Capitol police ask for arrest warrant for McKinney

The Capitol police officer didn't recognize her and she didn't have herlapel pin showing she is a member of congress on. All the policeofficer did was touch or grab her arms after not stopping when asked to.

He was doing his job when she spun around and struck him. I don't careif it was a punch, slap or poke. She struck him. If it had been me ora regular civilian we would have been arrested right away.

Why should we give her any special privileges because she is black or amember of congress.

Its wrong. Take a look at the story

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/0403mckinney.html

Patient Dumping

You seen the title and wondered what I was talking about this time. Well I found a story about how hospitals and maybe even governmental authorities are dumping (dropping off) patients at shelters instead of getting the help they need.

I want to know how they figure this is new. I mean I have been reading about this for years. To read more about this, go here.

Outsourcing our Security

Once again I come across an article on the internet that just amazes me. A few weeks ago it was the Dubai port scandal, now its how the U.S. is going to hire a Hong Kong company to scan cargo containers in the Bahamas for Nuclear Material. This was done through a no bid contract. What is a no bid contract you ask? Well as far as I am concerned the government picks a company to do the job they want done. I am sure there is more to it, but when you get down to brass tacks that is it. If you want to read about this story, go here.

"International Taxes?"

If the United States Government allows the United Nations to tax American People to pay for that corrupt organization, then it will be time for a 2nd American Revolution and forcibly kick them our of office....

April 15th is once again approaching and with it the necessity of filling out your tax return. It is a good time to reflect on the taxes you pay -- and especially on the taxes you may soon be forced to pay."

Congressman Ron Paul's Column, read more here... 3/6/06

Another example of Big Government wasting Taxpayer dollars...

Here we go again, just another example of government wasting taxpayer dollars...I skimmed through this article and I am blown away at where some of the money goes....

Spending Your Anti-Terrorism Money

The federal government and state governments are spending billions of dollars to prepare for bioterrorism. Among these expenditures are $600 desk chairs; a $46 mahogany tape dispenser; gift bags; letter openers; stress balls; a $4,675 teleprompter; a $3,393 microphone; four copies of the book "The leadership secrets of Santa Claus"; and many other such items.

"County Aims Anti-Terrorism Cash at Some Unusual Targets"

(more...) L.A. Times, 3/6/06

Ahhh...the hypocrites of congress....

...It amazes me how members of the House in Washington DC tells the nation we need to tighten the belts yet they go ahead and spend the taxpayers dollars like its nothing....

CONGRESS

Luxury cars are leased on public's dime

Many members of Congress lease cars -- sometimes more than one -- at taxpayers' expense. Sometimes they lease expensive foreign luxury models or flashy SUVs.

BY MATT STEARNS
Knight Ridder News Service (MORE.....)

FDA Threatens To Raid Cherry Orchards

I always find it interesting when I read articles about how the government that is supposed to help keep us safe and healthy does just opposite.

As Americans struggle to eat a healthier diet, the FDA has taken draconian steps to suppress information about foods that reduce disease risk.

While various agencies of the federal government encourage us to eat more fruits and vegetables, the FDA has issued an edict that precludes cherry companies from posting scientific data on their websites. This censorship of published peer-reviewed studies denies consumers access to information that could be used to make wiser food choices.

Tobacco products kill 450,000 Americans each year.1 Few people understand, however, that poor dietary habits are responsible for more deaths than tobacco. Considering the plethora of toxic foods advertised on television, it is easy to understand why so many consumers eat themselves to death. Just imagine if all you ate is what you saw advertised in the mass media.
The government stopped protecting the tobacco companies long ago, but the FDA continues to take actions that steer Americans away from certain fruits and vegetables that have proven disease-preventive effects. (more)

Switzerland's cantonal system

Walter E. Williams has written an article titled "How to Create Conflict" over at Townhall.com its an article more about how he (as well as I am) is annoyed about President Bush calling the United States a democracy. We are not a democracy, we are a Republic. If you don't believe me, research our founding fathers papers. I think we should listen to him and redo our country the way the Swiss have their country set up. Anyways here is Prof. Williams article "How to Create Conflict."

High up on my list of annoyances are references to the United States as a democracy and the suggestion that Iraq should become a democracy. The word "democracy" appears in neither of our founding documents -- the Declaration of Independence nor the U.S. Constitution.

Our nation's founders had disdain for democracy and majority rule. James Madison, in Federalist Paper No. 10, said in a pure democracy, "there is nothing to check the inducement to sacrifice the weaker party or the obnoxious individual." During the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Edmund Randolph said that "in tracing these evils to their origin every man had found it in the turbulence and follies of democracy."

