Right To Petition For Redress Of Grievance

"I thought the feds usually ignored lawful petitions. I thought "Right to Petition" just meant one could hold a protest or something, but that there was no obligation on the part of the feds to 'provide satisfaction', so to speak.

Am I wrong? If you know anything different about the specifics of Right to Petition, please correct me." Triton

Yes, the Feds ignore the Citizens and yes the Feds want people to believe that a petition is nothing more than a protest. However that isn't why it was placed into the Constitution. It was a way of keeping the government from ignoring petitions. When our Founding Fathers were creating the Constitution, and subsequently the Bill of Rights, they were no doubt thinking upon immediate history as well as the Rights they had as Englishmen. So lets look at three of the more obvious documents.

Over the course of years many petitions from the Colonists to the King of England had been ignored. The reasons varied with taxation, trade, and trial by jury as well as other issues of law. Indeed, the King's ignoring the petitions was the reason we had separated from England. The Colonists Petitioned expecting Redress and, in their words, recieved injury. The following is from the Declaration of Independence.

"In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people."

They petitioned as they had been assured that Right by the British Bill of Rights, passed in 1689. This was passed because it was found that Parliment would ignore or even punish those who petitioned the government

"That it is the right of the subjects to petition the King, and all committments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal."

The origins of this Right goes back to the Magna Carta of 1215. As everyone should already know the Magna Carta is the basis for many of the Rights we have. Also Common Law dates back to this time which is where our Law and Rights were defined until the advent of "statutory" law which was created by merging Maritime and Equity. But I digress... The Magna Carta gave a rather specific and some would say drastic measure for enforcing the Right to Petition: seizure of "federal" property.

If we, our chief justice, our officials, or any of our servants offend in any respect against any man, or transgress any of the articles of the peace or of this security, and the offence is made known to four of the said twenty-five barons, they shall come to us - or in our absence from the kingdom to the chief justice - to declare it and claim immediate redress. If we, or in our absence abroad the chiefjustice, make no redress within forty days, reckoning from the day on which the offence was declared to us or to him, the four barons shall refer the matter to the rest of the twenty-five barons, who may distrain upon and assail us in every way possible, with the support of the whole community of the land, by seizing our castles, lands, possessions, or anything else saving only our own person and those of the queen and our children, until they have secured such redress as they have determined upon. Having secured the redress, they may then resume their normal obedience to us.
Any man who so desires may take an oath to obey the commands of the twenty-five barons for the achievement of these ends, and to join with them in assailing us to the utmost of his power. We give public and free permission to take this oath to any man who so desires, and at no time will we prohibit any man from taking it. Indeed, we will compel any of our subjects who are unwilling to take it to swear it at our command.

The Right to Petition is much more than simply the Right to make noise. The Founding Fathers intended for there to be teeth in this Right for it was they who wrote "If money is wanted by Rulers, who have in any manner oppressed the people, they may retain it, until their grievances are redressed; and thus peaceably procure relief, without trusting to despised petitions, or disturbing the public tranquillity."

Petitions Under Fire

St. Pete Beach in Florida is suing it's Citizens for petitioning the city government to place an faux-eminent-domain issue on the ballot.

From a WND article
According to the city's charter, citizens can call for a vote on "any adopted ordinance," but city officials decided to sue because they say the state won't allow citizens the right to vote on a redevelopment plan like the one under consideration.

What's more, they have denied they are using taxpayer funds to sue taxpayers.

We are going to see more and more of these eminent domain land grabs and more and more denied/ignored petitions in the coming years. Those petitions wont just about eminent domain either. Now that the FedGov has ignored a lawful petition it will trickle down to the states/counties/cities in short order. Keep an eye on the case We The People v. The United States to see how the higher courts will rule on the Right To Petition as their rulings affect every lower court beneath them.

John Effin Kerry And The Political Spectrum

"They say you can tell a lot by somebody's friends," Kerry said. "These three individuals [Coulter, Bork, Buchannan] are on the furthest side of the ideological spectrum."

Kerry listed three people to my left. Also he seems to think there is only one end to the spectrum. It seems Kerry is so far to the left that he can't even see the right end of the spectrum.

Baaaa

Feeling a bit sheepish this morning! Seems I didnt pay enough attention when I dressed this morning and grabbed a pair of pants that have a nice hole in the butt. I discovered this some 4 hours after arriving... Fortunately I sit on my butt all day and for those times I need to walk around I have a jacket that is juuust long enough!

Prayer Request

I am sure you all have seen this over at Dif's but if not... There are two young boys, twins, that were born very premature. They are both only about 2 pounds. Please pray for them and their families.

Whale Puke

An Australian couple came across a 32 pound lump of whale "puke" and not knowing what it was they decided to take it home. Their little bit of curiousity is going to "net" them at least $295,000.

France Goes Nuclear Part Deux

Triton not only writes a short story, he also connects his short story with his Conspiracy Wednesday! Great Stuff. Triton even remembered the leap days.

Got FatWallet?

I dont know about you guys, but I know I dont make enough. I know that it is good to be content with whatever I have and I believe that. But I also know that it is difficult to have a single income family these days. We do a number of things around our house to save money with a big thing being coupons and getting price-matches (Wal-Mart comes in beautifully for that) Recently a coworker showed me a website called Fatwallet.com. All sorts of good stuff on there, with links to free stuff, online contests, coupon codes and free shipping codes. These things are out there, might as well take advantage of them. I recommend using IE for it as there are contest sites that just wont work with Firefox.

www.fatwallet.com

We The People: Update

By Order of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Bob Schulz, representing himself, and Mark Lane, attorney for the other 1700 named Plaintiffs, have been directed to file their legal Briefs by February 22, 2006.

The single issue on appeal is whether the People can use the Petition Clause of the First Amendment to hold the government accountable for the protection of their Individual Rights as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America.

The constitutional question before the Court is: “Whether the government is required to respond with specific answers to the questions contained in the Plaintiffs’ Petitions for Redress of Grievances and whether the People can retain their money until their grievances are redressed.”

We don’t believe we need to remind people of the importance of this case. No court has ever been asked to, nor has any U.S. court ever declared the meaning of the Petition Clause of the First Amendment

Soon now. We The People are one step closer to getting a ruling on this long forgotten Right. This is the Right that we must use to force our Government back into its pen, back to it's Constitutionally defined powers. If this Right is not upheld in the Courts (and it hasnt been yet) then our only non-violent option left is to retain our money.

Short Stories: France Goes Nuclear

As posted over at Triton's, the French Government reaffirmed their nuclear option for retalliating against any state that carried out a terrorist attack against it. So I thought perhaps if anyone is feeling creative they could post a short story about France actually using a nuke and its outcome. Would it galvanize the Muslim states? Cow them? Finally cause "moderate" Muslims to reign in the fundamentalist?

Post in the comments or if you post on your blog let me know and I will link to it.

War Drums a'Beatin

Seems that the war drums are out in full force again. This time for Iran. I knew this would be coming and it has been obvious who the FedGov's next target would be. Even my local paper is starting their drums with pieces such as this political cartoon.

This isnt going to be about simply taking out a power plant and sending them to ground zero like Israel did with Iraq some 20 years ago. This particular tune is to justify going into Iran and giving them hated democracy. Surely taking out their ability to create nukes or "nukaler" power will be something that is bandied about, but once that is accomplished or nearly accomplished we will then turn our troops into missionaries for the god called democracy as we have done in Iraq.

If we really feel that Iran would be a threat if they get nukes, then lets just take out any plant that they have. Israel can reach Iran, our planes are closer. Quit the posturing, take out the threat and get it over with. Dont send our boys in there to try to free a people that arent willing to work for freedom.

Three More Reasons To Homeschool

As you are all no doubt aware there has been a huge increase in the amount of teachers being thrown in the slammer for having sex with their students. Well just this week alone three (count it one, two, three) homosexual teachers have gotten away with assaulting/raping children with no jail time.

So now there isnt even a threat of punishment for raping our children. No learning going on and teachers raping students. Why do parents allow their kids to go to school?

Book Meme

Okay, this is a bit overdue. I have been trying to wait until I was a little less braindead but that time doesnt seem to be coming any time soon. So without further ado, my abreviated version.

