ThunderFerret's Realm

Conservatives Have it Wrong on Two Key Issues: the Death Penalty and Habeas Corpus

2008-07-02T06:45:00.000-04:00

I am again at odds with mainstream conservatism over two stands that they've decided to continue this election year. And I'm not sure how this will affect my vote in the fall.

The first issue is the death penalty. When the Supreme Court ruled--correctly--on the proportionality of the death penalty to heinous crimes (such as the child rape case) where the victim survives, the conservatives loudly denounced the decision and blasted the majority opinion.

The holier-than-thou attitude toward employing the death penalty that has been coming from conservatives is wearing more than a little thin. At the very least, they should be denouncing the error-riddled death penalty system and leading the charge to investigate every case to make certain that they are going to execute the right person for the right crime. DNA evidence is responsible for clearing at least one death row inmate every month. Until this evidence is considered, there should be a moratorium on executions across the country.

The other problem I see with the conservative movement is the unwillingness to extend the Writ of Habeas Corpus to captured enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay and other U.S. military prisons around the world.

The media wrote that the Supreme Court "granted" the writ to Gitmo detainees. How can they "grant" the writ to detainees when they already have habeas corpus rights as determined by international law? The American and British governments made sure that it was written into the United Nations charter back in 1948.

Habeas Corpus (the right to challenge unlawful detention and petition for relief) is not just an American custom, as some people seem to think. If a detainee is a citizen of a UN signatory nation, then they have habeas corpus automatically. They don't need to be American citizens to have that basic human right. But the U.S. government has systematically ignored this little point.

What concerns me is the fact that a government that is unwilling to extend basic human rights to non-citizens is only a few steps away from engaging in this kind of conduct against it's own people too. All one has to do is look at what happened to Japanese-Americans during World War II to see that this has already happened in our history.

And the conservatives were braying like elephants when the Supreme Court decided in favor of making sure that the government follows the rules which it is bound to follow, both within the framework of our own Constitution, and with the United Nations charter.

I can't ignore either of these issues in the fall.

Recent Michigan Supreme Court Ruling is Baffling: Is a Homeowner's Front Porch His Property, or is it Public Property?

2008-06-30T07:42:00.000-04:00

The Michigan Court of Appeals issued a ruling last month that seems strange.

It concerned a case where a drug sniffing dog accompanied a police officer to a person's house in Detroit; the dog indicated the presence of drugs inside the home from on the person's front porch. The police officer then entered and made arrests.

I have no problem with the drug bust itself.

But one of the arguments made during the trial and appeal was that the use of the dog without a search warrant was illegal. Kyllo vs. US (2001), a U.S. Supreme Court case, established that using a thermal imaging device outside a person's home to detect heat lamps used to grow weed without a search warrant was illegal.

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that dog sniffing dogs are outside the bounds of 4th Amendment protection, and that a person's front porch is public property, not private.

This makes no sense. Even if a person's front porch is considered to be public property, to get to it one has to trespass on the land between the road, which is public, and the house, which sits on private property.

This ruling threatens the property rights of homeowners. The police should have a search warrant for a drug bust; how hard can it be to talk to a judge to issue such a warrant?

The police should cover all their bases and do the extra paperwork. An operation like the one they broke up won't disappear overnight; it'll be there when they arrive with the warrant.

Supreme Court Declares Washington DC's Ban on Handguns in Violation of 2nd Amendment

2008-06-27T23:42:00.000-04:00

Washington DC's 32-year ban on handguns within the city was overturned by the Supreme Court yesterday.

The vote was along idealogical lines, as expected, and settles an old question of individual gun ownership rights vs. gun ownership as part of a well-regulated militia. Both sides are mentioned in the 2nd Amendment itself.

Now, can they get back to enforcing the laws already on the books instead of trying to ban guns outright? And it should be noted that banning guns in DC didn't substantially change the crime rate as gun control advocates said it would. In fact, DC was the U.S. murder capitol several times since the ban took place.

So much for that theory.

Yesterday's Supreme Court Decision on Death Penalty Was Messy, But Correct

2008-06-26T07:41:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's ruling by the Supreme Court on applying the death penalty to child rapists when no life has been lost was a tough one, but was also correct.

Before I go any further, rape in ANY form is a HORRIFIC crime that does need to be punished by life in prison without any possibility of parole.

