Cato of Utica

The Census Is Coming, The Census is Coming! -or-

2009-12-04T09:52:00.003-05:00

Also Known As the Only Part of the Constitution the Government Still Keeps. Kind of.

From the Rome Sentinel:

"If you have more people, you get more money," said Miller of population-based government funding.

(That's Dale Miller, a principal planner in the Herkimer-Oneida Counties Comprehensive Planning Program.)

Ah yes! More money! And more information! The government just LOVES Census time!

This is what the Constitution says about the census:

Article I

Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature.

It's merely for the purposes of COUNTING HEADS, for federal representation. The Census is NOT for data-gathering and data-harvesting. The Census is not for the purpose of informing government about your income, what appetite suppressants you take, how many bathrooms are in your home, etc. As always, government has taken their authority too far. And then they claim that their excessive authority is "sanctioned" by the Constitution!

Moreover, I heard that the White House was going to take over the Census Bureau. Article I Section II in the Constitution gives the legislative branch authority over the census, not the executive branch. The atrocities are overwhelmingly breath-taking.

I have an inkling the government is banking on the WE THE PEOPLE having no idea what the Constitution truly says.

I have an inkling the government is correct in their assumption.

Does anyone know if there are any penalties for refusing to fill out portions of the census form?

FBI Sting Operation Targets Bloggers

2009-12-01T16:42:00.006-05:00

It's horrible to admit that something like this, done by "our" government, is not surprising anymore.

Report: FBI paid controversial NJ blogger for help

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey blogger about to stand trial on charges he made death threats against federal judges apparently was paid by the FBI in its battle against domestic terrorism, according to a published report.

The Record of Bergen County reported Sunday that Hal Turner received thousands of dollars from the FBI to report on neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups and was sent undercover to Brazil.

Turner also claims the FBI coached him to make racist, anti-Semitic and other threatening statements on his radio show, but the newspaper also found many federal officials were concerned that his audience might follow up on his violence rhetoric.

The newspaper reviewed numerous government documents, e-mails, court records and almost 20 hours of jailhouse interviews with Turner.

He goes on trial Tuesday in New York, accused of making death threats against three Chicago-based federal appeals judges after saying in Internet postings in June the judges "deserve to be killed" because they had refused to overturn handgun bans in Chicago and suburban Oak Park.

The postings included the photos and work addresses of the judges — Richard Posner, Frank Easterbrook, and William Bauer — along with a picture of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in downtown Chicago and notations indicating the placement of "anti-truck bomb barriers."

The story is very enlightening.

Turner said he feels double-crossed by the bureau after his June arrest.

But other documents show federal agents growing more anxious about his extremist views while valuing his ties to right-wing hate groups, the newspaper said. It noted one memo that stated Turner "has proven highly reliable and is in a unique position to provide vital information on multiple subversive domestic organizations."

In a separate case, Turner was charged with "inciting injury to persons" for urging blog readers to "take up arms" against Connecticut lawmakers who proposed legislation to give Roman Catholic lay members more control over parish finances.

There are so many things wrong with this, on so many levels.

1. The FBI can break the law, and encourage others to break the law. But they will SLAM Americans who break the law (and SLAM their own undercover patsies as well) because Americans are deemed "terrorists." Something is horribly wrong with this picture. And besides... the tyrants in the government have "law enforcement" on their side, to penalize anyone who "breaks the law." But who is penalizing the tyrants in government for breaking the law? No one. Who is defending and protecting US from THEM? No one.

2. From the story, "federal officials were concerned that his audience might follow up on his violence rhetoric." So what. This undercover agent submitted DEATH THREATS and other things; it is extremely notable that no one took him up on it. As far as I can tell, those judges are still alive. Nothing was blown up, no one was killed. The sting didn't work. So much for all those violent right-wing wacko extremists. Funny, I don't think that will put a damper on the FBI's future efforts or funding, though.

3. Why is it that "right wing extremist" groups are spied on and suspected, but Greenpeace and ACORN and MoveOn.org are given federal funding?

4. I won't even go in to how unConstitutional and illegal everything is, from the FBI itself to the IRS to the ATF and concerning all their man-handling tactics.

The United States of America is not the United States of America anymore. It's being run by a large board of bureaucrats who are unappointed, unelected, unaccountable, and tyrannical. The people of these United States are not being represented by ANYONE in government. The entire system is a shell game! How much proof do the American people need so as to realize this?

Bogus: Government "Creates Jobs"

2009-11-28T13:22:00.004-05:00

For many years now, I have heard over and over again that people want the government to "create jobs." This is pure bologna. The government cannot "create jobs." The government is a law-making, law-enforcing, law-interpreting body. It cannot EVER "create jobs."

We... are always hearing how the government needs to create more jobs. That's what government is for, right? Forget all this protection of liberty and crap-- we want jobs! The government has no problem whatsoever fulfilling this crying need. As a matter of fact, the government is only TOO happy to create more jobs. More GOVERNMENT JOBS.