Five favorite fiction authors:
Robert Jordan
Terry Goodkind
Anne McCafferey
Terry Brooks

Five favorite non-fiction authors:
Dietrich Bonhoffer
Henry David Thoreau

Five favorite children's writers:
Shel Silverstein,
the author of Romona Quimby,
The guy who wrote the Bunnicula books,
Bob Reese (of Huzzard Buzzard fame, I will be buying these books for my little one)


Favorite book read in 2005:
pretty much the whole Wheel Of Time series (read it again)

Five books on faith that you would recommend:
Cost of Discipleship
Other good stuff
The best book is of course the Bible.

A fictional character you would like to emulate: Captain Kirk was pretty darn cool!

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? If yes, which one? hmmm too many to even begin to list (that and I am brain dead lately!) Someone else mentioned 7of9 and I could go with that!

A book you love with a short review:
The whole entire Wheel of Time series! good stuff. Believable character, detailed world, lots of action and an author whose views ya just cant quite pin down (try as you might)

Welfare State: An Alternative Approach

Here is my alternative approach (with the actual approach being to abolish it).

If we must have a Welfare State, then lets have a welfare State. Lets declare a specific state to be the only place where one could live to collect welfare for a period of longer than one year. And not just have a mailbox there. Actually reside there for 10 months out of the year. All the businesses and doctors and non-welfare-collectors that wanted to move there could move there. Then we could still have a welfare state, but without the problems being spread out amongst the working.

Dog Crap and Government

The purpose of this post isnt to equate government and crap (why state the obvious?) but rather to point out why we have the Government that we have.

Beloved and I recently bought a townhome. In our unit there are 5 dogs. We make sure our dog does her business in a fairly confined area and clean it on a weekly basis, but everyone else seems to just use wherever. Without cleaning up. After all, why clean up when there is an HOA that will eventually get around to it(I assume some time in spring) Anyways, after about an 1 hour of cleaning up other peoples crap (and there is much more to clean), I realized this is simply a symptom of why we have the gov that we have. No one wants to take responsibility for their own crap. Leave it to someone else. "It's not my job" and "Someone should fix this."

Well let me tell you something people. Deal with your own crap! And while you are at it, go the extra mile and deal with someone else's! If you think something needs fixing, then fix it! Broken glass a problem in your area? buy a $10 shovel and clean it up! Graffiti a problem? paint over it, offer to paint over it on other's homes or fences. Neighbor's yard an eyesore? offer to mow it for them. 2000 years ago Jesus commanded us to go the extra mile, today with all our modern equipment we cant be bothered to go the extra 100 feet. We have a Nanny State because most of us need a Nanny.

Anderson for House

Ex-Sherrif John Anderson is going to take on 20 year incumbent Joel Hefley for his seat in the US House of Representatives. It seems that the Sherrif is not getting any support from the Repugnican establishment. Havent we seen this before? Someone who stands for Rights not getting support... now where did this happen last? Locally that would be maverick Douglas Bruce, author of the Taxpayers Bill Of Rights (TABOR.) TABOR has kept Colorado from the serious deficits other states have encountered after tha last recession. Nationally that was Pat Toomey, an actual conservative running against Arlen Specter for a Pensylvania Senate seat. The Bush Administration and Repugnican party enthusiastically backed the non-conservative Specter.

Not much of Anderson's platform is actually known, but what is known beyond the shadow of a doubt is that Anderson's work made it easier for all Coloradans to conceal carry. Anderson was the first to implement Shall Issue in Colorado, right here in El Paso County. Because the predicted "blood in the streets" never happened other counties followed suit. Denver, being naturally against personal Rights, did not like this situation and made it difficult for anyone who might have to either do business inside of it, or even pass thru Denver (no Safe Passage laws) This caused the issue to come to a head and was taken up by State Legislature, who passed laws making the entire state "Shall Issue."

Even with nothing else known about Anderson at this time (and I am solidly a Libertarian, never again a republican) I say Huzzah for Anderson! I will post later if I can find his platform/stance/views.

Twoferone

What Your Underwear Says About You

You tend to buy new underwear instead of doing laundry. You are childlike (or childish), and prone to run around in your underwear.

The Underwear Oracle

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts. People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused. But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

Tidbits

Sony has created a new record label. Apparently they feel there is a market for musicians whose sole qualification is that they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Whats next? separate labels for musicians who are democrats or republicans?


The FedGov now deems the act of annoying someone on the web as a crime. Mind you, "annoying" is the actual term. Two questions. Just who is it that defines "annoying" and how is that so bad as to be raised to the level of a federal crime?

too funny

Your Porn Star Name Is...

Sergeant Stiffy

What's Your Porn Star Name?

Found at Pebblechaser who found at Difster

A Whited Sepulchre

You have a Governor, it may be urged, vested with the executive powers, or the powers of administration: In him, and in your Council, is lodged the power of making laws. You have Judges, who are to decide every cause affecting your lives, liberty or property. Here is, indeed, an appearance of the several powers being separated and distributed into different hands, for checks one upon another, the only effectual mode ever invented by the wit of men, to promote their freedom and prosperity. But scorning to be illuded by a tinsel'd outside, and exerting the natural sagacity of Frenchmen, examine the specious device, and you will find it, to use an expression of holy writ, "a whited sepulchre," for burying your lives, liberty and property.
[all emphasis is original]

From our Founding Fathers in a letter from the Continental Congress to the Inhabitants of the Province of Quebec.

Stop The Silent Killer

Came across this letter from the Stop the Silent Killer Foundation. Please take immediate action on this important issue. Children are dying!

"Dear Mr. xxxxxx: You have been identified as a person who cares deeply about the future of our fragile planet, the health of our children and the quality of our nation’s leadership. If we are right, we need your help, and we need it immediately. As you have undoubtedly read, dihydrogen oxide has been found to be a major threat to the environment and to human and animal health. Here are the facts:

In 2003, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 4,100 Americans— many of them under the age of 10— died from excessive dosages of dihydrogen oxide commonly found in many homes and recreation sites. Our polluted lakes, rivers and oceans are known to contain vast quantities of dihydrogen oxide. On this, there is no controversy! Contaminated ground water? Same tragic situation. In California, Missouri and Georgia families have lost their homes to dihydrogen oxide contamination. In some applications, dihydrogen oxide is a major contributor to injuries from falls. In other applications dihydrogen oxide is a major cause of burns.

Why does America endure this wasteful destruction of our planet, our children and ourselves? Greed. Simple greed and stupidity. We need your help now. In the next 24 hours, we need you to demand an end to the production and use of dihydrogen oxide. Please write: The Dihydrogen Oxide Institute, P.O. Box 7178, Washington, D.C. 20044-7178. On behalf of our future generations, I thank you. Sincerely, John Alan Waterman."

Consumer Price Index

This shows the CPI from 1665 to 2005. You can view the link here if you have IE, if you are using Firefox (and you should be!) you are just gonna have to open IE. Sorry, it cant be helped. What you will see is a graph of the CPI, or Consumer Price Index, from 1665 to 2005. Note how in 1913, 1933 and 1973 is where the spikes begin.

What happened?
1913 = Creation of the Fed. Still on Gold Standard
1933 = Gold outlawed by Citizens. Dollar still attached to Gold, value is floating
1973 = Completely off Gold standard. Value of dollar not tied to anything.
The fun thing to remember is that the CPI #s are cooked and have been for many years now. If the true CPI (TCPI) values were used then the graph would be even steeper.

The research is by Oregon State

Baby-Ticker

I saw this over at Birdie's blog and figured I just had to have one! umm, the ticker at the top of the page that is!

Dissenting Opinions

You see, I dont mind if people disagree with me. In fact I expect it. Why? Because the majority of people have not put any effort in deciding what they believe and instead parrot their favorite group(s) or speaker(s). This is a problem that is common to the entire political spectrum (or any other issue where reasonable people might disagree.)

If you have reasons for believing what you do and have something other than your own opinion to back it up then I am willing to hear it. If you care to post on this blog be ready to back up what you say. Or you can continue to post odd things that will simply give me a chuckle, as laughter is appreciated too.

IP Addresses

Heidi asked a question about IP Addresses and how to tell if similar addresses are the same user. Well I tried to fit an answer in the comments section but it is bigger than will really fit so I am going to post it.