John Adams said, "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." Chief Justice John Marshall added, "Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos." The founders knew that a democracy would lead to the same kind of tyranny suffered under King George III. Their vision for us was a republic.

But let's cut to Iraq and President Bush's call for it to become a democracy. I can't think of a worse place to have a democracy -- majority rule. Iraq needs a republic like that envisioned by our founders -- decentralized and limited government power. In a republican form of government, there is rule of law. All citizens, including government officials, are accountable to the same laws. Government intervenes in civil society to protect its citizens against force and fraud but does not intervene in the cases of peaceable, voluntary exchange.

Democracy, what the Bush administration calls for, is different. In a democracy, the majority rules either directly or through its elected representatives. The law is whatever the government determines it to be. Laws aren't necessarily based upon reason but power. In other words, democracy is just another form of tyranny -- tyranny of the majority.

In Iraq, Arabs are about 75 percent of the population, Kurds about 20 percent and Turkomen and Assyrian the balance. Religiously, Shia are about 60 percent of the population, Sunni 35 percent with Christian and other religions making up the balance. If a majority-rule democracy emerges, given the longstanding hate and distrust among ethnic/religious groups, it's a recipe for conflict. The reason is quite simple. Majority rule is a zero-sum game with winners and losers, with winners having the power to impose their wills on the minority. Conflict emerges when the minority resists.

The ideal political model for Iraq is Switzerland's cantonal system. Historically, Switzerland, unlike most European countries, was made up of several different major ethnic groups -- Germans, French, Italians and Rhaeto-Romansch. Over the centuries, conflicts have arisen between these groups, who differ in language, religion (Catholic and Protestant) and culture. The resolution to the conflict was to allow the warring groups to govern themselves.

Switzerland has 26 cantons. The cantons are divided into about 3,000 communes. Switzerland's federal government controls only those interests common to all cantons -- national defense, foreign policy, railways and the like. All other matters are controlled by the individual cantons and communes. The Swiss cantonal system enables people of different ethnicity, language, culture and religion to live at peace with one another. As such, Switzerland's political system is well suited to an ethnically and religiously divided country such as Iraq.

By the way, for President Bush and others who insist on calling our country a democracy, should we change our pledge of allegiance to say "to the democracy, for which it stands," and should we rename "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" to "The Battle Hymn of the Democracy"?

Since 1980, Dr. Williams has served on the faculty of George Mason University in Fairfax, VA as John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics.

My comments on "PORT Gate"

"I can understand why some in Congress have raised questions about whether or not our country will be less secure as a result of this transaction," the president said. "But they need to know that our government has looked at this issue and looked at it carefully."

What government? It was looked at by the government of the people! It was “reviewed by a secretive U.S. panel that considers security risks of foreign companies buying or investing in American industry. The panel includes representatives from the departments of Treasury, Defense, Justice, Commerce, State and Homeland Security.” How is this group the government? They are EMPLOYEE’s of the government.

I just don’t understand how this man can be thinking that this is ok? I mean the company is owned by the UAE government. The UAE has had terrorist groups linked to it! So how can we trust them with our ports?

And some critics point out, “a port operator complicit in smuggling or terrorism could manipulate manifests and other records to frustrate Homeland Security's already limited scrutiny of shipping containers and slip contraband past U.S. Customs inspectors.” All it takes is one person, or one small group of people to cause this to happen. Having this company running these ports will just make it easier for terrorists to slip something in.

You can read the whole article where I pulled these quotes at:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PORTS_SECURITY?SITE=7219&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-02-21-16-26-11

Immigration Opinion piece in the Arizona Republic...

...written by Linda Valdez.....

Get real: Migrants aren't our enemies

Linda Valdez
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 19, 2006 12:00 AM

You're being had, America.

You're being scared about a made-up enemy.

The big boys in Washington hope you won't notice what's going on. Their useful idiots, the xenophobic anti-immigrant activists, want you to get drunk on a little covert bigotry. After all, the overt kind just isn't acceptable anymore.

So "illegal immigrant" becomes code for Mexican. And Mexican - well, you know.

You know.

They're not like us. Illegal immigration is part of their grand plan to take over the country. Just look at how they take pride in their heritage!

Give it rest. They're just like us, only poorer. They're here to bus tables. Illegal immigration is about American industry's addiction to cheap labor.

But a busboy makes an unconvincing villain, so the immigrant bashers tell you there's something sinister about the way Juan cuts your grass.

And it isn't just undocumented immigrants who are suspect.

A Web site of the USA Border Alert lists efforts by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to oppose the House's goofy immigration bill under the heading "Hall of Shame."