Since the creation of jobs goes against the very nature and character of government, our government has decided to A.) change the very nature and character of U.S. government, and B.) created jobs only for itself!

I have long said that this kind of policy is extremely destructive, because government can only create more administrative jobs, for itself. This is a double-edged sword. Administrative positions in government erode our liberty (administrative positions are never filled through election, but appointment; and administrators do just that-- they administrate US). Moreover, as the government creates more and more "jobs" for itself, it swallows up the public sector to the point where the public sector can no longer sustain the cost of government and all these "jobs." This is what we are seeing in New York State-- the government has become so large and regulatory and the taxpayer base has become so scarce, that NYS is on the brink of financial collapse.

But guess what?

Ah, but now there opens up Option C.) Falsify the data that shows how much government is "helping" the economy.

Jobs 'Saved or Created' in Congressional Districts That Don't Exist
Human Error Blamed for Crediting New Stimulus Jobs to Nonexistent Places

Here's a stimulus success story: In Arizona's 15th congressional district, 30 jobs have been saved or created with just $761,420 in federal stimulus spending. At least that's what the Web site set up by the Obama administration to track the $787 billion stimulus says.

There's one problem, though: There is no 15th congressional district in Arizona; the state has only eight districts.

And ABC News has found many more entries for projects like this in places that are incorrectly identified.

Late Monday, officials with the Recovery Board created to track the stimulus spending, said the mistakes in crediting nonexistent congressional districts were caused by human error.

"We report what the recipients submit to us," said Ed Pound, Communications Director for the Board.

Pound told ABC News the board receives declarations from the recipients - state governments, federal agencies and universities - of stimulus money about what program is being funded.

"Some recipients clearly don't know what congressional district they live in, so they appear to be just throwing in any number. We expected all along that recipients would make mistakes on their congressional districts, on jobs numbers, on award amounts, and so on. Human beings make mistakes," Pound said.

Human error is to be blamed?! Recipients of federal funds do not know WHAT congressional district they live in?! They fill out FEDERAL FORMS for FEDERAL FUNDS without bothering to CHECK?! And the government gives them the money, anyway, without ever checking?!

How they insult us! They lie, and patronize us, expecting to believe their lies! This isn't like messing up a secure online backup upload; this is a consistent pattern, across the board, of falsification of data. It's not the first, it's not the last, and it's UNACCEPTABLE.

The government has NO RIGHT to be "creating jobs" at all!

How Low Can He Go?

2009-11-24T20:45:00.001-05:00

Gapminder Video Has a Few Gaps

2009-11-21T14:47:00.003-05:00

Here's a new video from Gapminder (a website that touts itself a providing statistics for a "fact-based worldview." The video is well done and is indeed interesting but there are a few caveats to the "fact-based worldview" one might develop after watching it.

For one, raw facts rarely provide enough meat to supply a "worldview." There are too many variables in raw data. For example, Rosling mentions the rise of the income and life expectancy of China after World War II, but the data he presents cannot give the viewer a reliable answer that explains WHY there is such a rise. To interpret such data, one must know history; but even then, there are unknown and unrevealed intricacies and nuances amongst the nations that make it nearly impossible to determine with exact precision WHY such things happen.

One thing that can be speculated is that as the United States rose in wealth and influence, other nations did as well. It is a fact that the United States helps to feed the world more than any other country; and the technological advances of the U.S. has given rise for other nations as well, in life expectancy and income. As the United States has become more wealthy due to technological inventions (did not Franklin's kite and key, and Edison's light bulb change the entire world?); and since the health of the U.S. has improved, due to such things as increased knowledge about nutrition and the formation of such organizations as Blue Cross Blue Shield NC for wellness and care, other nations have benefited from our knowledge and generosity. A rising tide lifts all boats, as they say. Moreover, you could say that the Middle Eastern prosperity isn't due to Middle Eastern ingenuity; nay, such a rise in income there is due more to the Western world's lust for oil than Arab ingenuity. The point I am making is that one cannot conclude that one nation's improvement is directly attributed to the actions or decisions of that nation, necessarily; there are too many other influences.

So while such videos with raw facts are interesting, if they are even as accurate as we presume them to be, they cannot truly create a "worldview" at all; they can only influence one that is already formed. I therefore take such "fact-based" studies as just that: studies. Because facts on their own can determine very little without the knowledge of the innumerable nuances of the intricate relationships and treaties that people and nations create.

The Campfire Police

2009-11-17T11:33:00.002-05:00

I'd really, really like to know exactly to what economic philosophy New York State government adheres. Does the Legislature just enjoy passing frivolous laws for mere pleasure? Do they get a nickel every time one is passed? Do they expect to get more money from fines from the lawbreakers to balance the expenses paid for enforcement?

Take, for a good example, the recent passage of a new "open burning" regulation (thanks to akaGaGa for the tip on this):

Burning trash is now prohibited statewide in all cases. Our existing incinerator rule already prohibits burning household trash in wood stoves, fireplaces, and outdoor wood boilers. DEC recommends that you recycle all appropriate materials (such as newspaper, paper, glass and plastic) and compost your organic kitchen and garden waste.