The current addressing scheme is called IP4. It has 4 groups (octets) of 8 bits. Those 8 bits can equal 000 to 255. In theory then, an address can be between 000.000.000.000 and 255.255.255.255 Thus one might have an address that looks like this. 12.93.27.195 Theory is nice and all, reality is pretty much always different.

Reserved Numbers
There are several ranges of Addresses that are reserved. the whole 000.x.x.x and 001.x.x.x ranges are reserved for the military. 10.x.x.x and 192.168.x.x are reserved for private use. 240.x.x.x to 255.x.x.x are all reserved for expirementation (what a HUGE waste!) The remaining addresses are Public addresses

With the above ranges taken out there are still a lot of addresses left. But today, need for physical addresses far exceeds actual addresses. This causes us to use various methods of tweaking to get addresses to each computer, and those methods may be covered in a later post, and cause what is seen by an IP tracker (such as Sitemeter) to only see one IP address for an entire business or even an entire ISP. For example, I may have 200 or 2000 computers at my business but only one Public IP address. So if John and Sally from BigEvilCorp comes to see your blog they will show up as the same IP address even if they are on different computers.

So if you see an address that is similar, say 11.111.123.32 and 11.111.123.64 you are seeing two different companies/ISPs that could actually be half a world apart.

Not Groking The Subject At Hand

Found: a blog whose sole purpose is (apparently) to discuss global warming. Oddly enough, she doesnt understand how plants work.

Although I have studied sciences since I was young, I never quite understood why it is that trees are supposed to be good for the environment. As far as I know, they absorb CO2 during the day and release Oxygen, and do the opposite at night. If that is true, wouldn't these two processes cancel each other out? And, wouldn't the amount of O2 and CO2 vary depending on how many hours of day light there are? (i.e. there would be lots of O2 released in the summer- because of more daylight hours-, and more CO2 released in the winter- because of more night hours).

It is quite well known that plants take in CO2 and metabolize it and "breathe out" oxygen (O2.) Now it is true that plants will respire at night (put out CO2) but they put out far more oxygen than carbon dioxide. They also "scrub" the air by taking in extra carbon and use that as food/fuel thereby removing emissions from cars and industry and volcanoes.

A much bigger concern in regards to global warming isnt what man is doing, it is what our sun is doing. Other planets are heating up (Mars) but we ignore that in favor of blaming America for all the worlds ills

Liberty Dollars

Why Liberty Dollars? Why use a different form of currency when everyone already takes greenbacks? Whats the point?

First of all, what IS a Liberty Dollar? a Liberty is fully backed by a specific amount of Silver. As the price of Silver in Greenbacks (hereafter "GB") goes up, the value of the Liberty goes up. Currently the $10 Liberty is backed by 1 ounce. Should the GB price go over $10 than the Liberty will "float" to a value of $20, this keeps the bill slightly ahead of inflation.

So inflation is really the primary reason to use the Liberty over the GB. Another reason is that it raises awareness that the FED isnt the only player in currency. The other, perhaps more compelling reason to use them is that you can get them at a discount over their face value. An Associate gets them for 20% less than face value. So a $10 bill would cost you $8. Then you spend that $10 and have made a $2 GreenBack profit.

Becoming an Associate is a total of $250, you get $100 in Libertys (yes that is the correct spelling) $100 goes to the person who signed you up, and $50 is for the mint (paperwork + profit.) Now at a 20% profit it would take a total of $750 Libertys spent to make up that difference. Now I dont know about you, but I go through an awful lot of money each month and getting 20% could be a huge bonus, and even if you have a fantastic deal on your credit card you would only be geting 5% back.

Blogosphere Tidbits

In perusing the web I have come across some things that might interest you all.

A new blog to check out, the Haiku Movie Review you just might find yourself something to watch there.

Ian has a revelation about how we treat other believers, and how our Lord and Savior views that treatment.

Arielle makes an interesting comparison between Squatter's Rights and the Right of the Unborn.

Birdie writes of a day in the life of a homeschooling mom.

If one is needing to brush up on their Calculus, or even learn it, Triton University is now open (sidenote: Triton, you should put up some permanent links to your more scholarly stuff like Calc and "Nukaler" reactors)

I stumled across the blog of Dadasays. He is decidedly a gold bug. Lots of good info on the current happenings of the gold market (FYI it is $523 as of this writing, up $4 from this morning.)

Also of interest and likely something I will be blogging on soon, is NORFED and their currency which is fully backed by gold and silver.

Declaration Of Independence, II

The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refuted his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. Assent to Laws is allowing self-governance, the Crown was in effect reserving the right to overrule any law they tried to pass. Take a look at what is happening in our nation. Are the Several States allowed to create their own laws? Or does the FedGov override them at its pleasure?

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. What we have now is a system of activist judges and a Congress that believes their laws to be the highest and will overrule any State that passes legislation against their will.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. The "right" or representation in our current Legislature is a joke. It doesnt exist if you arent well-heeled

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. No need for this as the FedGov simply forces or blackmails the States to do its bidding.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. Today such groups are simply ignored, partly because what passes for "rights" these days is nothing more than libertinism.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. The dangers we see now are terrorism against which the only defense, as proven by Israel, is an armed populace. We are denied that by some 20,000 laws against various firearms and their carriers.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands. Today we simply invite them over by lack of a border. No need to naturalize them, simply put them to workat the lowest pay possible and then pretend the problem doesnt exist.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers. Really now, who needs judges when they simply rubberstamp what the Gov wants? Or better yet, create new powers by penumbras.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. Somehow activists judges are able to retain their positions, but rule against the gov and you will find yourself without a job or a prospect of getting one elsewhere.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. Can anyone even begin to name all the different government departments there are? There are some 40 Million such jobs in the U.S.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. Standing armies are expressly prohibited in the Constitution. This is why their budget is never more than 4 years out even tho the remainder of the budget is 10 years.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power. Hasnt happened in a widespread way, but every year a poll is done to determine the attitude of our Military and whether or not they would act against Citizens. Each year that poll goes more and more against us, the Citizens

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: How many treaties? Uncountable. The U.N., LOST, Carnivore, etc etc.

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: Again, standing armies. Could also be construed as local police.

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: Wow, can a cop ever be tried? 99 out of 100 walk with paid leave even.

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: Idiotic protective tariffs. Steel, Cotton, Sugar. We pay three times the world average for sugar because of our Gov. We also pay extra for milk for the same reason.

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: IRS anyone? Amendment 16 did not pass, and even if it did it didnt confer any new power on the Gov to tax. Yet it continually attempts to tax us.

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury: Now we have a system wherewith most Citizens get to appear in front of a District Attorney, or a fake court like the US Tax Court.

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: We just transport them now in an attempt to keep prisoners from having any Rights.

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies The FedGov has created a "Federal Territory" that resides in the exact same boundaries as does the State. The Territory also happens to have the same name, only spelled in all Caps. i.e. Colorado becomes COLORADO, or the proper abbreviation Colo. to CO

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: We are now a democracy. The Constitution demands that we have a representative republic. It is this no longer.

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. Not suspended, it again comes down to coersion and blackmail

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. The USA PATRIOT ACT (I &II), Carnivore, the IRS. Against these we have no protection. The courts side with the Government, Congress sides with the Government and so does ourPresident

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. While the LOST treaty could cover for #1, #s 2&3 our pretty much out tho we should remember WACO and Ruby Ridge. The destroying of lives is ongoing. Onerous regulation, back-breaking taxation, the recent Kelo decision by SCOTUS...

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. Not too many mercs inside this country and if they are here they sure are quiet.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. Really inapplicable at this time. The FedGov is not openly fighting against its Citizenry.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. Not the "savage" Indians but rather the savage Muslims who also kill all ages sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. We The People has been petitioning for Redress for years now. I am one of those petitioning. We have recieved no answer back, altho we have been lied to on several occasions. What we get instead, is silence at best, or illegal tricks in the Courts.

A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. I dare say that a government so marked is unfit to be ruler of a free people, not just a prince.

Declaration Of Independence

The document that got us on the road to freedom from British tyranny was the Declaration Of Independence. Most all of us have read it but few remember anything past the opening of the second paragraph. I encourage you all to read it here. I wanted to update it just a bit, or rather to tie it to modern events.