Can you imagine! Using the democratic process to oppose bad legislation. Oh, the shame.

The Web site doesn't mention others who spoke against the strident House Bill 4437.

Like Grover Norquist of the Americans for Tax Reform and Bishop Thomas Wenski of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Both urged the House to reject the bill.

But it passed, and George Bush praised it. You'd think a Christian man would know God is on the migrants' side.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Justice for Immigrants project says "immigrants earn about $240 billion a year, pay about $90 billion a year in taxes and use about $5 billion in public benefits."

More than 40 religious groups, representing Judaism, Islam and a roll call of Christian denominations from Lutherans to Episcopalians to Mennonites to Baptists to Methodists, signed a statement calling for immigration reform that includes everything the House bill doesn't.

They want Congress to bring America's 11 million undocumented immigrants into legal status, create a guest-worker program, reunite families and set border policies that are "consistent with humanitarian values."

As opposed to current border policies that have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of migrants a year in Arizona's deserts.

As opposed to a fence, which experience shows won't work. There's a strip of high steel fence that runs for 2 1/2 miles between Arizona and Sonora at Nogales. Border Patrol agent Sean King said a team of five agents spends every day fixing the holes that are cut into that fence every night. Five tunnels were found last year. No telling how many haven't been found.

In addition to building a wall for migrants to cut through and tunnel under, the House bill would make felons of those who are here illegally and slap criminal penalties on those who would give water to migrants in the desert.

This bill is touted as the necessary strong medicine. That's where the immigrant bashers and their pals in Congress want to keep you intoxicated on their xenophobic brew.

The word is out that business has been getting a free pass to hire the undocumented. People are wise to that. Bush's director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Julie Myers, told The Republic's Mike Madden that one of her priorities is work-site enforcement.

She pointed to the Wal-Mart settlement as an example of the "name and shame" publicity that companies want to avoid. Wal-Mart last year agreed to pay $11 million as a result of charges that it contracted with cleaning companies that used undocumented workers.

But wait. The House bill, the one that's as supposed be so tough, wouldn't allow such fines. It exempts companies from fines for the hiring practices of subcontractors. It also caps fines for any company that hires undocumented immigrants and gives companies a free pass for first-time offenses as long as they had made a good-faith effort to follow the law.

What company wouldn't say it made a good-faith effort to follow the law? Millions of undocumented workers? Gee, whiz, how did that happen?

The House sticks it to the migrant as cover for business as usual. The anti-immigrant crowd would like the Senate to follow suit this spring.

So the relentless vilification of migrant workers continues by those who hope you won't notice what's going on.

You're being had, America.

Reach Valdez at Linda.Valdez@arizonarepublic.com

=====================================================

I emailed her a response to her article. Now I don't necessarily responde to everything thing she brings up. I feel I get my point accross.


Subject:
Sunday commentary on Immigration

Ms. Valdez

I like to believe that I am not anti-immigrant, but anti-law breaker. Immigrants is what made our country. The Statue of Liberty states on her tablets (and I am para-phrasing here)"Give me your poor and unwanted."

Any time anyone crosses our southern OR northern borders with out following the proper procedures to do so is breaking the law. Hence the "illegal immigrant" title. We as a country need to get tough not only on the people crossing the borders, but on the companies hiring them!!

I read where some critics state that these illegal immigrants are just doing jobs that americans don't want to do. And to some extent I agree with that. But that is our societies own fault. We as a people have to understand that if we want to stop the tide of illegal immigration, we have to stop giving them a reason to come.

We have to force the companies that hire them from hiring them. We have to levy large, crippling fines on them. If we don't the people will keep coming. And I am disgusted that the law you talk about would keep that from happening.

To me that is just another sign or our Republic decaying as the Roman Republic did century's ago! I agree with you in so far as your statement that the American public is being had!

I do not agree with the "guest worker" program, because to me that is just another amnesty like the federal government gave in the late 80's. Supposedly that was to stop the tide of illegal immigration. I don't know the figures, but I do know that it didn't work.

While I may disagree with some of things you did say in your opinion piece, I do feel it was very well written.

Sincerely,


Robert

“Liberty is the prevention of control by others. This requires self-control and, therefore, religious and spiritual influences; education, knowledge, well-being.” Lord Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton (1834—1902)

Philosophy

I have spent the last couple of hours looking at websites about philosophy. I think one of the reasons why is I have been curious about it for a long time. I sometimes wonder if I could be a philosopher. But then I think about my education, I have a high school diploma, but not much college.

I would like to think that you don't need a college degree, but when I read the bio's on different philosophers it seems like that they all have extensive educations. Is that really needed?


I wonder.