2. What are the new regulations on open burning in New York State?

Effective on October 14, 2009, all open burning is prohibited in New York with several exceptions including the following:
Campfires less than 3 feet in height and 4 feet in length, width or diameter are allowed.
Small cooking fires are allowed.
Fires cannot be left unattended and must be fully extinguished.
Only charcoal or clean, dry, untreated or unpainted wood can be burned.
Ceremonial or celebratory bonfires are allowed.
In towns with a total population less than 20,000, you may burn tree limbs with attached leaves. The limbs must be less than 6 inches in diameter and 8 feet in length (also referred to as brush). However, this is not allowed from March 16 through May 14 due to the increased risk of wildfires.

There's much, much more to these new regulations; it's worded simply enough, but the "Thou Shalts" and "Thous Shalt Nots" are extremely detailed and meticulous, such as the size of tree limbs, and of the campfire. So if my campfire is 3 feet, 6 inches, is there some emergency alert system awaiting me, a great big community panic button for concerned citizens to push, or some lurking campfire gestapo monitoring campfires everywhere? Or if my brush fire continues burning past May 14th, to May 15th 1am, what will happen?

It's ridiculous. And all leaf fires are prohibited, no matter the size or use of your land.

So I ask again... how does New York State intend to enforce this law? Where are they going to get the money for it? Do they really expect to profit from MORE laws, hoping that there will be lawbreakers abounding with fines to make up for the cost of such laws, as we see with the "speed quotas" in so many smaller areas in the state?

Who makes up these idiotic laws?

Going to Jail-o!

2009-11-13T14:26:00.005-05:00

Saw this post at Screaming Me-Me and thought it exceptionally worthy or repetition. The blogger is distressed about ObamaCare passing into law, because she (like so many of us) will not pay the tax... and will therefore go to jail (or, as I believe, one of those "Civilian Resettlement Facilities."

The Screaming Me-Me wrote a song (creativity flows so fluently when an artist is utter despondent, no?).

I've written a little song to better explain my cries for justice. Please, sing along.

Jail-O
(sung to Dayo)

Jail-O
Jail-ail-ail-O
Health care come and she goin' away

Jail, I say
Jail, I say
Jail, I say
Jail-ail-ail-O
Health care come and she goin' away

Come Ms. Pelosi please gimme a break
(Health care come and she goin' away)
I'll pay for my own doctor when my belly ache
(Health care come and she goin' away)

I work all day and they tax my pay
(Health care come and she goin' away)
With no insurance they'll take me away
(Health care come and she goin' away)

6 months, 7 months, 12 months BANG!
(Health care come and she goin' away)
I'll be workin' on Obama's chain gang
(Health care come and she goin' away)

Jail-O
Jail-ail-ail-O
Health care come and she goin' away

Jail, I say
Jail, I say
Jail, I say
Jail-ail-ail-O
Health care come and she goin' away

Outstanding job! Give that lady a Myrtle beach golf vacation, woot!

On Golden Pond

2009-11-13T12:03:00.004-05:00

Ah, a welcome surprise! Theophobe is back in town and has contributed another witty and thoughtful article for your reading enjoyment. I did happen to catch the news story to which he refers. The moral of it: if the cell phone drops while driving... let it go, man, let it go. --Cato

I really like cars. I've never sat down and asked myself, "Why?", but I think they've got to be one of the greatest machines ever invented. It's probably for the same reason that I really like basketball; there's a certain grace and flash that can be combined with the necessary athleticism that lifts it up, and can makes it exceptional, fun, and beautiful at the same time. I don't have, and never have had, enough 'disposable income' to pursue owning a sports car, but hey! I like to dream. There's a guy here in town who owns a machine shop who also owns what I believe is a yellow '94 F512 M Ferrari; WOW! It's got a top speed of just under 200 mph (that's right out of the factory)! Now that's a car! Oh, well, ... I guess I'm dreaming again ... .

Did you happen to catch this story http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/11/12/video-bugatti-veyron-for-sale-slightly-damp/ ?

Ouch.

There are bad days, and then there are days you crash your $2 million Bugatti Veyron into a saltwater lagoon.

Autoblog found this footage of authorities towing one man’s prized (and heavily wait-listed) French supercar from a Texas marsh on Wednesday.

The man told a Texas paper that a low-flying pelican (and not, say, a bout of at-the-wheel texting) distracted him, and he jerked the wheel to avoid it, catching a front wheel in the mud and sending him into the drink.

It’s said the Bugatti’s thousand-or-so horsepower, 16-valve cylinder engine “gurgled like an outboard motor for about 15 minutes before it died.”

This poor guy! Salt water and metal just don't go together well. These things hold the title of being the fastest roadster on earth (over 223 mph as delivered!) Any idea what one of these things goes for new? Over $2 million! Hope he had good insurance!

Ever see a Bugatti? Hot.