We hold these truths to be self-evident,
These truths are pre-existing and do not depend upon a government granting or upholding them

that all men are created equal,
This has been changed to uphold the Rights of certain classes/groups of people above others

that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
Our Government believes they are the grantor of these Rights

that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Life and Liberty are now both rutinely denied while Happiness is contsrued as libertine-ism

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
Governments are to "secure" Rights,

deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
It has rightly been said that ALL governments are consented to, even dictatorships, this does not imply that our Gov' has actual consent. Consent under duress is not consent.

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,
Is there any doubt that our own Government is destructive to these ends? Perhaps the only Right the Gov now allows us is the Right to not quarter soldiers, perhaps simply because it has never suited the needs of the Gov to abbrogate that one.

laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Obviously we see with the so-called Civil War that our Gov doesnt abide by this either.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
Think tyranny. No tyrant could rule if the people found the evil too much to bear, they would rise up and overthrow him.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Our Founding Fathers viewed it as our Moral Imperative to stand against such acts.

Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.
Now was their time to rise up, having endured the overbearing British rule

The Road to Revolution

I came across a little quiz on the PBS site called The Road to Revolution

It gives a brief history of the events of the revolution. The quiz itself is not very detailed but it has plenty of links to keep you occupied for a bit.

dream

I found myself flying a small 4 seater plane (actually one seat removed so three, also it was a high-wing so it looked somewhat like a Cessna 172 but with open cargo aren behind the seats) trying to find the right radio band for ATC (Air Traffic Control) for this particular airport in Canada. There were two ladies on the flight with me and the girl in the co-pilot seat was trying to show me the map and help me find the proper air field. Well we were heading for this open airport that was totally deserted. Not a plane, car or person to be seen. Still looking for the correct radio band while coming in for a landing. One should never be looking at a map when landing but here I was... Found that darn radio, it is 1540, we were on 1530A. Change the radio and we start hearing ATC but then the dream pans out to distant 3rd person and the plane is landed, in roughly 20-30 feet (Talk about short field!)

Next thing I remember clearly is being out in the mountains somewhere in Ontario, Canada, somwhere in the same time zone as Toronto (Ok, I realize that in THIS world there are no mountains in Ontario) Here I am, at someone's house out in some seriously gorgeous country, sandwiched between some foothills. And I have to be at work. So I am awake at about 3:50 AM cuz I have to be at work for a 6AM-6PM shift for the holiday (this one matches our reality as I do indeed need to be here) but the problem is my plane is no where near and I need to load up stuff into the plane and have someone else (the owner of the house?) fly us back.

Now my mom is apologizing and saying she is sorry and that it is her fault I am late to work and I am trying to get some cell phone reception so I walk over to the split-rail fence. I call in to work but cant really get reception and the 800# for work isnt working cuz I am in Canada. When I do get into work using the toll # they cant transfer me to my department cuz I was the only person scheduled and so there isnt anyone to take my call! GRRR. I had royally screwed things up at this point.

My Beloved had left me a note in the bathroom to make sure that some baby something or other was loaded into the plane (Beloved was now with me, maybe had been the whole dream?) Well for the plane ride back we also had to get some stuff ready for the baby, just in case. So here we were discussing the best method for storing milk on the flight and preparing bottles for baby... yeah. This plane happened to be a low wing (beech?) that carried smoke (not skywriting smoke, more the stuff used during airshows) Sometime during the flight the pilots son (sitting in the last seat back) asked him to turn it on. They then began a discussion on air flow. Fun stuff.


All this to say I didnt sleep very well for worrying I wasnt going to get to work on time. But I did enjoy the flying.

Baby Gear, Diapers etc.

Okay all you Mommies and Daddies, I need your advice.

What diapers are best, and why? Also if you happen to know of where to get the best price that would be good also. As some of you know our little one is due on Feb 4th, so we are trying to stock up now. Not just diapers, but a little of everything really. What did you find most "essential"? Was it a swing or a bouncy seat or using your parents as a baby sitter?

Refrigeration

Getting ice from the machine at work today and it got me thinking on how those things work and I thought I would share that with y'all in case you had wondered the same thing.

First of all the cooling system relies upon a gas. A modern fridge uses ammonia, older fridges used Freon (a Chloro-Flouro-Carbon, or CFC) So we moved from something that is dangerous to the atmosphere (CFC) to something that is dangerous to you. But it is more efficient so I guess that works. The system works like this, the gas flows thru the cooling tubes in the freezer (and fridge) then goes into a compressor which compresses it into a liquid before it goes out the tubes that are on the back of the fridge.

So how does that work? The gas runs thru the tubes and draws away heat from the compartment causing that compartment to be cooled. That gas then goes into the compressor. The compressor raises the pressure to put out liquid ammonia. But compressing the gas raises the temperature of the ammonia. So now it needs to be cooled off and this is done by sending it thru the coils on the back of the fridge.

The final stage is to get the ammonia cold again. This is accomplished by depressurizing the liquid so it can go back to gas again. The depressurization causes a temperature drop.

So: cold gas, pressurize (and heat) to liquid, bleed off heat then depressuize (and cool) to gas.

Modesty

I feel I need to apologize for my lack of modesty lately. First Heidi noticed my tin-foil hat and now Ted noticed my slip*. I'll try to do better y'all.


*on the Speed of Light vs. Molasses post.

Econ & You

Then, with this wicked little grin on his face, Mr. Blumen goes on to say that another scam is "to make money pay a negative nominal interest rate, by imposing some type of 'carry tax' on currency and deposits. A tax or fee on Reserve deposits of 1 percent per month, for example, would mean that those deposits, in effect, pay a nominal interest rate of roughly minus 12 percent."

Think Economics doesnt apply to you? This is just one of the tricks up Bernanke's sleeve. You see, our economy is kept alive by an outrageous amount of debt spending. If we dont keep spending at these rates our economy is going to collapse. And how do you squeeze more from a group of people that only save 1% of their income? You make savings too costly. Would you care to lose 12% on your savings or would you decide it was time to put it into stocks? Stocks obviously. At least then you might have a chance at making money. "Savings" would be a sure fire loss.

Need more convincing?

"The third principle of Bernankeism is the necessity of 'unconventional measures.' The reader of the Fed’s papers and speeches will find a series of increasingly exotic plans for the dollar. From beginning to end, these methods range from the merely unsound to the bizarre and terrifying."
Well, how about, for example, "money rains", whereby the Fed would "give money away either through directly disbursing currency to the public or by disbursing it through the banking system." By this time I am sure your heart is beating like a trip-hammer, boom boom boom at the very thought of such monetary sinfulness!

Now what have we learned about creating money? It causes inflation! Inflation is always always ALWAYS bad. But then giving it away to those who havent worked for it?

I am finding it easier to understand why the Mogambo (whom I cited here today) gets so worked up. I got so worked up that I gave that first example first even tho it should have been second as it naturally follows the second as it is also one of those "bizarre and terrifying" methods.

Once more we should look to the words of Thomas Jefferson

The central bank is an institution of the most deadly hostility existing against the Principles and form of our Constitution. I am an Enemy to all banks discounting bills or notes for anything but Coin. If the American People allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the People of all their Property until their Children will wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered.

Astronomy

Ever wonder how an astronomer can declare what the make up is of another planets atmosphere without ever getting a probe to take a sample? This always mystified my because it really doesnt make a whole lot of sense to point a telescope at Neptune and state that the gases of that planet are X, Y, & Z. Well let me unravel that mystery for you.

As you know, light is the only thing that astronomer has to go off of. Radiation actually, but that is what light is. That light comes from the sun, bounces off the distant planet and makes it back here to a telescope. As you know everything absorbs some sunlight and bounces others. Well it turns out that everything has its own "fingerprint" and will absorb some portions of the spectrum and those portions will therefore be missing when that light comes back to the telescope. By analyzing the spectrum from substances here in closed labs we are able to definitively say what gases make up the atmosphere of a distant planet.