"An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, name for a name, life for a life" is a mantra that is often quoted by death penalty supporters, but it also implies some kind of balance in the application of the death penalty. And for the last 30+ years, the death penalty has not been imposed without a special circumstance: the death of the victim as a result of the crime.

I think the possibility of a death penalty wouldn't deter an animal that unleashes this kind of hell on a child anyways; they're going to do it because they think they can get away with it. I think that's a common belief among among criminal elements.

This ruling affects similar laws in six or more states; the federal statutes remain intact.

This is a victory for death penalty opponents, but the victory is bittersweet, given the abomination that child rape is. This ruling can be considered a step forward in creating a more uniform system when the death penalty is being considered, which is good news. In time, I think this court decision will be proven correct.

Clint Eastwood vs. Spike Lee: War of Words Heating Up

2008-06-09T16:23:00.004-04:00

Hollywood directors Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood seem to be getting into a war of words and unlike the Donald Trump vs. Rosey O'Donnell wars, this one is much uglier and not entertaining at all.

It stems from comments that Lee made about two of Eastwood's 2006 movies--"Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima." Lee criticized Eastwood for not portraying any African American soliders in his movies. Eastwood responded by saying that if there had been any African-American men helping to raise the flag at Iwo Jima in the famous photograph that he would have had it in his film.

Then he told Spike Lee to "shut his face."

Lee responded in kind by saying that "Eastwood is not my father, and we're not on a plantation."

OK, gentlemen, KNOCK IT OFF! This sounds like a conversation that needs to be taken off-line and settled privately. This is definitely not funny.

Obama vs. McCain: Ho-Hum

2008-06-07T23:18:00.002-04:00

So it's to be Obama vs. McCain in the fall. Sounds pretty boring to me.

While I'm happy that one of this blog's stated objectives has been accomplished with Senator Clinton withdrawing from the race against Obama, what are we left with? An ultra-liberal against someone whose maverick credentials are giving conservatives heartburn.

I'm not going to make up my mind now, but I'm not happy about November. Looks like a lose-lose situation to me.

DNC Agrees to Seat Florida and Michigan Delegates at Half-Strength: Obama's Getting Votes He Didn't Earn in Michigan

2008-06-02T08:47:00.012-04:00

The rules committee of the Democratic National Committee restored Florida and Michigan's delegates to this summer's Democratic National Convention, but they have half-strength votes. That's fine with me as it's in compliance with their bylaws. And it's more than what I thought was going to happen.

I thought they would seat Florida's delegates at half-strength, but not Michigan's, as Obama removed his name from the ballot.

Instead, the rules committee is giving Obama votes he didn't earn--he wasn't a candidate on Michigan's ballot as he pulled his own name off the ballot months before the election--and Clinton won 55% of the votes. The other 45% should be going to the convention as undeclared delegates who can vote for who they want once they get there.

Obama was not required to pull his name off the ballot, but he did it, regardless of the consequences.

And if Clinton does challenge the awarding of unearned delegates to Obama, in this one instance, I'm going to root for Senator Clinton in her challenge. I almost get the feeling that Obama will fall 3-5 delegates short of clinching the nomination, and the fight over Michigan's delegates will intensify.

This situation is entirely the fault of the DNC. And as many had hoped, including me, Florida and Michigan threw wrenches into the DNC machine and they were forced into headline-making decisions regarding the disposition of the votes of both states.

Perhaps the next time around, they'll follow their own rules when it comes to states violating their guidelines?

Texas Supreme Court Rules Against Illegal Seizure of Polygamy Kids: Case is in the Toilet

2008-05-30T00:37:00.003-04:00

The collapse of the prosecution of the Texas polygamists accelerated today with a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court in favor of returning the kids to their parents.

This is what happens when the law is treated like optional guidelines; and I can't believe that Texas officials got stuck on STUPID! They've been reduced to sending the kids back to a less-than-ideal situation at best, and a molestation situation at worst.

This is ENTIRELY the fault of these people who decided to blanket the entire colony with this idiotic warrant that never should have been issued. They should have done their homework, infiltrated the group or turned a few of the members and targeted ONLY those individuals who they suspected of abusing kids. Instead, they took the children of the innocent as well as the guilty, and denied due process to all.

Now the Texas CPS and legal system has egg in it's collective faces, and it's their own damned fault! They could have put a stop to this type of behavior, but because they didn't follow their own procedures, this case has been turned into a total farce. And the polygamy BS will continue.

