over New England assemble and head for Boston, then establish camps around the city and begin a year long siege of British-held Boston.
May 10, 1775 - American forces led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold capture Fort Ticonderoga in New York. The fort contains a much needed supply of military equipment including cannons which are then hauled to Boston by ox teams.
June 17, 1775 - The first major fight between British and American troops occurs at Boston in the Battle of Bunker Hill. American troops are dug in along the high ground of Breed's Hill (the actual location) and are attacked by a frontal assault of over 2000 British soldiers who storm up the hill. The Americans are ordered not to fire until they can see "the whites of their eyes." As the British get within 15 paces, the Americans let loose a deadly volley of rifle fire and halt the British advance. The British then regroup and attack 30 minutes later with the same result. A third attack, however, succeeds as the Americans run out of ammunition and are left only with bayonets and stones to defend themselves. The British succeed in taking the hill, but at a loss of half their force, over a thousand casualties, with the Americans losing about 400, including important colonial leader, General Joseph Warren.

So in 1775 there was a lot of shooting. The confusion is that many think that we had declared our independence.

We had not. The people were not fighting for freedom from England, they were fighting for freedom. A large difference. Independence was secondary to the fight for rights.

The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia during this period and issued two documents. Both of which do not receive the historical study they should.

The first was a small one called the Olive Branch Petition. Issued on July 5th 1775. A small document meant more to sooth the nature of some who wished the conflict to end peacefully.

Attached to your Majesty’s person, family, and Government, with all devotion that principle and affection can inspire; connected with Great Britain by the strongest ties that can unite societies, and deploring every event that tends in any degree to weaken them, we solemnly assure your Majesty, that we not only most ardently desire the former harmony between her and these Colonies may be restored, but that a concord may be established between them upon so firm a basis as to perpetuate its blessings, uninterrupted by any future dissensions, to succeeding generations in both countries, and to transmit your Majesty’s name to posterity, adorned with that signal and lasting glory that has attended the memory of those illustrious personages, whose virtues and abilities have extricated states from dangerous convulsions, and by securing the happiness to others, have erected the most noble and durable monuments to their own fame.

With the many dead the chances of a peaceful ending was slime, some wanted to try.

The next day, July 6th 1775, the congress issues a paper that was more forceful in nature and written not for England but the rest of the world.

This document was prepared by the Second Continental Congress to explain to the world why the British colonies had taken up arms against Great Britain. It is a combination of the work of Thomas Jefferson and Colonel John Dickinson (well-known for his series "Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer."). Jefferson completed the first draft, but it was perceived by the Contenential Congress as too harsh and militant; Dickinson prepared the second. The final document combined the work of the two

This document that I will post in its fullness was written a whole year before the Declaration of Independence in July 4th 1776.

A document that I feel does not have its proper place in school books.

Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms

A declaration by the representatives of the united colonies of North America, now met in Congress at Philadelphia, setting forth the causes and necessity of their taking up arms.

