"All hope abandon ye who enter here.”

Referring to the planet Earth, I think. Maybe this IS Hell?

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/67406.html#more-67406

I used to think it was a few bad apples. It's not. I'm thinking they're mostly stupid and selfish apples, with a few really vile ones and the very, very elusive and rare good one left in the bunch.

The "good ones" simply cannot stay long and remain "good".

They're ordered to do evil things and suffer dearly for not obeying. And I cannot imagine covering for their Blue Brothers' crimes makes it any easier.

Dare To Dream...

We already had the Wrestler Governor, so why not the Wrestler VP?

You Mean They Abuse Their Power? Really?

Of course, folks tend to forget that one of the very first Patriot Act prosecutions was against a dude for fraud. They prosecuted him for "Paper Terrorism". I wish that was a joke.

"Wabash Valley woman didn’t realize second cold medicine purchase violated drug laws"
(Hat tip to www.LewRockwell.com)

Oh, you didn't realize you were breaking the law when you did? Had zero criminal intent, did ya? Doesn't matter, Granny. You're getting bent over and publicly humiliated.

The vile part of this story is that the prosecutor ADMITS there was no criminal intent. That bitch could simply choose not to prosecute, but she has to show the peasants who's boss.

Indiana defendants have a clearly-delineated constitutional right to argue that a criminal law is unjust at trial (Article 1, section 19 of the IN state constitution). If more honest, intelligent folks would sit on trail juries, maybe we could get these laws ignored.

But the sad truth is that far too many jurors are on the side of the prosecution from the word "go". They look at a defendant as having to have done something wrong, else they'd not be there.

Considering all the retarded laws on the books, making criminals out of almost anyone, that needs to change.

I'd like to say cases like this might wake folks up to the massive police state we've become (the largest in history, by the way). But it's going to take some folks until they're IN the death camps to wake the fuck up.

Peter Schiff is Brilliant.

Compare this capitalist to the idiot Marc Cuban who says "Shut up and pay your taxes. It's the patriotic thing to do!"

The best part starts around 3:50.

The Savages Scoff At The West

Forward to 08:12. Brilliance.

And from the same program:



Forward to 9:30. I would have maybe killed myself, simply because whatever pain medicine they put in my IV didn't do the least bit of anything to dull the pain.

Peter Schiff makes a great point right at the start of this video:



Heck, just watch the whole series for that show. Freedom Watch rocks.

UPDATED: Torture... What The FUCK Has Happened To Us?

(I blogged about torture very briefly two years ago HERE.)

Messed up world we live in. Folks all over - some I know personally - are defending the "right" of our government to torture our "enemies" *. Some refuse to call it torture, but I do not think you can read THIS and think rationally "That's not torture." (Hat tip to Cunning Dove from Vox' blog.)

Having been subjected to this technique, I can say: It is risky but not entirely dangerous when applied in training for a very short period. However, when performed on an unsuspecting prisoner, waterboarding is a torture technique - without a doubt. There is no way to sugarcoat it.

In the media, waterboarding is called "simulated drowning," but that's a misnomer. It does not simulate drowning, as the lungs are actually filling with water. There is no way to simulate that. The victim is drowning.

Unless you have been strapped down to the board, have endured the agonizing feeling of the water overpowering your gag reflex, and then feel your throat open and allow pint after pint of water to involuntarily fill your lungs, you will not know the meaning of the word.

How much of this the victim is to endure depends on the desired result (in the form of answers to questions shouted into the victim's face) and the obstinacy of the subject. A team doctor watches the quantity of water that is ingested and for the physiological signs that show when the drowning effect goes from painful psychological experience, to horrific suffocating punishment to the final death spiral.

Waterboarding is slow-motion suffocation with enough time to contemplate the inevitability of blackout and expiration. Usually the person goes into hysterics on the board. For the uninitiated, it is horrifying to watch. If it goes wrong, it can lead straight to terminal hypoxia - meaning, the loss of all oxygen to the cells.

And that's leaving aside the possibility of the doctor fucking up and killing you or secondary drowning killing you later on (maybe not a possibility with distilled water? I dunno.), that is beyond fucked up. To hear and read folks saying "It's just getting water splashed in your face" is insanity.

If someone had said this would come to pass 20 years ago, I simply would not have believed them. Hell, 10 years ago even.