Someone needs to face the music over this unbelievable situation.

USS Kitty Hawk Retires: Aircraft Carrier Leaves Japan on It's Final Voyage

2008-05-28T22:58:00.000-04:00

The USS Kitty Hawk is due to be retired early next year and is on it's final voyage home. She departed Yokosuka, Japan, this morning and is en route to Pearl Harbor, then on to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where she will be decommissioned on January 31st, 2009.

The Kitty Hawk replaced the USS Independence after that aircraft carrier was retired; now the USS George Washington, one of America's newest nuclear-powered carriers, will arrive in Yokosuka in August.

As they left the harbor, the sailors on deck formed the word SAYONARA, which, of course, means "goodbye."

A historical group in Wilmington, North Carolina, is lobbying the Navy to donate the ship as a museum, where it would be docked next to the battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55). It's also been reported that the government of India wants to purchase the Kitty Hawk.

I'd rather see the ship end up in North Carolina as Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, is where the Wright brothers staged their first powered aircraft flight. I hope the Navy doesn't decide to sink it as they did the USS America three years ago after blowing the hell out of it. I still wish they hadn't done that, but hopefully the tests that they did will be beneficial to designing the next generation of carrier.

Polygamy Case Begins to Collapse: Texas Officials Took Legal Shortcuts and Short-Circuited the Process

2008-05-28T06:14:00.000-04:00

As was widely feared, the case against a polygamist colony in Texas began to buckle as the courts took an intense look at how this entire mess came to be and found severe problems with how the case has been handled. The seizure of 465 children from the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS) compound was found to be without merit; the accusations were not supported by the evidence, and legal procedures were violated.

And now there's an even larger mess than there was before.

A dozen children have been ordered returned to their families immediately; more will probably follow.

There's some ugly undertones in this case, both within the FLDS, and within the legal system, and both are in the forefront of the case. It's already an established fact that the FLDS practices polygamy, which is illegal, and may be forcing underage girls to marry much older men. That's a very good reason for the Texas legal system to be concerned.

But Texas has very specific laws on child welfare, which are designed to keep families together and help them work through problems. In this case, those laws are not being observed; the parents have been effectively shut out of the case while the future of their children is decided.

And the authorities are not even taking the time to determine which families are practicing polygamy, and which ones have legal marriages under Texas law (meaning ONE husband and ONE wife with a marriage license).

Shouldn't the authorities take the time to separate the innocent from the guilty, rather than painting them all with a VERY broad brush? This is part of the reason why the court ruled the way it did. Other problems with the case cited by the judge:

The phone call that started this entire affair was a hoax. A woman claiming to be 16 and a victim of the sect was actually a pathological liar living in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has a history of making false police reports.
Texas officials wanted to arrest one man and ignored good information that they received that he was living in Arizona. They staged the raid on the Texas facility anyways.
Of the 31 "children" who were suspected of being underaged mothers, half were adults, including one 27 year old. Another 18-year-old has accused the police of ignoring her birth certificate and driver's license. Hardly the kind of "evidence" that can stand on it's own merits in court and prove what the state is saying.

Polygamy is an abomination. But so is raping the Constitution. FLDS members are no different from other faiths when it comes to the cafeteria-style beliefs of members of those faiths. "Oh, I'll practice this belief, but not that one over there." Yaadaa yaadaa.

But in the Texas case, the authorities have accused ALL their members of polygamy and taken their children (by force) without a chance to prove the accusations wrong, and with NO charges being filed against the parents.

I don't like the FLDS, but to deny them their Constitutional rights sets up a precedence that is EXTREMELY bad. The authorities in this case need to get with the program and follow established legal procedures.

Like I said, this is ugly. And it's going to get a lot uglier.

Taser Duel in Colorado over Parking Spot: At Least They're Both Still Alive

2008-05-19T23:04:00.000-04:00

Two men got into an argument over an illegally parked vehicle and whipped out their Tasers, shocking one another stupid. The instigator was arrested.

Well, it's a better outcome than having these guys pull out handguns and start blasting away at one another, with the bullets hitting whoever or whatever is in the way. Both men are alive and none the worse for their experience.

Too bad it's not on video. It would help the authorities sort out the stories that both men are telling.

Florida Floats Plan That Takes Advantage of DNC Rules: Asks to Have Half Their Delegates Seated in Accordance with Rule Rule 20.C.1.a.