Speed of Light vs. Molasses

While on the topic of the speed of light over at Triton's I came across this article from the Harvard University Gazette about a group of physicists slowing a beam of light to 38 MPH (down from 186,000 Miles Per Second***)

It's a pretty cool expirement. They inject sodium into a vacuum (well, it was a vaccuum up to that point) and then use a laser to get all the atoms moving in one direction. Then they use lasers to get all the atoms to clump together in the middle with next to no movement. No movement equals energy equals temperature (basically) so no movement equals no temperature. In this case it was a fraction above absolue zero (minus 459.7 degrees F, colder than most of space) This formed what is known as an Einstein-Bose "condensate". This condensate acts as one big cell and presents huge resistance to the light wave which enabled the University to observe light at a mere 38 MPH (I've gone faster than that on my bike!) Their next project is to perfect the technology and get the speed down to a whopping 1 centimeter per second

*** Edited Changed from 186,000 MPH to MPS. Thanks Ted

Stolen: Nun Bun

That is right people, the Nun Bun is gone. It was stolen straight from its protective glass case. At thie time no one knows what has become of the Nun Bun but we can all hope that it will show it's "face" again soon.

For those unfamiliar with the Nun Bun it is a cinnamon roll (which my wife can tell you just how important those are to me) that bears the visage of the Mother Theresa. Truly, this is a sad day for bakers everywhere.

Free West Alliance

I am sure many of my readers have heard of the Free State Project. FSP is an attempt to take one state, remove many of the onerous laws and return freedom to one state and thereby be a bright shining star of freedom pointing the way for America and indeed the whole world. One small problem. They chose the wrong state. FSP held a vote and came up with New Hampshire. A gorgeous state with many things going for it including a more western attitude and a coast. The problem is that to affect New Hampshire politics they would need a minumum of 20,000 libertarian-leaning voters to move there.

A better state exists, Wyoming (which just so happened to be a close second in the FSP vote). Also a gorgeous state (Yellowstone anyone?) and one great benefit: only 5000 people needed to swing the state politically. This spawned a FSP-West for those who thought they could make a change faster. Having looked into this a bit more I have found that there is another movement afoot. The Free West Alliance. Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. For those of you already in the west or considering a move to the west, consider a move to one of these States (unless you are a commie, then go back to California or New York)

(The site has had a rough year with being hacked several times and as a result it isnt as complete as it should be.)

Christmas to me

Suppose for a moment that there was this really great Hindu holiday where everyone gets together and decorates their houses and throw parties and such, and then they stand on their heads to pray to Krishna. Among their various decorations are their prayer mats and little statues of people standing on their heads. All in all, a good time is had by all. Now imagine that Christians wanted to take part in this holiday. The Christians might come up with a story about how Jesus turned the whole world on its head, and that is why we stand on our heads.

Is this now a Christian holiday? How does one get past the pagan roots and symbolism of that holiday? If one similarly decorates ones home, nay, exactly the same decorations are put out, is it really a different celebration than the original? Does saying "but we dont pray to Krishna" really sanctify this event enough to please G-d? Or rather has G-d called us to be separate and holy (as He is Holy)?

Wouldn't G-d rather that we followed His commdands? He has after all commanded us to observe several feasts, yet Christians would rather attempt to take from other religions than celebrate the Feasts that He has given us. Hhat a sad sad state that is.

From glass alabaster she poured out the depths of her
soul. O foot of Christ would you wait if her harlotries
known? falls a tear to darken the dirt. Of humblest
offerings to forgive the hurt. She is strong enough to stand
in your love. I can hear her say..I am weak. I am poor, I'm
broken Lord but I'm yours. Hold me Now. Hold me Now.
Let he without sin cast the first stone if you will. To say
that my bride isn't worth half the blood that I've spilled.
Point your finger and laugh if you choose to say my
beloved is borrowed and used (chorus)

Listening to Jennifer Knapp today. I am being reminded that I too need to be pouring out the depths of my soul. It has been too long since I have humbled myself at His feet, too long since...

Properties of gold

A little piece from Lambert Dolphin's website at www.ldolphin.org

Gold has been known since the dawn of mankind. Not long after the creation of the earth, the book of Genesis records that the gold found in the land of Havilah "is good." There are 358 references to gold in the Bible, the last of which makes reference to the heavenly city. Only in recent years has a process been discovered for casting gold in transparent form and in gold-plating glass. Scripture records the amount of gold used in adorning the great temple Solomon built in Jerusalem 3000 years ago. It's 3750 tons of gold would be worth over 45 billion dollars today!

Gold has an atomic number 79 and an atomic weight of 196.9665. Gold is 19.3 times heavier than water, melts at 1063 degrees Centigrade, and is the most malleable and ductile of all the elements. One ounce of this metal (slighter more than a cubic centimeter) may be beaten into 300 square feet of gold leaf. Gold can be fired by a potter into clays to produce exquisitely beautiful porcelain or glass.

Gold is chemically quite inert. No single acid dissolves it. It is unaffected by oxygen or hydrogen sulfide. Gold does not rust, tarnish, corrode, crumble, decompose or decay, even after centuries on the sea floor or in a damp dripping cavern. Gold is found in nature principally as a free metal in veins of quartz, or in alluvial (placer) deposits resulting from the breakup of such rock. Gold in nature typically contains 10 to 15 percent silver in solid solution; it may also contain copper, iron, or more rarely bismuth, tin, lead, platinum, palladium, or iridium. Electrum is the usual name applied to gold containing a high silver content. Gold sometimes occurs in nature in combination with tellurium in the mineral sylvanite. Gold chlorides and cyanides also occur more rarely.

Gold is number 81 down on a list of the atomic elements in terms of relative abundance in the universe and has been highly prized for jewelry and coins since the dawn of mankind. Gold is economically mined today by open pit methods (for example in Nevada and California) even though the gold content is somewhat less than 0.1 ounce per ton of waste rock. The famous gold mines of South Africa are more than a mile deep. Gold is often recovered as a by-product of other metal mining, for example copper or lead. The total amount of gold mined in the world in the history of mankind amounts to less than 90,000 tons. If this gold were all collected together it would fit into a cube only 58 feet on a side! Total gold production per year in the world is less than 2000 tons of which about two-thirds comes from South Africa, 30% from the Soviet Union, 4% from Canada and 3% from the United States. Perhaps only 40,000 tons of gold remains in the earth yet to be mined.

Five stories below the ground at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York City is an enormous, compartmentalized vault holding some 10,000 metric tons of gold worth $117 billion - the gold reserves of some 50 nations.

The "London Good Delivery Bar," which is the standard bar used in international trade, weighs 400 ounces troy. One troy ounce is equal to 1.09714 regular (avoirdupois) ounces. These bars have a refiner name, a bar number, and other information stamped on them, and the minimum fineness must be .995, or 99.5% pure gold.

Gold leaf is widely used for lettering names on glass, for building ornamentation and gilding. In 1986 the Statue of Liberty was refurbished with 6000 squares of gold leaf. 250,000 leaves of gold can be stacked into a pile only one inch high.

Gold is a good electrical conductor - almost identical with that of aluminum and not far from silver and copper. Because of its high atomic stability gold emits no particles or rays from its nucleus. It enters into almost no chemical reactions at room temperature and therefore is impossible to detect at a distance by a remote sensing or a chemical-sniffing method.

In the United States about one-fifth of the annual production, that is about 47 metric tons, is used for electronics where superior electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance are required. Gold can be vacuum deposited on glass or plastic to make heat reflecting windows or sunglasses of superior optical screening properties.

Gold can be detected close up (for instance on the sea floor) using neutron activation. However this technique involving the use of a radioactive isotope and sensitive detectors is not much used today. The claims of some amateur prospectors that gold can be detected at a distance by a "molecular frequency detector" are unfounded according to all known legitimate science. Success, if any, obtained with one of these devices (which are in a class similar to dowsing or water-witching methods) can not be explained by any principle known to science today.

While relatively scarce on earth, gold is apparently more common than brick or asphalt in God's Eternal City, the New Jerusalem, "The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass...And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass." (Revelation 21:18, 21)

You Decide: Verdict

We had a split group. Eaglewood and Ian stating not guilty. Roci and Arielle finding guilty. Wes and Ted saying he is in for trouble with the cops either way, and Triton wanting more info possibly coming down on either side accordingly.

Well here is the way the jury saw it. Not Guilty.

“The fact that the group was not leaving and continued to engage Mr. Hill,” the foreman wrote in an e-mail to The Gazette, “led us to determine that it was reasonable for Mr. Hill to believe that the group of assailants might use physical force against him.”

