Latest Good Blogs, 80+ Entries from 11/07 to 01/08

Eighty someodd entries. Additional "Good Reads" are broken out into their own pages. --MJ

01/17 - Phil Maymin: Did Ron Paul Break Fox News?

"Indeed he may have--if the South Carolina GOP debate was any indication. Two days before the New Hampshire primary, Fox News staged a forum for the Republican presidential candidates and invited everyone who was at the ABC debate the day before, except for Ron Paul. They introduced the forum by saying that the GOP nominee would be one of the five candidates who were there, a statement clearly meant to suggest that Ron Paul doesn't have a chance to win.

That may have been the straw that broke the camel's back, if the camel was an American populace growing increasingly impatient and frustrated with Faux News propaganda"

[Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

01/17 - Rolling Stone: The Great Iraq Swindle

"How do you screw the taxpayer for millions, get away with it and then ride off into the sunset with one middle finger extended, the other wrapped around a chilled martini? ... "

"A few months later, in March 2004, your company magically wins a contract from the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq to design and build the Baghdad Police College, a facility that's supposed to house and train at least 4,000 police recruits. But two years and $72 million later, you deliver not a functioning police academy but one of the great engineering clusterfucks of all time, a practically useless pile of rubble so badly constructed that its walls and ceilings are literally caked in shit and piss..."

[Hattip C.J. Stone. --MJ]

01/14 - William N. Grigg: The Nanny State Goes Nazi

"Today, being described as a “constitutionalist” can have fatal consequences – as in death-by-government consequences.

"The precise definition of “police state” may be elusive, but this one is suitable for our purposes: A police state exists anywhere an innocent, law-abiding family can have its home violated, and their lives threatened, by a paramilitary strike team -- who abducts one of the children at gunpoint -- as the result of an anonymous phone call. Boiled down to its essentials, this is what happened to the Shiflett family of New Castle, Colorado.

"An important secondary purpose of SWAT teams that will eventually become their primary function in the emerging Homeland Security State is the role they play in beating down people who don't grovel. I can't say it any plainer than that.

"And let there be no misunderstanding here: This was an assault by the Homeland Security State,"

[Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

12/24 - Frosty Wooldridgee: Thank the Internet for Saving America From Its Leaders

"As we look back on 2007, we thank our computers hooked up to the Internet that hooked us up to one another. Without this unlimited communication device—Bush and Congress would have destroyed our constitutional republic. For the past 20 years, their lies, incompetence and sheer greed proved more powerful than the will of American citizens. The military-industrial complex and corporate America dictated this country’s path. They own the media which feeds us the news they demand. They buy the Congress via huge financial perks. Men like McCain, Kennedy, Specter, Martinez, Hagel, Reid, DeLay, Cunningham and others routinely forgot their oath of office or responsibilities toward our country. Crooks like Delay and Cunningham got caught, but dozens if not hundreds still slink around in the shadows like rats. Presidents and senators did not enforce our laws, didn’t respect our citizens and failed to maintain our borders."

[Hattip Sagebrush Saloon. --MJ]

12/21 - Agence France-Presse: Descendants of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse break away from US

'The Lakota Indians, who gave the world legendary warriors Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, have withdrawn from treaties with the United States, leaders said Wednesday.

'"We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us," [said] long-time Indian rights activist Russell Means'

[Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

12/17 - Larken Rose: Choose one evil from column A...

"If two crooks were in your neighborhood, and one wanted to steal your
car, and the other wanted to steal your car AND your credit card,
would you consider the first one to be your buddy? Would you praise
him as an 'anti-theft' advocate? Only if you are a complete idiot.
Likewise, only if you are a complete idiot would you characterize the
Republican Party as pro-freedom and anti- socialist. I know lots of
voters who have supported the Republican Party because they bought the
lie that the party is for 'limited government.' (I hate to admit it,
but years back, I was one of them.) Over and over again, the
Republican tyrants have betrayed their supporters, and yet many people
STILL think that whatever socialist/fascist has an 'R' after his name
should be put into office, simply to keep out the socialist/fascist
with the 'D' after his name. How long is this silly trick going to
work?"

[Stolen from Rational Review. --MJ]

12/11 - L. Neil Smith: Tom Knapp and the "Cult" of Ron Paul

"It does have to be "NOW NOW NOW" because otherwise it'll likely be never ... Unlike wishy-washy douchebag politicos on both sides of the largely non-existent divide, Paul's campaign refuses to dance to the music creatures like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton choose for it ... is waiting for an absolutely perfect candidate to come along (you certainly wouldn't regard me as such, would you, baby-killer that I am?) worth having these two insane wars continue, worth having more and more Patriot Acts rammed through Congress, worth feeling more ashamed every day by what's being done in our names in terror-filled hellholes like Guantanamo, worth filling concentration camps that have already been built here, for dissenters like you and me?"

[Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

12/03 - Tibor R. Machan: Health Fascism on It's Way

"Krugman says that 'The whole point of a universal health insurance system is that everyone pays in, even if they're currently healthy, and in return everyone has insurance coverage if and when they need it.' Never mind that different folks may have different ideas as to how to go about managing their sickness and health. Never mind that many may choose to handle things in ways not approved of by Professor Krugman. Their choices don't matter, free country or not. What matters is that the utopian ideals, never successfully realized as a workable health care system anywhere in the world, at anytime in human history, be coercively implemented. Once again the imagined perfect becomes the enemy of the realistic good."
[Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

11/06 - DR PAM SPURR: Why women must learn to say yes in the bedroom, says leading female therapist

"This led to arguments, she told me, during which her husband, a property developer, protested strongly that it left him feeling cold-shouldered. It never occurred to Jennifer - or the countless other women I have dealt with on this exact same issue - that eventually he'd look elsewhere.

"Don't misunderstand me. I never encourage or excuse infidelity. But when you hear story after story of men feeling sexually neglected by women who find it perfectly natural to put their own interests before their husband's - and not for a good reason such as a medical issue or a traumatic event like a bereavement - I can't help but feel that some men have little choice, bar ending the relationship. After all, the human sex drive is a powerful thing, and requires careful care and consideration between two people."

10/29 - Becky ( Just a Girl in short shorts): Ron Paul Supporters Annoy America

"For the greater good of the cause many Ron Paul supporters need to take off the tin foil hats and shut the fuck up. While I appreciate their efforts to promote the campaign, way too many of them are among the most annoying people to walk the face of the earth.

They do not realize their overzealous insanity is turning off many undecided voters, as well as traditional conservatives and social conservatives who are desperately searching for a candidate to call their own."

10/23 - Phil Stewart: Ecuador wants military base in Miami

"Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa said Washington must let him open
a military base in Miami if the United States wants to keep using an air
base on Ecuador's Pacific coast. Correa has refused to renew Washington's
lease on the Manta air base, set to expire in 2009. U.S. officials say it is
vital for counter-narcotics surveillance operations on Pacific drug-running
routes. 'We'll renew the base on one condition: that they let us put a base
in Miami -- an Ecuadorean base,' Correa said in an interview during a trip
to Italy. 'If there's no problem having foreign soldiers on a country's
soil, surely they'll let us have an Ecuadorean base in the United
States.'" [Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

10/6 - Tony: Why I’m Homeschooling My Kid in Science Next Year

"It’s no surprise to me that Colorado’s public school system is not good. I mean, I’m a product of the Boulder Valley School District and I can tell you first hand that it’s not great at preparing one for college, or anything for that matter.

So, it shouldn’t come as a big shock to me that I need to pick up the slack for what my sons are NOT learning about science in school."

10/3 - Jennifer Reynolds: Ron Paul Betting Odds Could be Impacted by New Voting Rules

"Voting Rules Changed at Last Minute Will Shut out Votes for 2008 US Presidential candidate Ron Paul, according to Gambling911.com Special Contributor Jennifer Reynolds. Ms. Reynolds regularly reports on the Ron Paul campaign for the Gambling911.com website. Dr. Paul, as many of you already know, is opposed to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and there are many in the online gambling space who would love to see him get elected into office next year.

But it turns out his own party is going to make this an even more difficult task."

[Anything to keep power... So, please register Republican immediately! Not tomorrow, Today! Word on the street is many currently open primaries are going to "close" after the deadline to register has passed. Thereby keeping Ron Paul supporters from voting in the primary -MJ]

10/2 - P.W. Singer: The dark truth about Blackwater

"The amount paid to Halliburton-KBR is roughly three times what the U.S. government paid to fight the entire 1991 Persian Gulf War ... After a reported 20 Iraqi civilians were killed, including the couple and their child, who was subsequently burned to the mother's body after the car caught fire, the Iraqi government and populace exploded with anger ... the $2.2 billion that the U.S. Army has claimed Halliburton overcharged or failed to document is almost double the amount in current dollars that it cost the U.S. to fight the Mexican-American War, which gained the territories of Arizona, New Mexico and California."

9/19 - Mike Blessing: Wipe your own ass, America

"A few years ago, Bill Koehler, my partner in offending the Greater Albuquerque area’s anti-libertarians, proposed a slogan for us to use on the TV shows that we work on together — ‘We’re the party that wants you to wipe your own ass.’ (Bill thinks that perhaps the LP could use some snob appeal, kind of like the U.S. Marine Corps’ ad pitch — ‘The Few, The Proud, The Marines.’ I don’t disagree — maybe something along the lines of ‘Do you have what it takes to be a libertarian?’ might come in handy at times.)" [Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

9/14 - John Nichols: Soldiers Who Challenged War Spin Die in Iraq

"The letter from the soldiers offered an honest, spin-free account of what is really happening in Iraq, straight from men serving in the thick of the fight. And it called into question virtually every statement that Petraeus would make to Congress.