2008-05-14T23:35:00.000-04:00

Someone in Florida is finally using their heads and demanding that half their delegates be seated at the Democratic National Convention as called for in Rule 20.C.1.a. of the Delegate Selection Rules.

Smart move.

I think that Florida will manage to get half their delegates seated.

Detroit City Council Moves Against Mayor Kilpatrick: Votes to Take Steps to Remove the Mayor from Office

2008-05-14T23:08:00.001-04:00

The Detroit City Council's feud against Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick entered a new phase after the council voted to take steps to remove the mayor from office. He stands accused of eight felony charges related to his text-messaging sex scandal that cost the taxpayers of Detroit millions of dollars.

This was a necessary step in restoring public confidence to the Mayor's office. They've scheduled a forfeiture hearing for June the 13th. But it may be unnecessary as the trial should be decided by then. If he's found guilty of any of the felony charges, he automatically loses his office. If he's found innocent, what will the city council do then? Will they have a leg to stand on?

This is getting more interesting by the day. Who needs TV shows with legal dramas? Detroit's got it all.

GOP Loses Three Seats in Republican Districts: Voters are Rejecting MODERATE Republicans for CONSERVATIVE Democrats

2008-05-14T05:12:00.000-04:00

The GOP is crying about losing three longtime Republican seats in recent special elections. I found it fascinating that they had fielded three moderate Republicans against three conservative Democrats, and lost all three elections. And two of the Republicans had serious issues that conservative voters were not happy with.

Is the National Republican Committee paying attention to what's happening?

Sort of. They do not appear willing to admit that their efforts to marginalize the conservative base have only made it stronger. And the conservative voters turned out for the conservative candidates, even if they were from the other party. That's a sign of things to come.

The GOP has to come to grips with this situation and field more conservative Republicans; otherwise the electoral bloodbath that many are predicting on Election Day will happen.

No Republican can survive without conservative support. The last three special elections in Louisiana, Illinois and Mississippi are the proof of that statement. If things stay as they are, the moderate Republicans are going to have a very bad day in November if they're facing conservative Democrats.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that there may be more conservative Republicans left in Congress than moderate ones the day after Election Day if the GOP doesn't shift gears and get with the program.

Democratic National Committee Needs to Re-Read Their Rules: They Can Only Take Half of Michigan's and Florida's Delegates Away

2008-05-09T12:06:00.003-04:00

Rule 20.C.1.a. of the Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention:

Violation of timing:

In the event the Delegate Selection Plan of a state party provides or permits a meeting, caucus, convention or primary which constitutes the first determining stage in the presidential nominating process to be held prior to or after the dates for the state as provided in Rule 11 of these rules, or in the event a state holds such a meeting, caucus, convention or primary prior to or after such dates, the number of pledged delegates elected in each category allocated to the state pursuant to the Call for the National Convention shall be reduced by fifty (50%) percent, and the number of alternates shall also be reduced by fifty (50%) percent. In addition, none of the members of the Democratic National Committee and no other unpledged delegate allocated pursuant to Rule 8.A. from that state shall be permitted to vote as members of the state’s delegation. In determining the actual number of delegates or alternates by which the state’s delegation is to be reduced, any fraction below .5 shall be rounded down to the nearest whole number, and any fraction of .5 or greater shall be rounded up to the next nearest whole number.

And yet more DNC violations of their own rules:

Rule 11A:

No meetings, caucuses, conventions or primaries which constitute the first determining stage in the presidential nomination process (the date of the primary in primary states, and the date of the first tier caucus in caucus states) may be held prior to the first Tuesday in February or after the second Tuesday in June in the calendar year of the national convention. Provided, however, that the Iowa precinct caucuses may be held no earlier than 22 days before the first Tuesday in February; that the Nevada first-tier caucuses may be held no earlier than 17 days before the first Tuesday in February; that the New Hampshire primary may be held no earlier than 14 days before the first Tuesday in February; and that the South Carolina primary may be held no earlier than 7 days before the first Tuesday in February. In no instance may a state which scheduled delegate selection procedures on or between the first Tuesday in February and the second Tuesday in June 1984 move out of compliance with the provisions of this rule.

So, let's see:

Iowa held their primary/caucus on January 3rd, which was 33 days before the first Tuesday in February. The rule above states that they can hold their primary no earlier than 22 days before the first Tuesday in Febuary. Iowa violated the rules.