“Although Mr. Knott was in his vehicle, there was no credible evidence that Mr. Knott was leaving,” the foreman wrote, adding that testimony showed some of the people were still outside a car yelling at Hill.

In an interview after the verdict, the foreman said the law offers no clear “line” where an intruder must be before deadly force can be used.

The foreman, who asked not to be identified because he feared for his family’s safety, said the way the [Colorado’s Homeowners Protection Act] is written made a guilty verdict impossible.

“All four criteria for the use of deadly force against an intruder were met,” he wrote.

The law CRS 18-1-704.5 states

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 18-1-704, any occupant of a dwelling is justified in using any degree of physical force, including deadly physical force, against another person when that other person has made an unlawful entry into the dwelling, and when the occupant has a reasonable belief that such other person has committed a crime in the dwelling in addition to the uninvited entry, or is committing or intends to commit a crime against a person or property in addition to the uninvited entry, and when the occupant reasonably believes that such other person might use any physical force, no matter how slight, against any occupant.

(3) Any occupant of a dwelling using physical force, including deadly physical force, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall be immune from criminal prosecution for the use of such force.

(4) Any occupant of a dwelling using physical force, including deadly physical force, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall be immune from any civil liability for injuries or death resulting from the use of such force.

According to the foreman all 4 criteria were met.
1.) Unlawful entry.
2.) Reasonable belief a crime has been commited.
3.) Reasonable belief of intent to commit a crime against his person.
4.) Reasonable belief physical force (however slight) might be used against him.

It is interesting that there are so many quotes by the family of the deceased about jurors "rot[ing] in hell" and letting Hill get "away with murder" In fact a pastor of the deceased (Knott) spoke of how he was such a wonderful boy. Left out of all their comments is how Knott was demonstrably committing a crime, and a violent one at that. If indeed Knott was such a wonderful person, why had he just assualted a sleeping person? Were I to lose a loved one after they had done something as inherently dangerous as that, I would grieve but I would also realize that he had brought such a fate upon himself. If ya hadnt figured out, I am for not guilty.

Thanks all for participating. It is interesting to see where y'all stand given a brief scenario. I might have to do this again.

You Decide

Here is the scenario. Bob has a party at his house, gets into an arguement with Jill over a stolen purse, Jill punches Bob. Bob grabs a rifle and makes Jill and her friend Jenny leave. Jill and Jenny threaten to come back with their boyfriends.

Later that night, Jill and Jenny come back with their boyfriends, Joe and Rick. The four find Bob in his room sleeping and assault him. Jill punches Bob in the face (this time using brass knuckles) The four head out to the car after promising to come back (again), Bob grabs his rifle and goes to the front door. Bob shoots and kills Joe who was sitting in the car. Some of the group was at this time standing outside of the car yelling at Bob. There is no indication of if Bob was shooting at Joe in particular or missed someone else and hit Joe. Night, distance approx 90 feet.

Your verdict?

Wind-Power

Our power company sends out a little newsletter/magazine and I found an interesting item on wind-power. For starters, it provides a whopping 0.1% of the energy used in America. It lists wood and water as providing the remainder of the 6.1% that is from renewable sources.

To give an idea of how much land would need to be dedicated to wind farms it gave this factoid. The city of Denver would require 1500 square miles of land to meet it's power requirement. And that is just Denver, not the metro area.

Housecleaning

Just did some tidying up here at my cyber-home. You may notice some changes and other maybe not.

Blogroll Additions: Eaglewood, his wife Birdie, and Astrosmith. Also added the Colorado Springs' Gazette's "Out There" blog.

Pics

uh oh, I have figured out the whole image thing...

Anyways, I thought I would test it with some good ol' Calvin.

Pierced

Got pierced yesterday. The verdict is not yet in on whether or not I like it, but the Wife thinks it looks good.

Sorry, but I wont be posting pics of it!

Ted & Abortion

Concerning abortion Ted writes

*long, disgusted sigh*
I repeat the favorite prayer of Ruby Jeanette Burns: "God, save us from the freaking do-gooders! Amen."
Ted | Homepage | 12.02.05 - 10:12 pm | #

and

Speaking of black-robed (child-molesting, idol-worshipping) priests being judicial activists, the Hawaii law is Biblically spot-on (Genesis 2:7) which is much more than can be said for the Papist lies of the anti-choice crowd!

I never actually refered to a single religious text, Christian or otherwise, but since Ted provided us a Scripture I decided to compare this to Hawaiian law. Genesis 2:7 tells us that G-d formed man from dust and breathed life into him (For the sake of argument we'll assume Ted is stating this is a "person".) Hawaiian law defines "person" as "a human being who has been born and is alive." HRS § 707-700 This would tend to contradict the assumption that Hawaiian law is more biblically accurate as Adam was not indeed "born" and therefore was not a person.

The more I see our Senators, Reps and Presidents cavorting with "his hellyness" and the Vatican's backward-collared sith-lords, the more I'm led to believe separation of Cult and state is a good idea that's long overdue.

When cavorting, does one suppose our politicians are cavorting with the Pope? There are some that I think we can take off the list, such as Kennedy who would rather spend time with a bottle and a woman (willing or not) and those whose only thought is how to get re-elected (far far too many of them) What of the rest? Planned Parenthood gives a score of 47.8 for the Senate, and the Republicans put in for (and passed) a $60 million increase for Planned Parenthood. That alone shows little love for the Catholics. What else is there... Evolution in schools, condoms handed out and even demonstrated in schools, books such as "heather has two mommies", and sex questionaires for elementry children. Lets add to that the victories of groups such as the ACLU and PAW in removing religion from public life. Oh yeah, lets not forget good ol' Bush not saying anything about Christmas in his holiday cards. Honestly, the Pope must be the weakest world dictator ever.

And I think I will leave it up to Triton to explain the separation of church and state which is nowhere to be found in the Constitution or Declaration of Independence.

And PLEASE don't come at me with out-of-context quotes from Isaiah or Jeremiah and freaking "what-if!!!"s.
Ted | Homepage | 12.12.05 - 8:43 am | #

Wasn't necessary and I still havent brought up religion.

Difster's "Best Of"

Most of you already stop by Difster's blog but for those of you who don't or those who havent stopped by, you should check out this post. Ya just might find a new favorite blogger.

Difster's Best Of

Blood for Oil

Remember the "No blood for oil" slogans?
Wes

There is a little store downtown that has a campaign running right now...

"Blood For Oil"

Seems they are giving oil to those who donate blood.

Of miseducation and Ipods

I came across an interesting story in the local paper from this past sunday. It states that the students of this alternative school get free Ipods for good attendence. Not good grades, attendence. First off, where was this school when I was in jai... school? You might also be wondering where they get the money for such things. After all, schools are notorious for never having enough funding right? After all, there arent enough books to go around, bands, arts and sports are forever on the verge of being axed, and of course teachers make poverty wages. Well wonder no more. Our good friends at the NEA have helped us to answer such questions.


The good folk at the NEA have compiled a list of the pertinent data. The average per student funding across the nation is a measly eight thousand six hundred eighteen dollars ($8618.) How can anyone expect to get an education for such a small sum of money? And how can one expect to get good teachers when the average wage is on $47,808? After all the national average is $35,648.55 (per the SSA)

So lets see, the average wage for a teacher is 34% higher than that of, well, everyone else (and that does include teachers so that SSA # should be lower) and the publik schools get 229%+ what private schools get ($3757: $3267 in 2000, adding a 15% increase we come up with an estimated $3757 for 2005)

Exactly where is the problem? And why are we continually told there is no money for supplies and extracurricular activities? And why do these children perform so poorly?

And perhaps more importantly than all this is where is my taxpayer purchased Ipod?

Abortion

Well, I thought I was going to post about abortion. but now that I am sitting here trying to do it, I can't come up with anything new to say. I was going to bring up this price list for "harvested" parts. Or perhaps how Hawaii now says it is okay for a woman to harm the baby while it is still in the womb. Perhaps a study of how women who have had abortions have a much higher rate of breast cancer. Perhaps I could write on how abortions are done(caution!), or how the fetus is its own unique being from conception.