I hope Obama does set a new precedent and his administration prosecutes EVERYONE involved. Including Bush. Then the die is cast and HIS Magic Mulatto Illegal Alien Ass might be jailed for the capital crimes he will almost certainly commit during his comical administration. At least then some measure of justice would be seen and future administrations might wake up to the fact that there IS some accountability on this earth.

Yeah... fat chance.

* Of course, they're forgetting that the definition of "enemies" changes from time to time, often every four or eight years. Only "lunatics" said after 9-11 that the Patriot Act could or would be used against non-terrorist American citizens. And now we have the "Justice" Dept issuing memos about how anyone that dislikes Obama is a racist and an enemy of the people! Only complete fucking morons didn't see that possibility coming.

UPDATE: Or we could waterboard this kid to see if he REALLY was involved! He's probably a terrorist! Shit! We all know the feds can't and don't fuck up on stuff like this!

Really, by what reasoning do we NOT torture him? Lives are at stake!

GREAT IDEA!

A cold-blooded murder on a campus. [LINK] The "Police cordoned off the area around the bookstore as officers wearing camouflage and carrying automatic rifles walked the streets as onlookers gawked."

Dude. What the hell?

Maybe I Should Watch More Often

Some funny before the semi-serious, with a hat tip to the LRC Blog:

The New F***ing Citibank - watch more funny videos

http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=220533

Dude... John Stewart prison raped this dude. It's almost painful to watch.

But Stewart is being completely naive himself. Why in the world should anyone take MSNBC or Mad Money at face value? Skepticism is called for at all levels. Comedy Central answers to folks too. Maybe they're shorting MSNBC stock and making dough off of this performance. Who knows?

Short selling isn't evil. Even leveraging isn't evil. The evil is using the government to make these gamblers whole when they guess wrong.

It's as if the Duke & Duke brothers in the Eddie Murphy movie "Trading Places" could just walk over to a Congressman and say "Hey! We fucked up! Cut us a check please." And they walked away with a check. That's the meltdown writ large.

And I don't watch The Daily Show, but how often does Stewart call out fractional reserve banking, the FDIC (and other "insurances") or the Federal Reserve?

Wall Street didn't do this by themselves. The simple fact is that they COULD NOT do it by themselves. Wall Street cannot destroy the dollar without the Fed's involvement. They can destroy the stocks, but not the dollar itself.

And yes, John: toxic mortgages indeed had a very large part in all this financial meltdown too.

And anyone investing expecting their stock funds, 401K's or whatever to always go up is just stupid. And greedy. Stewart did get it right to say hard work gets you ahead. The real bitch of it is that working hard, living within your means and paying your bills right now is likely to have you watching your irresponsible neighbors get Free Obama Cash to help with their mortgage while you have to struggle and watch any savings you have get wiped out by inflation.

No one but the Austrians seem to have called this meltdown in advance. But the Keynesians sure spout plenty of stupid bullshit about how to fix it. How wise is that approach?

ASIDE: On that subject:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig10/richards-b1.html

This is a great clip, just incomplete.

Hardly Surprising...

I've never understood how anyone can claim to have any integrity in Congress when they vote "yes" on things they haven't even read. I don't care why, either. Be it because the bill was being shoved through or they're too lazy. No one can read 1000 page bills.

We so deserve the Hell that is coming.



After the whomping GAZILLION $$$$ bill that got passed yesterday, I figure this image is more than appropriate:

Scary Thoughts.

Why I Don't Trust Cops. ANY cops.
Cop suspect cops of being murdering scumbags and admits it publicly. Officer Johnson:

"Not that I don't trust the police," Johnson later commented to the Washington Post. "But I wanted to personally witness what [was] going to happen to my mayor, so if they [the SWAT team] say this guy went for a gun -- and he didn't -- it's not going to happen on my watch."

Roll that comment around in your mind for just a second.

Officer Johnson stayed behind to make sure his mayor wasn't murdered by his fellow police officers.

That SHOULD bend your noodle more than a little. How often does this happen that a cop feels free to reveal his suspicions to a reporter?

That should be terrifying to you. Unless you, like me, root for Rambo to shoot the cops in First Blood. In which case, you're a threat to society and need to be put down like the mad dog you be. Or you're a statist douche of either the Republican or Democratic sort. In which case you probably think "omelettes, eggs... whatever". And in that case you're one truly sick fucker and you just don't have a clue.

Anyway, quote is from HERE.

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

Want to murder folks legally? Become a prosecutor! NO down side!

More chilling thoughts.

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

The United Nations WANTS YOU TO DIE! That's my logical conclusion after reading this article.