According to press accounts from Iraq, Staff Sergeant Gray, aged 26, and Sergeant Mora, aged 28, died less than a month after the publication of the letter that said the United States had "failed on every promise" made with regard to the occupation." [Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

9/12 - L. Neil Smith and Aaron Zelman: A blueprint for ending gun control

"WARNING! If you’re the kind of self-defense advocate who actually believes in doing something, it’s likely that you’ll find this article interesting and useful. If, however, you’d rather complain than act, if you believe ‘we can live with’ whatever unconstitutional measure has just been or is about to be passed, or that perhaps we’d better write the next legislation ourselves, before it’s written for us — in short, if you feel more comfortable on your knees than on your feet, the authors strenuously suggest that you skip this article, as they don’t wish to be responsible for raising your blood pressure and possibly killing you." [Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

9/2 - Wilton D. Alston: Is It Wrong If I Just Don’t Care?

"Why don’t I care about the things I list? I could take each of these separately, and I will embellish on a few of my reasons, but basically it comes down to this. I’m an anarchist.

"Sometimes we like to refine this description with terms like anarcho-capitalist, and that’s accurate as well, but let us be clear. I don’t want a better government; I want no coercive political government. I don’t want a more efficient TSA; I want no (publicly funded) TSA. I don’t want a better FDA; I want no FDA. I don’t want policemen who only stop every third brother caught DWB (driving while black); I want to be able to switch providers when the security service "hired" with my tax money wastes it while simultaneously shooting at people like me. Before anyone jumps to a conclusion and pulls a muscle, let me clear something else up. Does all this mean that I want no rules in my life? Why of course not."

8/27 - Richard North: A "binary" treaty

"In this new so-called reform treaty, however, the "colleagues" have excelled themselves, secreting into the text an amendment which gives them powers to do just about anything."

EU gives itself limitless power and lawmaking ability...

8/25 - intosanity: ABC News Reposts Poll Because Kucinich Won

"Wow, talk about some shady “journalism.” Earlier today ABC News posted a poll asking who won the democratic debate and Kucinich won by over 3,000 votes. Just recently they reposted the poll to bury the previous one and cut his picture out on top of that! ... Update: It looks like they reverted back to the old poll numbers with the new poll of 'who won.'"

8/25 - Justin Ptak: Guilty Until Proven Innocent

"A trucker has sued the Drug Enforcement Administration, seeking to get back nearly $24,000 seized by DEA agents earlier this month at a weigh station on U.S. 54 in New Mexico north of El Paso, Texas. ... DEA agents told Prieto he would receive a notice of federal proceedings to permanently forfeit the money within 30 days and that to get it back, he'd have to prove it was his and did not come from illegal drug sales. They told him the process probably would take a year, the ACLU said."

8/21 - Misha Glenny: The Lost War

"We've Spent 36 Years and Billions of Dollars Fighting It, but the Drug Trade Keeps Growing ... Thirty-six years and hundreds of billions of dollars after President Richard M. Nixon launched the war on drugs, consumers worldwide are taking more narcotics and criminals are making fatter profits than ever before. The syndicates that control narcotics production and distribution reap the profits from an annual turnover of $400 billion to $500 billion. And terrorist organizations such as the Taliban are using this money to expand their operations and buy ever more sophisticated weapons, threatening Western security."

8/4 - Matthew Engel: High society

"Over a few glasses in Washington the other week, I fell to discussing with old friends whether the Iraq war was the most disastrous decision ever taken by a modern democratic government.

"I said no. It is true that the war, in so far as it had any legitimate and coherent objectives, has achieved the reverse of all of them, while causing many thousand deaths. But in this list it seemed to me impossible to place it higher than No 4.

"In third place comes the decision by the Israelis to use their 1967 conquests not as the basis for possible peace but to create a settler-based empire. It is hard to overstate the consequences of this for Israel, the Middle East and the world."

8/4 - MARIE MARCHAND: The president is threatening me

"In case I get picked up and taken away under President Bush's Military Commissions Act of October 2006, I want it on record that I am not a terrorist or an enemy combatant, and that the organization I run in Bellingham is not associated with any terrorist cell.