I could write upon the negative mental effects, or the various harmful physical aspects. Or how an abortion damages a woman's ability to have children in the future. I could write upon the various pro-abortion political parties, or on Planned Parenthood. Or maybe how it has been proven that PP will conceal a crime to get an abortion? But if I mention PP then perhaps I should go into how it was started by Margaret Sanger who was a leading Eugenics proponent and how PP still "caters" to the minority community.

All in all, it seems that I cant find anything new to write, so I guess I just wont. Have a good weekend y'all!

**Update**
It is now found that women who had an abortion have a 248% greater risk of commiting suicide in the following year versus women who did not. Seems there is one good thing from socialized medicine... centralized records which can be utilized by huge studies.

End Of The Econ Series

Since this blog has been completely overwhelmed by the response to the econ series, I am temporarily suspending any such further posts until we can increase the available bandwidth.

Supply

Continuing on the Econ topic I wanted to addresss the issue of Supply. That of course being one part of the Supply/Demand equation but also something else. The amount of a resource that is available.

When looking at the supply of a resource we often think in terms of "how much." As in, there are X barrels of oil left. Well, economically speaking, this is not a good line of thinking. When we say X what we really mean is that is what is economically feasible to harvest. We may be aware that there is a one ton deposit of platinum (worth approx 32 million today) deep in the crust but it may cost so much more to mine it that it wouldnt be counted in the supply. Same with any natural resource.
So X is really X+Y with Y being the stuff that isnt economically feasible to mine.

So is X+Y the sum total of all of the resource to be found in the earth? If one were to say that all the oil in the earth is X+Y one would still be incorrect from an economic standpoint (Tho perhaps not from a technical standpoint). Why? Because of new technologies and new applications. Take copper. It once had to be laid out by the truckload to handle our communications needs and looking at the forecasts of the day one would be led to believe that conservation is a must. But looking at the scene today one sees a very different picture. We now broadcast much of our communications thru fiber optics or even thru the air.

Oil is a common concern perhaps even a primary concern today but it too is not irreplacable. I found today this post on Aldogg's site. It talks of a company making plastics from corn sugars. By and large plastic has been made by the conversion of natural products or by syththesis from primary chemicals coming from oil, natural gas or coal. (Plasticresource.com) Because of the lower cost of oil this company was only able to get companies who wanted to be more "green" but with the cost of oil going up so steeply this past year this company's sales have gone up over 200%.

So in summary, the true value of X far exceeds that of the sum total of X+Y. If/when the cost of X goes up Z will inevitably come in and pick up the slack. There is always a plan B, we just won't see it until that plan becomes cost effective.

Deflationary fears

I was flipping thru the Wall Street Journal from last Sunday and came across a rather annoying quote. I dont remember who said it but he stated he was worried about deflation occuring next year. Leaving aside the whole Federal Reserve (which has kept us above 3% inflation since before I was born) I want to tackle the issue of deflation.

For the purpose of this and probable future posts I am going to define some terms.
Deflation: Less money, each unit worth more
Recession: A drop in the GDP for two or more consecutive quarters
Inflation: More money, each unit worth less
Stagnation: High unemployment
Stagflation: High inflation coupled with high unemployment (stagnation)
Depression: A period where business activity drops signifigantly

Currently the Fed is pursuing a policy of constant "controlled" inflation. Inflation is where you add to the supply of money which, after a few transactions, devalues all of the money in the supply. Your parents will tell you that they could fill a whole paper bag full of candy for $1 but because of inflation that isnt possible now. Inflation is due entirely to banks. Individuals cannot cause inflation.

Now deflation is basically the opposite. As the money supply contracts each unit of money becomes worth more. Were deflation to take place you might one day tell your kids it used to cost $25 to fill a bag of candy whereas they might be able to fill it for $1. Where inflation cannot be caused by individuals, deflation can be. A reduction in spending and/or an increase in savings. Banks can also cause deflation by printing money at less than the replacement level. Deflation can lead to a temporary reduction in jobs as the market adjusts to the higher purchasing power of each dollor. (Look at it from the boss's perspective. The income could be less than last year even tho more units and real profit could have been made. After all, it is numbers not actual value they are looking at.)

Deflation is basically unheard of. There is no way the people who benefit most from inflation would stop it. Who is it that benefits most from inflation? The Federal Gov. The FedGov is the first "person" to get to spend that money, before it causes a devaluation of the whole supply. They also do it to the tune of billions weekly, but I digress.

Adopting a policy of controlled deflation would be a great thing for our economy, or even just keeping the money at a replacement level. With "I-believe-inflation-is-good" Bernanke taking the helm of the Fed soon all those with unfounded fears of deflation can breath a sigh of relief.

Depression In Men

found an interesting article from the LA Times on "male-based depression"

Some depressed men may be plagued by impotence and loss of sexual interest, but others may become wildly promiscuous. Many complain of depression’s physical symptoms — sleep troubles, fatigue, headaches or stomach distress — without ever discerning their psychological source. Compared with women suffering depression, depressed men are more likely to behave recklessly, drink heavily or take drugs, drive fast or seek out confrontation.

Depressed men may bully and bluster and accuse those around them of failing them. For many men, anger — a masculine emotion that one “manages” rather than succumbs to — is a mask for deep mental anguish. “That’s their way of weeping,” says psychologist William Pollack, director of the Centers for Men and Young Men at McLean Hospital in suburban Boston.
“It’s embarrassing to be sad,” he says. “And the difference between being sad and lazy is hard to distinguish.”

Neither tears nor indolence, it seems, are manly virtues.
“Depression equals vulnerability and shame and lack of functioning. That takes away the man’s masculinity — and for men, that takes away the sense of self,” says Pollack, author of “Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood.” In the American ethos, Pollack says, “a man who’s vulnerable is not even a man any more. . . . It’s the equivalent of being psychologically castrated.”

...behave recklessly, ... drive fast or seek out confrontation. check check and check. Its an issue that doesnt ever quite go away but it isnt really a problem for me anymore. Hope none of you knows anyone who is depressed, but this is good info to have.

Battle Hymn Of The Republic

it just seems appropriate today

Julia Ward Howe

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored,
He has loosed the fateful lightening of His terrible swift sword
His truth is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps
His day is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnish`d rows of steel,
"As ye deal with my contemners, So with you my grace shall deal;"
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel
Since God is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

Unavailable

I am setting my Blog to "Away" for the next week or so. I will be checking blogs but not doing much in the blogosphere.

Ya'll take care

Shalom

Response to Roci

This is from a conversation over at Wes's Blog in the comments.

Roci writes

1. China should not be underestimated. They should be exploited. We are doing that quite nicely now.

Are we truly exploiting China? I doubt they see it that way. In fact, they have continued to help us out by not floating their monetary system which would cause huge upheavals in our economy.

2. China's submarines are quieter than our because they can't leave port under their own power. They are refurbed russian boats. We know where they are, all the time. If they come to blows with us, they won't survive long enough to be a threat. Sound is not everything.

Part of the problem (or benefit) of subs is that you dont know where they are. Sub detection technology is still very limited, and with oceans so big they are nearly impossible to find. And according to Richard Fisher, Jr., a China weapons expert and vice president of the International Assessment and Strategy Center, said China's submarine development was comparable enough to U.S. technology to be a legitimate threat. "The Type 094 will constitute the first reliable Chinese second [nuclear] strike capability," he said.

3. National debt is meaningless. What will happen when the money runs out? Ask Alexander Hamilton. He was secretary of the treasury the last time we had a balanced budget. Money is just paper. The national debt, more paper. We have lots of trees and can make a LOT of paper.

We most certainly can make a lot of paper. The problem is, who wants paper? Right now a lot of people do, and will trade for it. But paper is just that. Paper. As it has no intrinsic value it is only worth what others would give for it. Hyper inflation can and has happened in the past and can very well happen to us. As one notable example, hyper-inflation in post WWI Weimar Republic (Germany) was so horrific that by 1923 it cost 5 million marks to mail a letter.

4. The rate of inflation is a guess. Maybe it is right. A monthly rate is meaningless.

Rate of Inflation is not a guess. on 8/1/05 x = $100.00 then on 9/1/05 x = $101.90 Indeed that isnt much but that is just one month. And while it isnt wise to say that one months inflation will carry out for the whole year, once it is there it doesnt go away. (when was the last time you heard of deflation happening?)