New Hampshire held it's primary on January 8th, which was 28 days before the first Tuesday in February. The rule above states that they can hold their primary no earlier than 14 days before the first Tuesday in February. New Hampshire also violated the rules.

Michigan and Florida held their respective primaries on January 15th, which is three weeks earlier than the first Tuesday in February. Michigan and Florida both violated the rules. Both states acknowledge that point.

South Carolina held it's primary on January 26th, which was 10 days before the first Tuesday in February. The above rule states that they can hold their primary 7 days before first Tuesday. South Carolina violated the rules as well.

So, five states violated party rules on timing of their primaries. All five states got stripped of 50% of their delegates and lost all of their superdelegates. Right? WRONG!

Three states escaped punishment entirely. Two states lost ALL of their delegates and superdelegates, which isn't covered in the rules.

The DNC seems to have a problem in applying the rules equally and fairly. It's another sign of how corrupt the DNC leadership is. If they continue on their current course and deny Florida and Michigan their guaranteed votes that are provided for in their own rules, they run the risk of losing major support in both states. Both states have gone Republican in the past before; do they really want a repeat performance?

Start following your own rules, DNC.

Michigan Democratic Plan to Split Delegates Between Clinton and Obama is Junk: Why Are They Awarding Obama Freebies?

2008-05-08T06:36:00.005-04:00

News broke yesterday of a plan put forth by Michigan Democrats to split the state's delegates between Clinton and Obama 69-59 in favor of Clinton. I think this plan is a very bad one. Obama wasn't even a candidate--he pulled his own name off the ballot--so why is he getting freebie delegates?

Clinton should be getting 55% of the delegates and the other 45% should go to the convention as un-pledged delegates, who can support whomever they want once they get to the convention. If they want to support Obama once they get there, that's fine, but to give Obama a single pledged delegate is not reflective of the election that was held.

He could have kept his name on the ballot, but he chose to pull his name from consideration. So he shouldn't be getting 59 freebie delegates at all.

Or 1/2 that number under Rule 20.C.1.A. of the "Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention" which the DNC is in the process of violating. More on that later.

Forget the current plan.

Global Warming Hubris: Carbon Credit Market is a "Feel-Good About Polluting" SCAM, Nothing More

2008-05-06T05:51:00.003-04:00

The carbon offset market is FINALLY being shown to be a huge fraud that takes provides those with a guilty conscience (about contributing to the world's carbon emission problem) a "feel-good" solution that ultimately does nothing. This is really dumb. And now some in the media seem to be treating the carbon market with a bit of well-earned skepticism.

Here's another report.

The Hollywood crowd that has joined the global warming alarmism campaign and use their celebrity star power to spread the word about the "threat" of global warming and toot their own horns about purchasing carbon credits should ground their private gas-guzzling jets instead. That would stop the carbons from getting into the atmosphere more than purchasing carbon credits from questionable sources who may not be doing what they're saying they're doing to reduce carbon. Or selling credits that they've already sold to someone else.

Global warming is inevitable, with or without us adding to or taking away from it. It's going to happen regardless of what we do, which makes this claim of man-made global warming highly dubious at best. If the governments of the world want to improve the environment for everyone, I am in complete agreement with that.

But trying to stop something that's as inevitable as global warming is the height of folly. Those with guilty consciences should learn to LIVE WITH IT and plant the damn trees themselves.

Someone, PLEASE, save these people from themselves!

But if no one wants to, then here's how to jump in on this fiasco.

Burma/Myanmar Suffers Cyclone Strike: 13,000 Feared Dead and the U.S. Pledges $250,000: Is This a Very Bad Joke?

2008-05-05T21:42:00.004-04:00

A huge cyclone hit Burma/Myanmar/(whatever they're calling themselves) and nearly 13,000 are feared dead.

Our government has pledged $250,000 to aid in disaster relief efforts.

WHAT!

Is this a joke??!

Conspiracy Theorists Believe Bush Will Cancel 2008 Presidential Elections: NONSENSE!

2008-05-05T21:23:00.001-04:00

Ahhh, more conspiracy notions to dispel!

The topic is NSPD-51, an Executive Order which ensures the continuation of the federal government in the event of a catastrophic attack or natural disaster. It calls for the President to take charge of government operations in the event that something really bad happens.

Some with very active imaginations have taken this to mean that President Bush will declare martial law and cancel the elections on a whim to begin his "reign" as dictator.