Knock-Knock

2009-11-12T23:31:00.002-05:00

A little diversion. Just one thing to add have I: Ah, the joys of unemployment.

Breaking News For Gov. Paterson

2009-11-09T22:13:00.007-05:00

On Drudge Report today:

Paterson: NYS Will Be Broke Before Christmas
Delivers Scary News To Legislature, Says Only Way To Fix Problem Is To Have Immediate Cuts To Education, Hospitals

Hello, Governor P? I've got news for you: New Yorkers are broke, too! And we've been broke since the late 90s! So what do you have to say about that?

Paterson called an unusual joint session of the Legislature Monday to implore recalcitrant lawmakers to close the state's huge budget gap before New York runs out of money.

To some lawmakers it's nothing more than a photo op to help Paterson get re-elected. But the governor is dead serious. He said if the Legislature doesn't cut the budget now the state could run out of money by next month.

"We're going to run out of cash in four and a half weeks. We are going to run out of money. Unless we do something about it, (it will) threaten generations," Paterson said.

And so began what is turning out to be a tense tug of war between Gov. Paterson and the Legislature.

The governor says $3.2 billion in cuts must be enacted how -- or else. The cuts range from $500 million in agency spending to over $1 billion in already committed in aid to school districts and hospitals.

No, no, no. New York does everything WRONG. Take that STAR Program-- taking money from the remaining capitalists in the state and redistributing it to the poorer property owners, all the while school taxes rose higher and higher without restraint, and all under the guise that "the state was paying for it." Balderdash. This is how NY manages things-- instead of FIXING the initial problem (eliminating the out-of-control taxes that drive people out of the state), they see another opportunity for controlling our money, grabbing more votes from the cash cow (the teacher's union), and spend like a granny at Vegas with a new credit card. In the real world, this would be called INSANITY. But in New York, it's "management."

And then, SUDDENLY, the world must stop because New York is in TROUBLE? You guys made this mess. We at the peon level have been seeing this for the past 15 years. I'm almost glad the chickens are finally coming home to roost. I hope those greedy, licentious politicians lose everything. My only regret is that I am here to have to endure it. These clowns have destroyed our state.

To The Politician

2009-11-06T14:27:00.002-05:00

How I wish the government had heeded these important words of Thomas Jefferson than the "separation of church and state" phrase that has been mangled over the years:

"It is of great importance to set a resolution, not to be shaken, never to tell an untruth. There is no vice so mean, so pitiful, so contemptible; and he who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and a third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world's believing him. This falsehood of the tongue leads to that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good disposition." --Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, 1785

Of course, such a statement would be ignored-- yea, even scrubbed-- from the government records and web directories, if they could. Too close for comfort.

It never ceases to amaze me how particular some people are with their dearest quotations. The "separation of church and state" phrase-- originally from letter from Jefferson to Connecticut Baptists with content radically opposite of how it is interpreted today-- is literally thrust upon us day in and day out as "proof" that religious people should be shut out of government and have no say in the public sphere... while quotes like above are completely ignored. Truly a marvel to behold.

A Little Excitement at the Voting Booth...

2009-11-03T20:21:00.002-05:00

Well well, after my lament about how dull and boring (and predictable) the elections in Central NY are, here's a little spice to shake things up: a Utica candidate for the City Common Council was busted for punching an incumbent in the face!

UTICA — A candidate for 1st Ward Common Council faces charges after getting into a scuffle tonight that ended with a poll worker getting shoved and punched in the face, city police said.

Ed Hill, a Republican, was charged with second-degree harassment, a violation, Deputy Chief Mark Williams said.

The argument, at Kennedy Plaza apartments, took place between incumbent Democrat Frank Vescera and Hill, the Republican challenger who was councilman in the district until Vescera defeated him in 2007.

Hill allegedly “chest-bumped” Vescera, Williams said. At that point, a poll worker tried to break up the scuffle and Hill shoved and punched the worker in the face.

The fisticuffs began when Hill became upset that Vescera was standing in a position the incumbent considered to be too close to a registration table, police said.

Police have not interviewed Hill and have been unable to serve the candidate with a summons, Williams said.

"We don't know where Mr. Hill is," he said. "We'd be interested in talking to him."

This is rich, just rich. Leave it to Utica for such a thing to happen! I wonder if anyone got the scene on cell phone video, or some kind of recording on MP3 players.

I'm sorry I missed the scene! It would have been a little excitement for an otherwise dull and dreary day. Plus, it would have been nice to have something to snicker at, once the returns come in. :P

Your Vote Doesn't Count

2009-11-03T09:06:00.003-05:00

"The fate of the country does not depend on how you vote at the polls -- the worst man is as strong as the best at that game; it does not depend on what kind of paper you drop into the ballot-box once a year, but on what kind of man you drop from your chamber into the street every morning." -- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Yippee. Election Day. I used to get so excited about this day. But after years of corruption, with the same bland big-spending incumbent winning the votes every year, I lost heart. I'm actually considering skipping the vote this year. Voting every year seems to have the same effect as a fat burner-- lots of hype, hardly any change.