If it was possible for men, who exercise their reason to believe, that the divine Author of our existence intended a part of the human race to hold an absolute property in, and an unbounded power over others, marked out by his infinite goodness and wisdom, as the objects of a legal domination never rightfully resistible, however severe and oppressive, the inhabitants of these colonies might at least require from the parliament of Great-Britain some evidence, thatthis dreadful authority over them, has been granted to that body. But a reverance for our Creator, principles of humanity, and the dictates of common sense, must convince all those who reflect upon the subject, that government was instituted to promote the welfare of mankind, and ought to be administered for the attainment of that end. The legislature of Great-Britain, however, stimulated by an inordinate passion for a power not only unjustifiable, but which they know to be peculiarly reprobated by the very constitution of that kingdom, and desparate of success in any mode of contest, where regard should be had to truth, law, or right, have at length, deserting those, attempted to effect their cruel and impolitic purpose of enslaving these colonies by violence, and have thereby rendered it necessary for us to close with their last appeal from reason to arms. Yet, however blinded that assembly may be, by their intemperate rage for unlimited domination, so to sight justice and the opinion of mankind, we esteem ourselves bound by obligations of respect to the rest of the world, to make known the justice of our cause. Our forefathers, inhabitants of the island of Great-Britain, left their native land, to seek on these shores a residence for civil and religious freedom. At the expense of their blood, at the hazard of their fortunes, without the least charge to the country from which they removed, by unceasing labour, and an unconquerable spirit, they effected settlements in the distant and unhospitable wilds of America, then filled with numerous and warlike barbarians. -- Societies or governments, vested with perfect legislatures, were formed under charters from the crown, and an harmonious intercourse was established between the colonies and the kingdom from which they derived their origin. The mutual benefits of this union became in a short time so extraordinary, as to excite astonishment. It is universally confessed, that the amazing increase of the wealth, strength, and navigation of the realm, arose from this source; and the minister, who so wisely and successfully directed the measures of Great-Britain in the late war, publicly declared, that these colonies enabled her to triumph over her enemies. --Towards the conclusion of that war, it pleased our sovereign to make a change in his counsels. -- From that fatal movement, the affairs of the British empire began to fall into confusion, and gradually sliding from the summit of glorious prosperity, to which they had been advanced by the virtues and abilities of one man, are at length distracted by the convulsions, that now shake it to its deepest foundations. -- The new ministry finding the brave foes of Britain, though frequently defeated, yet still contending, took up the unfortunate idea of granting them a hasty peace, and then subduing her faithful friends.

These colonies were judged to be in such a state, as to present victories without bloodshed, and all the easy emoluments of statuteable plunder. -- The uninterrupted tenor of their peaceable and respectful behaviour from the beginning of colonization, their dutiful, zealous, and useful services during the war, though so recently and amply acknowledged in the most honourable manner by his majesty, by the late king, and by parliament, could not save them from the meditated innovations. -- Parliament was influenced to adopt the pernicious project, and assuming a new power over them, have in the course of eleven years, given such decisive specimens of the spirit and consequences attending this power, as to leave no doubt concerning the effects of acquiescence under it. They have undertaken to give and grant our money without our consent, though we have ever exercised an exclusive right to dispose of our own property; statutes have been passed for extending the jurisdiction of courts of admiralty and vice-admiralty beyond their ancient limits; for depriving us of the accustomed and inestimable privilege of trial by jury, in cases affecting both life and property; for suspending the legislature of one of the colonies; for interdicting all commerce to the capital of another; and for altering fundamentally the form of government established by charter, and secured by acts of its own legislature solemnly confirmed by the crown; for exempting the "murderers" of colonists from legal trial, and in effect, from punishment; for erecting in a neighbouring province, acquired by the joint arms of Great-Britain and America, a despotism dangerous to our very existence; and for quartering soldiers upon the colonists in time of profound peace. It has also been resolved in parliament, that colonists charged with committing certain offences, shall be transported to England to be tried. But why should we enumerate our injuries in detail? By one statute it is declared, that parliament can "of right make laws to bind us in all cases whatsoever." What is to defend us against so enormous, so unlimited a power? Not a single man of those who assume it, is chosen by us; or is subject to our control or influence; but, on the contrary, they are all of them exempt from the operation of such laws, and an American revenue, if not diverted from the ostensible purposes for which it is raised, would actually lighten their own burdens in proportion, as they increase ours. We saw the misery to which such despotism would reduce us. We for ten years incessantly and ineffectually besieged the throne as supplicants; we reasoned, we remonstrated with parliament, in the most mild and decent language.

Administration sensible that we should regard these oppressive measures as freemen ought to do, sent over fleets and armies to enforce them. The indignation of the Americans was roused, it is true; but it was the indignation of a virtuous, loyal, and affectionate people. A Congress of delegates from the United Colonies was assembled at Philadelphia, on the fifth day of last September. We resolved again to offer an humble and dutiful petition to the King, and also addressed our fellow-subjects of Great-Britain. We have pursued every temperate, every respectful measure; we have even proceeded to break off our commercial intercourse with our fellow-subjects, as the last peaceable admonition, that our attachment to no nation upon earth should supplant our attachment to liberty. -- This, we flattered ourselves, was the ultimate step of the controversy: but subsequent events have shewn, how vain was this hope of finding moderation in our enemies.