That's nonsense.

Let's imagine one scenario that this Executive Order is truly designed to deal with:

Washington is destroyed by a terrorist nuclear bomb while the government is in session, and most members of the House and Senate are killed. Also, the President, Vice President, most of the Joint Chiefs and many of the Cabinet members are dead.

In this hypothetical situation, the Presidency passes to...oh, the Secretary of Energy, who is twelfth in line of succession and overseas on business. He/she flies home and is sworn in somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.

The new President is going to be pretty busy, trying to figure things out and wondering where to start.

Where the conspiracy theorists are going crazy is the discussion over whether to reconstitute the Congress immediately or not. The Constitution stipulates that in the event of the death or incapacitation of a member of Congress that an election is held for the seat.

But what would happen if all 535 members of Congress were dead?

Consider this: it would take some time to organize elections in every state, and then designate a new national capitol for the reconstituted Congress to meet at. The directive gives the President emergency powers to manage the situation, and begin to get things in place for setting the government back up.

The reason that it does this is that if our government is decapitated, it assumes that the Executive Branch will recover first. It's easier to swear in a duly appointed Cabinet member as President than it is to organize an election, have candidates campaign, stage the election, get them to the capitol and swear them in. That's how the law is written.

Of course, the governors might appoint the new slate of Representatives and Senators. But even then, where would they meet? Someone would have to coordinate that.

One troubling thing that is giving the theorists ammunition are the secret annexes to this Presidential Order. Only the Administration knows what's in the various annexes, and this is driving the conspiracy discussion along. There are rumors of martial law being declared (possibly) for the purpose of making the President a dictator (highly unlikely).

That's the spirit of this Presidential order as I read it. If President Bush has one obsession (and a flaw), it's national security and protecting the country.

Bush isn't going to stop the elections due to terrorism. Other nations have held elections in the wake of deadly terrorist attacks, such as Spain in 2004.

Here's what will likely happen in October/November/December of this year:

There will be no terrorism before the election. If there is, it'll be small-scale.
Washington, DC, will not fall into the Atlantic Ocean.
An asteroid will not strike Capitol Hill and level all of Washington.
The election will be held, a winner will be decided.
The transition will begin.
President Bush and VP Cheney will leave office on January 20th, 2009, on time and without strings attached.
The 44th President will take office on the same day.
The conspiracy theorists will look silly again.

That's my two cents.

Here's the complete list of Executive Orders from the National Archives dating back to 1937.

Lots of Videos of Chinese Flame Protection Unit in Action

2008-05-02T20:53:00.003-04:00

And in the following video, which is entirely in French, it was not French officials who doused the flame and leaving the runners speechless--it was the Chinese. The broadcast is in French.

So much for unity. Sure looked like the Chinese vs. everyone else, including the London police and the French runners.

China Demands Apology from Western Media for Correctly Labeling Chinese Actions in Tibet Barbaric: No Apology is Necessary

2008-04-20T00:13:00.002-04:00

China has demanded that CNN apologize for comments that commentator Jack Cafferty made on the April 9th edition of his show. In my humble opinion, no apology is necessary as Cafferty told it the way that it is.

Cafferty was criticizing the idiotic Chinese government by calling them a group of "thugs and goons" over their treatment of their own people and the Tibetans and calling Chinese products "junk."

If China's government doesn't want accurate labels assigned to it in the West, then perhaps they ought to clean up their act and start acting like proper Olympic hosts.

China's conduct is responsible for the reception that their torch relay has been given in recent days. If China wasn't busy shooting people in Tibet, their damned relay would be going a lot smoother. And the press isn't to blame for that, either, so this demand for an apology is entirely baseless.

Japan and Australia Deny Entry of Chinese Flame Protection Unit: Finally, Some Credibility to This Fiasco

2008-04-15T11:08:00.004-04:00

Japan and Australia have announced that they will not allow the Beijing Olympic Games "Sacred" Flame Protection unit to participate in any security proceedings when the Olympic torch arrives in those two nations.

Finally, some common sense!

This Chinese paramilitary unit has established themselves as a gang of troublemakers; fights and scuffles with street protesters in London and in Paris firmly established the true nature of these Beijing Olympic Games.

Good riddance to the Flame Protection Unit.