5. 20 million man army in china? Who cares? How far can they swim? Gee that means we might have to use 5% of our nuclear arsenal.

The original point was that China isnt some 3rd world country. China is currently a top user of every commodity and will soon surpass the US in every single one for those it hasnt already. That isnt a weakness. Once they become the top consumer it would be wise of them to float their money and adjust it to its actual worth which is higher than it is now. What would that mean? It would mean that China could purchase at an even higher rate (causing us to pay more via the iron law of Supply & Demand) and bye-bye cheap imports for the US. We face more threats than simply militarily or from terrorists. Economics is going to be what takes this country down. Odd how that happens when countries become socialist.

I leave with this quote

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." -- Thomas Jefferson in 1802 in a letter to then Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin

Chertoff pushes Amnesty Plan

Nate posted a link to Chertoff stating we need to expel the Illegals. Nate was understandably doubtful (as were we all), and it turns out that only a couple days was needed to provide the reason. Seems Chertoff is pushing the Amnesty Plan. The following is from an article by Jennifer A. Dlouhy of Hearst Newspapers.

The federal government cannot stop the tide of illegal immigrants slipping into the United States simply by beefing up border security and cracking down on companies that employ undocumented workers, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told Congress on Tuesday. Instead, Chertoff told the Senate Judiciary Committee, the government also has to create a program that would give millions of illegal immigrants a shot at legal, temporary work in the United States.

This is bunk, pure and simple. Chertoff plan is simple. Call the illegals "legal" and then there is no more illegal immigrants to worry about. Brilliant! It is a shame no one else had thought of such a great plan.

No matter what, Chertoff said, it would be “hugely, hugely difficult” to try and deport all of the illegal immigrants — estimated to be around 12 million people — who are in the country. “We’d have to find them, we’d have to process and remove them, they’d have legal recourse,” Chertoff said, adding that the endeavor would cost “billions and billions of dollars.”

This would of course be in addition to the "billions and billions of dollars" that the illegals are already costing us. Can't have that now can we? Perhaps I am just not old enough to remember this, but when did the various Gov Departments agree with the President on every one of his plans? Has it always been this way? Were qualified but disagreeable people ever get these posts or we they always lackeys?

I would love to see a lot more disagreement at all levels of Government. We need more officials that dont put party above all else. We need officials that don't demand that others agree with them on everything. And we need less power for each and every government official across this country but I had better save that for a different post.

Harriet Miers: Unconstitutionalist

There has been some question recently about Ms. Miers familiarity with Constitutional Law. There are at least two camps in the Repugni er Republican party over her nomination. Oddly, the Democrats favor her and even suggested her nomination. A recent story by the Boston Globe states the White House has provided transcripts to the Senate Judiciary Committee. You can read the article via the Colorado Springs Gazette here.

WASHINGTON - This year, Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers used several speeches to push for expanding President Bush’s powers to protect the United States against terrorism, arguing that “a nation at war” needs a stronger executive branch, according to transcripts the White House has provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In her speeches to conservative groups, Miers called for extension of the Patriot Act, which expands lawment agencies’ power to investigate suspected terrorists.

She defended Vice President Dick Cheney’s closeddoor energy task force as the best way for the administration to use confidential deliberations to set national policy. And she said her role as White House counsel was generally to “protect against any attempted infringement on the appropriate role of the executive branch.”

“In order to effectively serve the American people, the president’s powers must be protected,” Miers said in June, in a speech given to the conservative Heritage Foundation. “We must recognize that we are a nation at war, and that requires a strong presidency to act as commander-in-chief."

Obviously she is a hated Federalist, and has no concept of the Constitution. We are NOT at war, havent been since the 1940's. Congress doesn't have the cajones to step up to the plate and declare war, so we then cannot be at war (legally anyways) regardless of what the President says or where or what are troops are or doing. And the USA(un)PATRIOT ACT is in direct violation of the US Constitution. Support for it is support for using the Constitution as toilet paper.

A Rebuttal

On the way home tonite I was listening to a program that I believe was called "Written On The Heart" I havent yet confirmed that as a google search pulled up only a book. However, it is a Christian talk show wanting to "bring truth" about current issues (largely politics on this particular show) I hadnt caught much of the show but was able to catch many glaring errors.

1.) The Pledge of Allegiance. Once again I find a Christian railing one moment against Socialism, and then glorifying the work of a Socialist (The Pledge Of Allegiance) the next. Get it straight people. A Christian's allegiance is to Christ and Him alone. There is no room for the State. G-d is not just the G-d of the Jews, nor is He the G-d of America. The earth belongs to Him, and all that dwell therein.

2.) Constitution. The hosts of this program stated that 50 different states interpreting the Constitution their own way is "anarchy." Need we define anarchy? And isnt the Constitution dead anyways? Exactly who follows that "outdated" and "archaic" document? Certainly not any Government in the 50 states or territories.

3.) Secession. The hosts were rather adamant that there is no right to secede from the Union. That is a very interesting and all too common viewpoint anymore. It is interesting because there was never ANY doubt that the individual States could Secede from the Union. In fact, all the major newspapers even supported the Right of Secession. Those opinions did not change until Lincoln invaded the South.

4.) Reasons for the War. Hosts asserted that the reason was over 2 things. Slavery and the type of Government, namely the south wanted Democracy, the North wanted Republicanism. Rather than Slavery, the issue was Taxation. The North had placed upon the South an onerous tax that was crippling their economy. Oddly enough, taxation was the main reason the US broke from England. As for the form of Government, the South had learned some lessons from the US Constitution and corrected those errors in their Constitution Of The Confederate States. The CSA actually placed stricter controls on the Government to prevent the abuses of power and the democracy that had already crept in to the Union.

5.) Democrats and Republicans. The hosts conflated the Parties with the system of governance those names suggest. What could be further from the truth? The Democrats are quite obviously for Socialism, Democracy might be a means to get there, but it is not what they stand for. Republicans are the party of strong Government (As the hosts stated, Lincoln "started"[sic] the party) Republicans are for a strong Federal Government (as is easily seen by the last 15 years but to include every R for the last century and a half.) The better term for these people would be Federalist. Or are we to believe that the Green Party is Irishmen for the Ecology?

Had I listened to more I would have more to rant about, however I am much too sick of the whole Republicans = Good : Democrats = Evil arguments. They are both evil. They are both for socialism to one degree or another, they are both for bigger Government, they are both for screwing the American people. Anyways, I figure the length of this post ought to make up for my lack of posting all week long. Let me know what ya think, especially those of you who disagree.

Mogambo Guru For Fed Chairman

Or should that be Chairperson? Doesnt matter. Alan Greenspan is retiring in 4 months.

WE CAN DO BETTER!

Our nation cannot survive much more of the foolishness the Fed has pushed on us for the past century. We need someone in there who actually understands economics. We need someone who can halt us from going over the cliff, and let's face it, no current politician would even think of putting someone in there who might put a stop to the mad rush to inflate our currency to zero.

Richard Daughty, better known as the Mogambo Guru, is ideally suited to this post. Educated, brilliant and a tad eccentric. His columns have always shed the light of truth on our fiscal problems in this country. We need him to bring that same wisdom to the Federal Reserve (despite his insistence that he has been banned from there.)

So here goes...

I, Emunda, nominate the Mogambo Guru (Richard Daughty) to the Federal Reserve Chairman position.

Who is with me on this one? Post it on your site and link back.

Project 86: Return Return Return

The concert ROCKED. As with the last time, the band we went to see was Project 86. The other bands didnt really matter. All told, the other bands were pretty decent. I dont really like screaming and it was fortunate for me that only Spoken does that.

Project 86

Started with track #1 from their new album Sincerely, Ichabod then moved into some old favorites Hollow Again then to One Armed Man. Also in the mix were songs like PS and Another Boredom Movement (one of my Wife's favs) and one of my favs Stein's Theme

this was the 10th concert in 10 days, with two concerts having been done the day before and a drive from Salt Lake City that very day. So the band was a little tired, the drummer on crutches and then there is the altitude. As always P86 was high energy, and courted audience participation, tho honestly I think this crowd would have participated if they had a fire hose trained on them.

Final Analysis:

Project 86 is incredible. Great music, intelligent and uncompromising lyrics, and unapologetically Christian.

Go buy their music. Best Buy had the album at just $9.99