Several threatening expressions against the colonies were inserted in his majesty's speech; our petition, tho' we were told it was a decent one, and that his majesty had been pleased to receive it graciously, and to promise laying it before his parliament, was huddled into both houses among a bundle of American papers, and there neglected. The lords and commons in their address, in the month of February, said, that "a rebellion at that time actually existed within the province of Massachusetts-Bay; and that those concerned with it, had been countenanced and encouraged by unlawful combinations and engagements, entered into by his majesty's subjects in several of the other colonies; and therefore they besought his majesty, that he would take the most effectual measures to inforce due obediance to the laws and authority of the supreme legislature." -- Soon after, the commercial intercourse of whole colonies, with foreign countries, and with each other, was cut off by an act of parliament; by another several of them were intirely prohibited from the fisheries in the seas near their coasts, on which they always depended for their sustenance; and large reinforcements of ships and troops were immediately sent over to general Gage.

Fruitless were all the entreaties, arguments, and eloquence of an illustrious band of the most distinguished peers, and commoners, who nobly and strenuously asserted the justice of our cause, to stay, or even to mitigate the heedless fury with which these accumulated and unexampled outrages were hurried on. -- equally fruitless was the interference of the city of London, of Bristol, and many other respectable towns in our favor. Parliament adopted an insidious manoeuvre calculated to divide us, to establish a perpetual auction of taxations where colony should bid against colony, all of them uninformed what ransom would redeem their lives; and thus to extort from us, at the point of the bayonet, the unknown sums that should be sufficient to gratify, if possible to gratify, ministerial rapacity, with the miserable indulgence left to us of raising, in our own mode, the prescribed tribute. What terms more rigid and humiliating could have been dictated by remorseless victors to conquered enemies? in our circumstances to accept them, would be to deserve them.

Soon after the intelligence of these proceedings arrived on this continent, general Gage, who in the course of the last year had taken possession of the town of Boston, in the province of Massachusetts-Bay, and still occupied it a garrison, on the 19th day of April, sent out from that place a large detachment of his army, who made an unprovoked assault on the inhabitants of the said province, at the town of Lexington, as appears by the affidavits of a great number of persons, some of whom were officers and soldiers of that detachment, murdered eight of the inhabitants, and wounded many others. From thence the troops proceeded in warlike array to the town of Concord, where they set upon another party of the inhabitants of the same province, killing several and wounding more, until compelled to retreat by the country people suddenly assembled to repel this cruel aggression. Hostilities, thus commenced by the British troops, have been since prosecuted by them without regard to faith or reputation. -- The inhabitants of Boston being confined within that town by the general their governor, and having, in order to procure their dismission, entered into a treaty with him, it was stipulated that the said inhabitants having deposited their arms with their own magistrate, should have liberty to depart, taking with them their other effects. They accordingly delivered up their arms, but in open violation of honour, in defiance of the obligation of treaties, which even savage nations esteemed sacred, the governor ordered the arms deposited as aforesaid, that they might be preserved for their owners, to be seized by a body of soldiers; detained the greatest part of the inhabitants in the town, and compelled the few who were permitted to retire, to leave their most valuable effects behind.

By this perfidy wives are separated from their husbands, children from their parents, the aged and the sick from their relations and friends, who wish to attend and comfort them; and those who have been used to live in plenty and even elegance, are reduced to deplorable distress.

The general, further emulating his ministerial masters, by a proclamation bearing date on the 12th day of June, after venting the grossest falsehoods and calumnies against the good people of these colonies, proceeds to "declare them all, either by name or description, to be rebels and traitors, to supercede the course of the common law, and instead thereof to publish and order the use and exercise of the law martial." -- His troops have butchered our countrymen, have wantonly burnt Charlestown,besides a considerable number of houses in other places; our ships and vessels are seized; the necessary supplies of provisions are intercepted, and he is exerting his utmost power to spread destruction and devastation around him.