IOC Allows Disrupted Olympic Torch Relay Event to Go On Despite Protests: Will Reconsider It for Future Olympics

2008-04-10T10:28:00.001-04:00

The International Olympic Committee has decided to allow China to continue it's highly disruptive international spectacle with the Olympic torch.

The Torch relay was disrupted in London and Paris, and officials in San Francisco changed the route of the torch to avoid tens of thousands of protesters that awaited it. Additionally, the flame was extinguished three times in Paris, which (supposedly) has never happened before. The flame is on it's way to Argentina, where there's not expected to be much of a protest.

I think the IOC should have canceled the rest of this ridiculous relay as China continues it's crackdown in Tibet and hasn't put any pressure on the Sudanese government to stop the killing in Darfur, which in turn has turned the torch into a political target. It's not supposed to be that way, but China has done nothing to ratchet down the tensions.

Instead, they've sent Chinese military guards (in the blue and white jump suits seen above) to guard the torch and act like the thugs that they are. They're members of the 70-man Beijing Olympic Games "Sacred" Flame Protection unit; their division of the Chinese People's Armed Police are also responsible for the recent crackdown in Tibet. They've gotten into fights along the route with protesters and wore out their welcome in France and in Britain.

Hopefully some of the other nations on the route deny entry to these Chinese military guards as they are an insult to the Olympic spirit which China has been trumpeting about on their torch relay web site. And they continue to debase the word "sacred" while in context to the flame.

The IOC is going to look at future requests from host countries to do similar relays. These relays should be conducted in the host countries alone; they don't have a right to disrupt international cities as the Chinese have done in the last ten days.

Free Tibet Protestors Disrupt Olympic Torch Procession: Unfortunate Situation is Responsibility of Chinese Government

2008-04-07T16:52:00.006-04:00

I see that protesters have disrupted the Olympic flame procession in Great Britain and in France, where the torch was extinguished three times. By Olympic tradition, the torch is supposed to be lit in Greece, then goes around the world before arriving in the host country. In this case, it's the People's Republic of China.

But their brutal suppression of the Tibetan people and the recent violence in that Chinese-occupied country has lead to worldwide protests, and protesters have targeted the Olympic torch.

It is most unfortunate that this tradition has been disrupted, but the sole responsibility for this fiasco lies with the people who are in charge in Beijing. It was their orders that sent their army in to put down a legitimate protest in a country that does not belong to China, with more than a hundred lives being lost. The Tibetan people have a right to practice their religious beliefs in spite of the heathen communists.

China is not being a good Olympic host.

And the IOC should put a stop to this fiasco before it gets any worse. They were opposed to this multinational torch tour in the first place; and where Tibet is concerned, the unity propaganda coming from the Chinese government rings hollow.

And for the Chinese foreign minister to call the Olympic flame the "holy flame of the Olympics" is just plain offensive. Communists don't believe in anything being holy. The Chinese government has also denied that the flame was put out in France at all, telling it's people in official Chinese news broadcasts and print media that the relay in France was "successfully completed." NOT!!

Just take the damned torch to China and let them parade it around there.

Polygamy Compound Broken Up: Seizure of Kids at Compound Seems to Stretch the Law to the Breaking Point

2008-04-05T02:12:00.001-04:00

This week's raid of a Fundamentalist Mormon compound seems to have solved one possible problem and created a whole bunch of others.

Over four hundred kids were seized during the raid amid accusations of child molestation, forced marriages and other highly taboo subjects that I don't want to get into now. But as news of the raid broke and the story began to evolve in the media, the search warrant that was used to enter the compound and seize the kids seems like it will not hold up in court.

A search warrant has to have the following: the name of the property owner, the specific address of where the search warrant is to be executed, and the type of evidence that the authorities are there to find that are related to suspicion of the type of crime that is being investigated.

Also, if a person is living in an apartment, the landlord cannot give permission to authorities to enter; the warrant must be sworn out as to treat the rented property as the home of the tenant.

In this case, the warrant had one address, which was for the office of the complex. The warrant did not specify whose apartments were to be searched, their respective addresses, or the specific apartment numbers.

While I am totally against plural marriages, the Constitution may have been violated, and potential child sex offenders may get off the hook as a result. UNACCEPTABLE!

Texas officials MUST get this right. Taking shortcuts on something like this not only endangers Constitutional protections, but also the successful prosecutions of people like this colony's "prophet" (aka child rapist-in-chief). I hope the authorities had all their ducks in a row.