The only thing that has me the least bit excited is the 23rd Congressional District race. It's an odd circumstance, that one. John McHugh left the office to become Obama's Army Secretary; and up stepped Republican Dede Scozzafava, Democrat Bill Owens, and Conservative Party Doug Hoffman. Scozzafava decided to bow out (for some reason), and-- lo and behold- decided to endorse her Democratic opponent rather than her Conservative Party kindred. Now, I'm not implying that Scozzafava herself was related to Hoffman-- but that the Republican Party SUPPOSEDLY has more in common with the Conservative Party than the New York liberal Democrats! Quite odd. The pressure must be intense to keep Hoffman out. I'm not intimately familiar with the politics in that district, but knowing how New York State government races are... it's gotta be ugly.

Hope and change, hope and change... *ho hum*

Another Good Reason to Buy American Made?

2009-10-28T13:48:00.002-04:00

This is such a mindless piece of news, it's unutterably absurd. Yet I wanted to mention it because it showcases the issue at hand- in the long run, American government and businesses will eventually expire themselves. First, the story:

Despite a six-year effort to build trusted computer chips for military systems, the Pentagon now manufactures in secure facilities run by American companies only about 2 percent of the more than $3.5 billion of integrated circuits bought annually for use in military gear.

That shortfall is viewed with concern by current and former United States military and intelligence agency executives who argue that the menace of so-called Trojan horses hidden in equipment circuitry is among the most severe threats the nation faces in the event of a war in which communications and weaponry rely on computer technology.

As advanced systems like aircraft, missiles and radars have become dependent on their computing capabilities, the specter of subversion causing weapons to fail in times of crisis, or secretly corrupting crucial data, has come to haunt military planners. The problem has grown more severe as most American semiconductor manufacturing plants have moved offshore.

Only one-fifth of all computer chips are now made in the United States, and just one-quarter of the chips based on the most advanced technologies are built here, I.B.M. executives say. That has led the Pentagon and the National Security Agency to expand significantly the number of American plants authorized to manufacture chips for the Pentagon’s Trusted Foundry program.

So are you thinking the same as I? What is the problem here? It's in the very first sentence:

Despite a six-year effort to build trusted computer chips for military systems, the Pentagon now manufactures in secure facilities run by American companies only about 2 percent of the more than $3.5 billion of integrated circuits bought annually for use in military gear.

I'm speechless. How can it possibly be any surprise that we have problems? For decades, the economic policy has been GLOBALIZATION. Businesses and government contractors have been slashing jobs in philadelphia and other places and outsourcing even the most sensitive and secure jobs and contracts to FOREIGN lands! Did no one ever stop to think that perhaps this sensitive data would be used against us?! It's bad enough to have to recite one's Social Security number over the telephone to some faceless customer service rep in India or Mexico... we must send them our defense business as well?? Who thinks this stuff up?

Can Obama and Congress Order You to Buy Broccoli?

2009-10-24T22:06:00.002-04:00

That's the title of an excellent article by Terrence Jeffrey. His point is incredible. Yet, sad to say, I do not think this blazing argument will effect much difference.

Can President Barack Obama and Congress enact legislation that orders Americans to buy broccoli? If so, where did they get that authority? What provision in the Constitution empowers the federal government to order an individual to buy a product he does not want?

This is not a question about nutrition. It is not a question about whether broccoli is good for you or about the relative merits of broccoli versus other foods. It is a question about the constitutional limits on the power of the federal government. It is a question about freedom.

Can President Obama and Congress enact legislation that orders Americans to buy health insurance? They might as well order Americans to buy broccoli. They have no legitimate authority to do either. Yet neither Obama nor the current leadership in Congress seems to care about the constitutional limits on their power.

They are now attempting to exert authority over the lives of Americans in a way no president and Congress has done before.

An excellent article. I recommend you read it and pass it along.

National Emergencies Should Be Just That...

2009-10-24T14:56:00.002-04:00

... and no longer used as a means to "expedite" money (and the National Guard) to anyone who cries out for help.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is making what
administration officials are describing as a preemptive move against the swine flu.

Obama is declaring the pandemic a national emergency, in an effort to speed treatment to thousands of infected people. Administration officials say the effort is designed to make decisions easier when they need to be made.

....Obama says the months-old outbreak which has killed more than 1,000 in the U.S. continues to evolve. And, with the rates of illness rising rapidly, he says there's a potential to "overburden health care resources."

National Emergencies are for EMERGENCIES. Not "potential" emergencies. There are other means in place to deal with such amorphous potentialities. And I tend to seriously doubt the much-publicized, over-sensationalized impact of this Swine Flu. Besides its shady beginnings, the usual spread of it (schools with sick kids are advised not to close?? yet there is concern about it "overburdening" the resources?! Hell-o?! Why not close the schools and be done with it?), and the media hype about it generate deep suspicions.