We have rceived certain intelligence, that general Carleton, the governor of Canada, is instigating the people of that province and the Indians to fall upon us; and we have but too much reason to apprehend, that schemes have been formed to excite domestic enemies against us. In brief, a part of these colonies now feel, and all of them are sure of feeling, as far as the vengeance of administration can inflict them, the complicated calamities of fire, sword and famine. We are reduced to the alternative of chusing an unconditional submission to the tyranny of irritated ministers, or resistance by force. -- The latter is our choice. -- We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery. -- Honour, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding generations to that wretchedness which inevitably awaits them, if we basely entail hereditary bondage upon them.

Our cause is just. Our union is perfect. Our internal resources are great, and, if necessary, foreign assistance is undoubtedly attainable. -- We gratefully acknowledge, as signal instances of the Divine favour towards us, that his Providence would not permit us to be called into this severe controversy, until we were grown up to our present strength, had been previously exercised in warlike operation, and possessed of the means of defending ourselves. With hearts fortified with these animating reflections, we most solemnly, before God and the world, declare, that, exerting the utmost energy of those powers, which our beneficent Creator hath graciously bestowed upon us, the arms we have been compelled by our enemies to assume, we will, in defiance of every hazard, with unabating firmness and perseverence, employ for the preservation of our liberties; being with one mind resolved to die freemen rather thanto live slaves.

Lest this declaration should disquiet the minds of our friends and fellow-subjects in any part of the empire, we assure them that we mean not to dissolve that union which has so long and so happily subsisted between us, and which we sincerely wish to see restored. -- Necessity has not yet driven us into that desperate measure, or induced us to excite any other nation to war against them. -- We have not raised armies with ambitious designs of separating from Great-Britain, and establishing independent states. We fight not for glory or for conquest. We exhibit to mankind the remarkable spectacle of a people attacked by unprovoked enemies, without any imputation or even suspicion of offence. They boast of their privileges and civilization, and yet proffer no milder conditions than servitude or death.

In our own native land, in defence of the freedom that is our birthright, and which we ever enjoyed till the late violation of it -- for the protection of our property, acquired solely by the honest industry of our fore-fathers and ourselves, against violence actually offered, we have taken up arms. We shall lay them down when hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors, and all danger of their being renewed shall be removed, and not before.

With an humble confidence in the mercies of the supreme and impartial Judge and Ruler of the Universe, we most devoutly implore his divine goodness to protect us happily through this great conflict, to dispose our adversaries to reconciliation on reasonable terms, and thereby to relieve the empire from the calamities of civil war.

If you have gotten this far thank you for taking the time to read what I consider a stepping stone to the Decleration of Independence |

This is sick

This guys life is ruined if he does not win on appeal. I would like to say with conviction that he will win on appeal, but in todays blind justice court system I honestly do not think it will happen.

Fitzroy Barnaby said he had to swerve to avoid hitting the 14-year-old Des Plaines girl who walked in front of his car.

She said he yelled, "Come here, little girl," before getting out of his car and grabbing her by the arm.

He said he simply lectured her.

She said she broke free and ran, fearful of what he'd do next.

In a Thursday ruling, the Appellate Court of Illinois said the 28-year-old Evanston man must register as a sex offender.

While acknowledging it might be "unfair for [Barnaby] to suffer the stigmatization of being labeled a sex offender when his crime was not sexually motivated," the court said his actions are the type that are "often a precursor" to a child being abducted or molested.

The judge simply rubber stamped this guy and should be removed from the bench.

Seeing a life ruined because following the rules is more important then using his head is sad.

Recognizing the stigma that comes with being labeled as a sex offender, the appellate court said "it is [Barnaby's] actions which have caused him to be stigmatized, not the courts."

No dipshit it is your blind devotion to the rules. You have the ability to do something instead of sitting on your ass and passing the blame.

UPDATE OF SORTS
David Codrea of The War on Guns said something that puts this whole thing in a better light.

Ironically, it seems if he had simply run over the girl and could prove it was accidental based on her carelessness, he would have been facing far less serious consequences.

|

A banana republic is born

I have no real respect for any political action that comes from Washington D.C.. But today I read something that once again reinforces my low opinion of anything that comes from that place.