* * * * * * * * * * * *
Finally, some humour. I am a sick man. That's why I find this funny:
http://www.pointsincase.com/blogs/paul-frank/so-youve-just-killed-prostitute

More twisted humour: http://rathergood.com/christmas

Colour Me Surprised

http://www.smallgovernmentact.org/

A well-run anti-tax movement in Taxachusetts? Whouda thunk?

Question Everything You "Know"

"Charles Ponzi spent fourteen years in jail for doing what Social Security has been doing for over seventy years. It was obviously an unsound, fraudulent, scheme that Ponzi devised, but it’s baseball and apple pie when Uncle Sam does it. The victims are cheated just as thoroughly, but with one difference: Ponzi’s victims entered his scheme willingly, if ignorantly, whereas the victims of the Social Security scheme are strongly pressured into "joining." Which scheme is the more dishonest?"

From HERE.

"And The Best Unintentional Comedy Award GOES TO:"

The idiot described here.

More comedy HERE.

Just a few of the very good entries:
"It's amazing what one has to believe to believe in gun control

That incidents where people shoot criminals in self defense are very rare, and shouldn't be used as excuses to own guns, just as incidents where presidential press secretaries are shot are very rare, and shouldn't be used as excuses to ban guns.

That intelligent people should support gun control because they realize they are too stupid to be trusted with guns.

That if there'd been a gun aboard American Airlines Flight 93, someone could have been hurt.

That the 2nd Amendment, ratified in 1791, allows the states to have a National Guard, created by act of Congress in 1916.

That the National Guard, paid by the federal government, occupying property leased to the federal government, using weapons owned by the federal government, punishing trespassers under federal law, is a state agency."

Gotta Hoist My Flag Up, I Reckon...

A few things to commemorate:

The reason my avatar is what it is:

The Concord Hymn, by Emerson:

BY the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.

I was born almost in spitting distance of that "rude bridge". It's a fine place to visit. You can start to imagine that day. I cannot wait to go back, though I would not dare to think one could let their kids run around with toy muskets as Dave and I did back when we were young. The Park Rangers will probably ticket the parents for endangering others.


Another hat tip to the spirit of liberty 'gainst evil on this day:

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising A classic example of the necessity of keeping firearms of all sorts in the hands of the people.

Sounds About Right.

"So while I may never acquire the all-seeing Eye’s view of the Puzzle, I think it’s pretty clear that Conspiracy is a dirty word for a reason: the Establishment engages in conspiratorial acts on a daily basis."

I just liked that quote. From HERE.

This Is The Spirit!

http://www.repealday.org/

Screw Prohibition! Screw the little whiny bitch Hausfraus that seek to tell grown men they can't have a freaking beer. Screw MADD and their tee-totalling BS! Screw the men of this country for EVER letting these shrews ban our booze! Screw EVERYBODY!

Tonight, I'm drinking. For 14 years of making booze illegal. For the spirit of letting idiots ruin their health and their lives if they feel like it. For praying to the Porcelain God!

I'm on my 2nd Martini. How about you?

Why You Cannot Trust The Police Part III

DJ says: "I got a speeding ticket today...apparently I earned it" (more or less)

But did you, DJ? I mean, really EARN it?

My first few tickets, I admit, were all my fault. A few speeding tickets, one red light I actually DID run. I even joked about running it with the guy in the car with me right before the red lights came on.

But I had one incident in a hick town on the way back from Chicago in 1999, in Merriville.

The cop there said I ran a red light after sitting there for a good while. Just sat at a red light, then ran it.

I could have sworn I didn't. And I really don't think I would have started running a red light for no reason.

But what recourse did I have? Taking time off of work to drive 2 hours away to a hostile court? Is that a battle I would EVER win?

I really doubted it. And I still do.

But what proof would the officer have had? His word? That's it? That's all it takes? Some cop's word to take my money out of my wallet and put points on my license?

That there is bullshit. But that's how the system is set up. Some cop says you did it, you did it. And you have to prove otherwise or pay up.

That's beyond fucked up.

I USED to be all gung-ho for the cops. I always took their side.

My eyes are opened.

To me, that wife in the previous taser video would have been justified in shooting that officer dead where he stood for risking her husbands's life so needlessly.

It stuns me sometimes to realize my POV has changed so much.