There is more to the national "healthcare reform" junk we are constantly pummeled with-- the government isn't interested in softly and tenderly providing dental care discounts and Vitamin C tablets, no. This is about control. We must say NO. And must resist the urge to call for federal intervention every time there's a torrential rainstorm or alleged racist remark in law enforcement offices....

Global Population Governance?

2009-10-22T19:55:00.004-04:00

Such crap. Such idiotic, tyrannic drivel. No surprise that it will be at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. Poor Samuel Kirkland and Alexander Hamilton; their names are desecrated with the filth of God-hating liberals. This is a disgrace to their memory.

CLINTON — The Izaak Walton League and the Sierra Club will host an event at Hamilton College Wednesday to promote global reproductive health and sustainable development, a news release said.

“Population, Justice and the Environment” will include interactive workshops, panel presentations and training on the connections between population growth, reproductive health, and environmental protection, the release said. Refreshments will be served.

Look up "parent licensing" on the Internet and you will come up with very few news stories and information about it. Yet there is a plethora of opinions about it (most in favor). The government has NO RIGHT to determine or control the "reproductive growth" of its citizens. Yet it seems that the "sudden" flurry of talking points about the issue is just a precursor to brainwashing and desensitizing the public about such a heinous scheme.

I could discuss this in full detail to inform the uninformed, but doing so is grossly unpleasant. Pardon me while I wretch. I hope to address this issue when I am more composed, should that occur. If you dare, look up this issue yourself. Have a bucket ready.

"The denial or revocation of a parenting license would be expected to be a painful experience, particularly for mothers. The overall importance of protecting innocent children from incompetent parenting justifies the inconvenience to a few parents and the inevitable imperfections of a licensing system." -- Jack C. Westman
Source: Licensing Parents: Can We Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect? (New York and London: Plenum Press, 1994), p. 243.
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Jack.Westman.Quote.663C

"It would not be unreasonable, by analogy with a motor vehicle licence, that a permit to reproduce should also be needed with a minimum age of, for example, twenty-five, and a proof required that the parents are of sufficient maturity and financial resource to take proper care of the child. Young, sexually active, but emotionally immature teenagers would need help." -- Sir Roy Calne
Source: Too Many People (London and New York: Calder Publications and Riverrun Press, 1994), p.113.

As an afterthought, all I can say to those who want to kill off people for the sake of "burdensome" population growth: YOU FIRST.

NY's Vaccination Mandate Challenged

2009-10-16T17:03:00.003-04:00

Here's some good news on the forced-vaccination front.

New York's second-largest public employee union has won a temporary restraining order blocking mandatory flu vaccinations for health care workers.

The Public Employees Federation sued the state to reverse a policy requiring vaccination for the seasonal and swine flu viruses.

The health department issued an emergency regulation ordering workers to get vaccinated by November 30, or face possible disciplinary action, including dismissal. Department spokeswoman Claire Pospisil says the agency believes the regulation will be upheld in court.

PEF says Friday it encourages its members to be vaccinated against the flu, but opposes the emergency regulation requiring the vaccine as a condition of employment.

The union says about 5,000 of its members are covered by the emergency regulations.

...The head of the Public Employees Federation says the State Health Commissioner has acted beyond his jurisdiction is ordering the vaccine.

The union says if the mandate was necessary, it should have come from the state legislature, not an administrator. The Public Employee’s Federation is the state's second largest union.

I'm gratified to see at least someone pushing back against a bossy bureaucracy. This is but a microcosm of what will happen when government bureaucrats get their hands on our health care. These bureaucrats are unaccountable and non-elected, and the control they wield is breath-taking. They're not a bunch of nosy business plan consultants, either; they are control freaks. You won't be able to be a part of the system if you refuse to do what they say. As far as five years ago, a person who made such a statement as I have would have been ostracized; but now we are seeing it unfold before our eyes. These bureaucrats have far, far too much power and the American citizens are far, far too passive and apathetic.

I'm glad to see someone (even if it's a union) push back, even a little.

The Story of Stuff, Corrected Version

2009-10-16T12:42:00.002-04:00

Several months ago, I watched and enjoyed the viral video series by Annie Leonard, The Story of Stuff. It was an amusing, pictorial description of the American economy and the global economy (which, if the United States continues on her present course, will not have a differentiation).

I took issue with much of Leonard's political views, namely that the U.S. spends 50% of tax dollars on defense (even a cursory understanding of our national budget dismisses her stats); the idea that corporations are larger than the government (when the government has basically BECOME the Big Corporation and Boss, and that Leonard neglected to mention that unions are as much to blame as corporations for the abuse of the system).

However, I agreed with Leonard's assessment that the national economies, quickly merging into a global economy, are not serving the people; rather, the citizens of the nations are serving the economy and the robber barons (the governments and the corporations).