The surprise to me is that it has nothing to do with the White House or Capital Building. This idea was born in the local councils.

I posted on Brazil wanting to steal drug patents to produce for their own people because they were not cheap enough. Well that is what their excuse was.

Now it seems that the DC council wants to steal drug patents also in the great tradition of banana republics everywhere.

A controversial bill that would prohibit excessive pricing of prescription drugs by their manufacturers comes before the D.C. Council July 6.

In early May, the 13-member council gave its initial approval to the legislation, introduced by Councilman David Catania, I-at large, who chairs the council's health committee. A final reading and vote on the bill, the Prescription Drug Compulsory Manufacture License Act of 2005, is scheduled for this coming Wednesday.
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Catania has told Washington Business Journal that he expects and welcomes legal recourse from the pharmaceutical industry. The bottom line for him is that drug companies record huge profits and continue to raise their prices, while many consumers have to decide whether to get the prescription drugs they need or buy food and pay rent.

Catania introduced his legislation in February and amended it a month later. At first he wanted to use the city's power of eminent domain to force drug makers to lower their prices. His new version of the bill says that if drugs are found to be excessively priced, the mayor may request a compulsory license that would, in essence, allow the city to take patents from brand-name drug makers and reissue them to generic manufacturers that could produce cheaper drugs for the District.

Catania and others believe the legislation could save the city millions of dollars on its health care tab. Currently the District spends about $250 million annually on drugs for its employees as well as residents on government-sponsored medical assistance.

I simply do not buy the "we are doing it for the people" line because their actions in the past have shown the people are used for votes and nothing more.

Washington DC is one of many areas that have done the following.

Who are these people? Well, look at Wal-Mart's enemies, the unions and grocery competitors who are trying to keep Wal-Mart out of new areas - away from their customers, so customers don't have a choice about where to shop.

Washington, D.C.'s council has banned big stores that sell food. The only company affected is Wal-Mart. And our nation's capital is not alone. Similar regulations were passed recently by the Maryland General Assembly, and such restrictions are being pushed all across the country by Wal-Mart's competitors.

So they ban stores that would sell food cheaper thus making the people pay more. There is many things they could do to "help the people" short of outright theft. But that is something the government is good at.

You have to understand that when a government agency says they are doing something for the people THEY ARE LYING!!!!

So in the great tradition of banana republics around the world they will start seizing property, vehicles, and bank accounts, "for the good of the people".

NOTE:
Refugee camps for people fleeing DC will be set up in all states. Welcome to freedom. |

Bad movies

Justin Buist just posted on the War of the World and why certain gun related parts of it bothered him.

So, Cruise's character grabs a gun -- apparently the only one he owns. Looks like a .357 revolver, 4" barrel, nothing special. Pulls it out of the case, stuffs it into his pants, and off he goes.

Hold the phone! NO EXTRA AMMO!? Look, they come in boxes of 50 for a fucking reason here folks! When an alien race is trying to destroy the planet and humanity is entirely freaking hosed you might want to pack more than 6 freaking rounds of ammo!

He has touched on something that has longed bothered me also. Not the technical part of guns in a movie. I'm not one who rants when I hear an extra click when a gun is cocked, or when someone describes their gun wrong to another person. Technical matters like that get screwed up all the time. What I am talking about is the reality of gun usage. In the WOTW Justin is bothered by the stupid nature of their handling and use.

The movie that grates on my nerves the most is "Signs", with Mel Gibson. On the surface a good movie with an interesting storyline. But the reality of the farm is so wrong. I have issues with a farm that raises corn and on the farm is no 20 gauge, or .410 caliber shotgun to take some shots at crows, or even wild dogs that have been dumped by people. Name me a true working farm without a firearm?( rhetorical question ). They end up having to take on an alien with an old ball bat. Arrghhhh! Where are their deer rifles. A nice 30.30 JHP to the upper chest would slow the alien down, I'm sure.

So they end up huddled in the basement praying the door will hold. Screw that idea completely!

Some movies just make no sense to me. |