Friday, June 2

Taran Jordan is the guest editor today.

 

Sense of Urgency Changes Depending on Whose Ass Is in the Sling

"If nothing else, let this episode in the Bush/Iraq War Era be a lesson not only for those 'serving' their country, but to all Americans as well:  Government never 'takes care of its own' unless you’re talking about the government taking care of its own ass.  The rest of us be damned."  Column by Harry Goslin.

 

Who Killed Kenny Trentadue?

"Though [brother] Jesse [Trentadue] is almost resigned to never learning who killed Kenny, he forges on. As to the why, it’s a complicated matter of never saying die, exacting some retribution from the dodgy bureaus and holding out for a sliver of consolation if he can put the lie to the official story of the Oklahoma City bombing."

 

The Mark of the Beet

And you thought NAIS was blatant food-supply control?  Tattooed produce is on its way to a supermarket near you.  (NYT, try www.bugmenot.com)

 

US Building Up Mission to Counter Terrorism in South

"The US Department of Defense is quietly building a small active-duty military presence on US borders to carry out counterterrorism missions under the authority of a federal military task force, a senior Pentagon official told Jane's on 23 May."  Subscription (paid) required for full article.  But the first few paragraphs say enough.

 

So Long, Semper Fi; Hello, Sieg Heil

"Even those who die in unworthy causes such as those with which you've [Shrub] saddled the armed forces of the United States during your tenure in the White House will, by most Americans, be respected for their commitment, however much that commitment may have been abused by poltroons like yourself."

 

Do NOT Try This at Home!

"'Come out with your hands up immediately, Miss White!’ one of [the police agents] yelled through a megaphone, while another handcuffed the physicist in his underwear. Recalling that June morning in 2003, Lazar says, ‘If they were expecting to find Osama bin Laden, they brought along enough guys'."

 

You Can’t Have It Both Ways

"How much simpler it would have been had every juror known, right from the start, that they could not be punished for their verdict, for their deliberations, or for their thinking. How much simpler this case would have been had the jury simply refused to convict anyone who broke--intentionally or not--one of the many meddlesome laws imposed on us by a government become too busy-bodyish and too ambitious with its power grabbing."  By Iloilo Marguerite Jones.

 

The Montana Sedition Project

"This site is about the 76 men and three women convicted of the crime of sedition in Montana in 1918 and 1919. Forty of those men...were sent [to prison] for simply expressing their opinions — about President Wilson, about America's entry into World War I, about the armed forces, or about some other government agency. One man was sentenced to 7 - 20 years for saying the wartime food regulations were a 'big joke'."

 

The How of Transitioning from Statism

"There was no fuzzy warm feeling of family or community here, that was simply the way things were done. There was a fierce sense of property ownership, and woe betide cheats or trespassers, including children – maybe especially children who stole watermelons. Borrowed tools were returned promptly, and if a neighbor asked for help with a major job, one would be wise to arrive early and stay late, or at least until milking time."  Robert Klassen points out that there was a time when Americans knew how.

 

Sex Advice from Progressive Gun Enthusiasts

Hmmm.  Is that a Taurus .45 in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?  And ooh, a quickie with Claire Wolfe, too!  (With that black hat on, no less!)

 

Whatever Happens, It Will Be Expensive

"As the All Powerful Mogambo (APM), glorious new emperor of China, I would instruct my ministers to tell that little pipsqueak Bush that I want him to pack up all the gold and ship it to me, collect, or I'll sell his stupid bonds and stocks so fast that he will probably crap in his Occidental pants as he re-discovers exactly who is actually the boss in the creditor/debtor relationship."  Mogambo Guru Richard Daughty in one of his hilarious – and dead-serious – rants.

 

Media Memorial Day

"We remember that it’s easy for hot-dogging pundits to sit in TV studios or in newsrooms to cheer on the use of cutting-edge technology by the Pentagon. Those pundits leave it to others to bury the dead and to deal with the anguish of losing relatives and friends."  By Norman Solomon.

 

Why Do We Need Government?

"Later I joked to friends that I’d been 'carjacked.' An armed man had seized my car, I explained. Of course he had a badge, a uniform, and some sort of ‘law’ on his side, so I, not he, was the criminal. Heaven help me if I’d tried to defend my property. Self-defense would have been an even more serious offense."  By Joseph Sobran.

 

How to Shrug - Really

"A lifestyle should be adopted on the same basis as the advocacy of an environmental issue: If you object to pollution, the first thing for you to do is to stop your own polluting behavior...And if you want to contest a tyrannical political system you must reject tyranny in your own personal lifestyle."  By David King.

 

The Gulcher's Guide

"Gulching is a mode of living for ‘interesting times.’ A Gulch is long-term.  It's a community, not just a [horde] of refugees thrown together by desperate circumstances. If it's well-planned and has a bit of luck, its members will never be desperate, never be refugees because they and the community will be prepared to face a variety of futures."  By Claire Wolfe and Marylou Seymour.

 

Freedom Forced to Buckle

"If there is a measurable real-world benefit to seat belt use despite the inconclusive numbers, seat belt laws do nothing but save insurance companies money by forcing greater buckling..."  By Jim Amrhein.

 

Retiree Refuses to Pay Property Taxes Until City Cleans Up Its Act

Go, Granny, go!

 

Hurricane Season Has Begun

"In more than 150 years, not a single hurricane has come near New Orleans in June. During the same period, only four tropical storms have hit the city in summer's first weeks."  Uh-huh.  And the levees’ll never be breached, either.  (Zip code registration required to view.  Make one up like I did.  People who’re dumb enough to re-elect Ray Nagin will never know the difference.)

 

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