I did not see Leonard's assessment as a dismissal of capitalism, like many of my co-conservatives did. This is because I do not believe we maintain a capitalist economy anymore. The beginning of the end could possibly be pinpointed to 1913, when the Federal Reserve Act was passed; but since the 1950s, our economy has been increasingly "Consumerist." Some may still believe we adhere to capitalism, and perhaps we do on a surface level, but dig a tiny bit deeper, and it's quite clear that we adhere to consumerism. This is the reason our government instructs us to "go shopping" to prove our patriotism during times of crisis or panic.

Here is a corrected version of The Story of Stuff. You can go to Glenn Beck's website to view all segments. I found it very informative.

DHS: Thou SHALT NOT Enforce the Law!

2009-10-07T13:15:00.005-04:00

The Department of Homeland Security (heil!!) has stripped an Arizona law enforcement officer of the authority to patrol his town looking for illegal immigrants.

Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he will continue his controversial "crime suppression operations" despite a Department of Homeland Security decision to strip him of authority to arrest suspected illegal immigrants based solely on their immigration status, the East Valley Tribune reports.

“It’s all politics,” says Arpaio, sheriff of Maricopa County.

The DHS is forbidding the Arizona officer to detain illegal immigrants sneaking into the country?! Wha?! How much are we people going to take? So it's OK for law enforcement (oh! the irony!) to tase innocent civilians and interrogate citizens at "police checkpoints," but DON'T YOU DARE enforce our immigration laws! Arpaio is defiant and is vowing to continue enforcing the law.

The media is clearly against him:

Arpaio said he will be able to still conduct the crime sweeps under state human smuggling laws and an obscure federal law that allows local police to arrest illegal immigrants.

An "obscure" law? You mean something like the Constitution or the Bill of Rights or the Northwest Ordinance or state laws, like those kinds of "obscure" laws?

His “crime suppression operations” are saturation patrols in designated areas where deputies would find illegal immigrants by stopping them for traffic infractions and minor violations, the paper says.

The department of Justice and other federal agencies are investigating the sheriff’s office on accusations of racial profiling during the operations, the paper says.

What drivel. Of course it's racial profiling!! I don't see too many white Americans sneaking in from Mexico illegally!

But using such "checkpoints," searching for infractions or whatever, is TOTALLY legal against our own citizens, is it? These people are wicked. As well as dunderheads.

You go, Arpaio.

Notice to Entrecard Users

2009-09-30T23:46:00.003-04:00

My sincere apologies to both my Entrecard advertisers and visitors. Something unusually strange occurred this evening... I was unable to locate my account, although I was able to "drop" cards for the first time in a long time.

I applied for a new account; I'm hoping this will resolve the problem. But in the meantime, it looks like I am out of advertisers and an active widget. I am anticipating that my account will be up and running in 24 hours.

I am deeply sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you. I am unaware of exactly what caused this problem. I hope it is resolved.

What's a "Civilian Resettlement Facility"?

2009-09-28T14:41:00.002-04:00

Some of you have scoffed at my tongue-in-cheek (but completely serious) accusations that the United States government is building detainment centers for its citizens. I ask you to cease your scoffing for a brief moment and consider this news story by WorldNetDaily. It's extremely enlightening.

Why is National Guard recruiting for 'internment' cops?
Ad campaign seeks workers at 'civilian resettlement facility'

An ad campaign featured on a U.S. Army website seeking those who would be interested in being an "Internment/Resettlement" specialist is raising alarms across the country, generating concerns that there is some truth in those theories about domestic detention camps, a roundup of dissidents and a crackdown on "threatening" conservatives.

... The new ad says successful candidates will "provide external security to … detention/internment facilities" and "provide counseling and guidance to individual prisoners within a rehabilitative program."

Officials at the state and federal National Guard levels told WND they were unaware of the program, although one officer speculated it could be intended for soldiers trained in the U.S. and dispatched overseas to "detention facilities." From the national level, WND was told, officials were unaware of any such "internment facilities" at which there could be jobs to be available.

This isn't some half-baked ad for kitchen faucets, dear readers. This is some kind of planning by the government for the capture, detaining, and brainwashing facilities for American citizens. All illegal. I could sardonically joke about how such shenanigans occur within the public schools already, etc etc, but this is serious stuff-- far too serious to joke. I'm not in a joking mood.

What's going to happen?

Squeaky Fromme Moving to Upstate NY

2009-09-28T14:27:00.003-04:00

This made big news about a week ago. Lynne "Squeaky" Fromme, freshly released from her 38-year prison sentence for her attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford, is moving to nearby Marcy, NY. Marcy is a moderately rural town a few miles north of Utica, known for not much else besides the two state prisons and psycho ward, SUNY IT, and a bunch of flooring, vinyl siding and copper kitchen sinks store outlets. Hm.

MARCY, N.Y. — Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, the Charles Manson follower convicted in 1975 of pointing a gun at then-President Gerald Ford, is moving to upstate New York, local officials said Tuesday.

Oneida County Undersheriff Peter Paravati and state police spokesman Lt. Glenn Miner said federal authorities notified their offices about Fromme moving into the area.