Why You Cannot Trust The Police Part II

Why You Cannot Trust The Police Part I

BS Video 1

BS Video 2

Comments on the videos with some very good points:

Commonsense24k | 2:30 p.m. Nov. 22, 2007
The cop was in motion at the time. A speed radar has to be stable to be effective. I didn't see a 40-mile an hour sign until after the cop began to pull this guy over, hence the argument "where's the sign at that you're talking about..." How was the guy speeding? He was pulled over before he reached the sign. Watch the video! The guy asked one question repeatedly... "What speed was I going...?" The officer didn't know. The victim’s vehicle wasn't past the 40-mile an hour mark, before he was pulled over. In the jurisdiction (the officer was in) could he have left the citation in the vehicle of the offender? He was quick and cold the way he tased! I bet none of you people would be on this cops side if this were your mother in the same situation. Did the cop have the option of leaving the un-signed citation with the guy and leaving the scene, or was he obligated to make the individual sign it? If he had a choice of either the two, but chose to tase; then, he should be fired and never allowed to work in law enforcement again!


and this as well:


Pedrous123 | 2:55 p.m. Nov. 22, 2007
Review of the Tape will indicate that the trooper pulled his vehicle in front of the temporary sign thereby blocking the sign from view of oncoming motorists. That is a tactic used in speed traps. The trooper did not designate the offense as e.g. 50 mph in a 40 mph zone. 'You were going kinda fast' doesn't cut it. The Utah State Motor Vehicle web site states that a motorist can calmly explain his actions to the officer at the time of the citation issuance and that the officer will listen to his side. Didn't happen here. The trooper told the motorist that he couldn't explain and that wasn't the place to argue his case.

When asked what his speed was the officer refused to tell him. The officer did not tell the motorist that signing the citation was not an admission of guilt.
He did not tell the motorist that failure to sign was grounds for arrest. He ordered him out of the car and told him he was under arrest. The troopers body language and demeanor were those of someone looking for confrontation.

the trooper's use of the Taser exhibited immature and dangerous conduct.


The asswipe spokesman whines about putting the tape out "prior to any litigation or review or IA investigation could compromise that case. That kinda our biggest concern."

Of course it's "their biggest concern"! It reminds me of Jim Carrey in "Liar, Liar":

JC: I object!
Judge: On what grounds?
JC: That's it's DEVASTATING TO MY CASE!"

What bullshit. So FACTS becoming public knowledge... is a bad thing? Well, for their POV yeah. I can see how having it known what dicks cops are IS a bad thing.

Amen.

http://www.wendymcelroy.com/news.php?extend.1133

"It occurs to me that, in these wartime years, I have a lot more in common with my left-wing associates than the right. Except that there's one stumbling block which makes them look askance at libertarians: "What about the poor?"

Now, I have no objection to helping the poor. We donate to our local food bank. I help refurbish computers so that poor kids can have one for their schoolwork. Part of my volunteer work for the Red Cross involves helping families who have experienced personal disasters (like a house fire). Indeed, one of the aspects I like about where we live is that when a family suffers a fire, or has a child with special medical needs, collection boxes will pop up in all the local businesses, and I'm among the many kicking in.

I'm all for helping the poor. I just think it should be private, and voluntary.

At this point I usually hear the objection, "But that's not enough! Small scale solutions like that will never solve the problem!"

Today it hit me: why the hell not?

To be more specific: the question should not be how do increase the scope of the (private) solution. It should be, why is the problem so damned big?

Let's face it: if you're living in a society in which anywhere from one-quarter to one-half of the population can't meet their basic needs through their own efforts -- where a half-trillion dollar enterprise is needed to "help the poor" -- then there is something fundamentally wrong with your society; and redistributing wealth, from those who have managed to succeed to those who have not, is avoiding the real problem. Whether the problem is the legions of overpaid bureaucratic parasites, the erosion of savings through inflation, confiscatory taxation, the countless costs of busybody legislation, or all of the above, you need to fix the underlying cause before you can ever really help people.

Put another way: if transfusing a few units of blood doesn't help the patient's condition, you'd better start looking for the bleeding....not look for more blood donors.

As a (small-l) libertarian, I am working toward a society where everyone can sustain himself/herself; where being poor is a misfortune and not a chronic condition; and where the needy will be at most a few percent of the population. In that society, private charity will be more than sufficient to help them. And I'll be there, contributing."

Good points. The ONLY thing the welfare state has created is a near-permanent dependency underclass. They have no stake in the future, so they trash theirs. Crime and bastard kids are their only legacy. Thanks so much LBJ you stupid liberal fuck.