District Attorney Scott McNamara said he was notified by state police that the 60-year-old Fromme was moving to Marcy following her release last month after serving 34 years in federal prison.

"If she has arrived, nobody's heard from her. Nobody has seen her. Nobody's made a fuss," McNamara said.

...The news that Fromme already is, or soon could be, a neighbor came as a surprise to local residents and officials.

Town Supervisor Brian Scala said he had not been given any information and had no comment.

"I'm surprised, but not alarmed," said Raymond Maciewicz, 58, of Marcy. "It's an awful long time ago. Maybe she's repented her ways."

The town of Marcy is 55 miles east of Syracuse and includes four hamlets spread over 33 square miles with about 9,000 people. Although mostly rural, the town is home to two medium-security state prisons, the county jail and the State University of New York Institute of Technology.

Fromme is from California. What the heck does she want to move to New York State for? Theophobe speculated that perhaps Fromme can find some anonymity in Upstate New York; the people are as cold and unfriendly as the winter weather, so anonymity she will find. If I was a criminal, I suppose I'd come to New York, too. Heck, Fromme should move to Albany! She'd probably be very comfortable mingling with all the politicians at the Capitol Building.

Government to Enter Cloud Computing

2009-09-21T11:57:00.002-04:00

Well this is a frightening prospect. I am quite tired of seeing what "Change" means especially as more tyrannical legislation unfolds.

U.S. government sets up online 'app store' [such a harmless headline, no?]

The Obama administration is pushing for the government to use cloud-computing technologies.

The Obama administration has unveiled a government "app store" designed to push the federal bureaucracy into the era of cloud computing.

The change means some federal employees will begin using services like YouTube, Gmail and WordPress, which store data on private Internet servers instead of on those paid for with public money.

The process will start small but will ramp up quickly, Vivek Kundra, the U.S. chief information officer, said in a blog post on Tuesday.

"Our policies lag behind new trends, causing unnecessary restrictions on the use of new technology," Kundra writes in the post on WhiteHouse.gov.

"We are dedicated to addressing these barriers and to improving the way government leverages new technology."

The app store is designed for federal employees doing official government business and is not intended for use by the public.

"Cloud computing" is a new term; basically, it's having all your software applications (word processing, financial recording, photo and data storage, etc) on servers on the Internet. Google has its own cloud with their Google Apps- no longer do you need to download your email, calendar, word processing software onto your computer; you go on the Internet and use Google's online software. They store your data online, on their servers. Here's a detailed, informative, and somewhat technical description of cloud computing by Christopher Barnatt.

After the Govt's initial announcement about shifting data to cloud computing, they released another statement to "clear the confusion about cloud computing" (yeah, right):

But what makes cloud computing different from the current model of IT the government is using?

"The traditional model is that you have to run your own systems in your own data center or computer room, patch them, secure them, and upgrade them, make sure that there are not conflicts between different systems and be responsible for all that yourself. Cloud computing moves all of that into the cloud so you can focus configuring the applications and solutions in a way that delivers value quickly," said Coleman.

What makes the system even more attractive to government agencies is the fact that agencies can scale the cloud to them.

"You are buying a service. It comes at a metered price based on usage, demand and capacity that you are shooting for. If you need more, you can buy more but you don't have to buy more than you need," said McClure.

USA.gov is one of the first programs to use the cloud. According to McClure, so far the website has saved $1.7 million in infrastructure.

I admit, I become highly suspicious when the government suddenly says it is going to "save money" somewhere with something. Almost invariably, that is a smokescreen to manipulate people into thinking the Govmt "cares."

Moreover, I have lamented in the past about the government's ridiculously slack security. Whereas I am not exactly objecting to "cloud computing" per se, I am very much against the Govmt's ceaseless collection of public data, and am very much against the storage of it in one big bowl. To place all public data on the Internet in one pot and hang a sign that says "No Public Allowed" is an open invitation to Hackers Anonymous.

Mastering Organizational Leadership

2009-09-21T11:37:00.002-04:00

Some people are "born" leaders (for example, George Washington); some are "born" tyrants (for example, Stalin and the present members of Congress); and some obviously require a little education (such as Jimmy Carter or Bill Gates). Gone are the days of simply reading Machiavelli's The Prince or Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. The world is much more complex today-- not to mention that we want to encourage good leadership, eh?

Did you know that you can obtain a formal education and degree in organizational leadership? In this day and age of social networking and engineering, consulting, and communications, knowing how to become leader-- a good one that inspires others-- is crucial. And did you know that you can study for and obtain an Masters in Organizational development degree?

The Gonzaga University Online has more information about this curriculum. Certainly such study is all the more important: through the Masters course, you can learn how to think more creatively, inspire others, learn to lead by example, and other important techniques. Such a course offers more than a simple "development" course. The Gonzaga University prides itself in offering a "complete" curriculum: they do not merely fill the mind with facts, but mold the character and creativity of their students.

If you are seeking a career in management or consulting, it would do you well to look at the website and see what is available. A Masters degree in organizational leadership can make all the difference.