"In case my assets, which are few, get seized and my hard drive gets robbed under Bush's new executive order of July 17, 2007, I want you to know my name so that I am not disappeared. I have a 6-year-old son to raise, and, like so many intelligent, passionate peace activists, the world needs me to be a leader in ending my country's imperial addiction to warfare." [Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

8/1 - Harvey Wasserman & Bob Fitrakis: Will Bush cancel the 2008 election?

"It is time to think about the 'unthinkable.' The Bush Administration has both the inclination and the power to cancel the 2008 election. The GOP strategy for another electoral theft in 2008 has taken clear shape, though we must assume there is much more we don't know. But we must also assume that if it appears to Team Bush/Cheney/Rove that the GOP will lose the 2008 election anyway (as it lost in Ohio 2006) we cannot ignore the possibility that they would simply cancel the election. Those who think this crew will quietly walk away from power are simply not paying attention. The real question is not how or when they might do it. It's how, realistically, we can stop them." [Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

7/25 - John Connor: Who killed our kids?

"I don’t think any parent who has ever sent a child off to college got through the day on Monday, April 16th, without a lump of ice forming in their guts. Mine was the size of the ’berg that sent RMS Titanic to its chilly tomb. I’m surprised it didn’t melt, given the heat of my rage. In answer to the question, ‘Who killed our kids?’ we were ultimately shown a photo of a psychotic — Seung-Hui Cho. But as I looked at Cho, I saw the same thing I have seen when viewing terrorists: pale, shadowy figures behind him, rank upon rank; — facilitators — those who laid the field, smoothed the path, and provided the opportunity for mass murder, those who disarmed the victims in advance of their killer’s arrival, a process akin to de-horning neutered cattle, because it makes butchering so much safer. Only one of the Virginia Tech murderers has been identified. Not only haven’t they been dealt with — they’re still in power, creating more ‘killing zones." [Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

7/12 - David Bowermaster: Firing by Bush rejected by boundary official

"A dispute over a backyard wall in Whatcom County [Washington] has reached all the way to the White House, with President Bush firing International Boundary Commissioner Dennis Schornack over his handling of the matter. But on Wednesday Schornack rejected his dismissal by the commander-in-chief. In a strongly worded letter to Bush, Schornack said the International Boundary Commission (IBC) is an independent, international organization outside the U.S. government's jurisdiction. Schornack wrote that according to the 1908 treaty that created the IBC, a vacancy can only be created by 'the death, resignation or other disability' of a commissioner. Thus, Schornack said, the president cannot fire him. ... Schornack's lawyer, Elliot Feldman, said Schornack was fired because he refused to let the Justice Department handle the legal battle over a cement wall built by Shirley-Ann and Herbert Leu of Blaine, which Schornack says illegally encroaches on the U.S.-Canadianborder and must be torn down." [Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

7/4 - Linda Andros: Be Patriotic and Pass the OPEN Government Act

"Despite passage of the OPEN Government Act in the House (H.R. 1309) and overwhelming support for these common-sense reforms from across the political spectrum, the Senate bill has been stopped dead in its tracks by Senator Kyl (R-AZ). In an ugly irony, Kyl placed a secret hold on the bill. Although Kyl was unmasked, he and the Republican leadership, continue to stand in the way. Apparently, Kyl is carrying water for Alberto Gonzales’s Department of Justice (DOJ). Gonzales particularly objects to the bill’s provision requiring that agencies pay the attorneys’ fees of individual requesters when requesters are forced to go to court to get agencies to comply with FOIA. But without that provision, there would be no incentive for agencies to release documents before a court orders them to and every incentive to use delay as a tactic to make it costly for the public to use FOIA. Of course, this is not surprising considering the Attorney General’s disdain for accountability." [Call your Senator... -MJ]

7/3 - Kevin Tuma: Why the Libertarians Must Draft Ron Paul

"It’s prognostication time: I will now indulge in egotistical predictions. I predicted, in one of my first online columns, that if the GOP did not turn back to the old Right and stop abrogating the Constitution, the party would "reap the whirlwind". It took a little longer than I thought, but it happened…and indeed, it is still happening. If the tea leaves did not reveal a furious conservative electorate, GOP senators would not be scrambling to confront the President on his silly immigration schemes, or to undercut the Bush war in Iraq. They smell blood…and it’s their own." [Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

6/15 - BRUCE K. GAGNON: A 10-Step Plan for Antiwar Activists

"I often hear from people asking me, "What should we do about all this? How can we stop Bush?"

I would first say that we must move beyond blaming Bush. The fact of U.S. empire is bigger than Bush. Hopefully by now, all of us are more clear how the Democrats have been, and are now, involved in enabling the whole U.S. military empire building plan. It is about corporate domination. Bush is just the front man for the big money." [Hattip Rational Review. --MJ]

6/13 - Retta Fontana: Seize This (Raw Milk, Part III).

"Previously, in The Real McCoy, I expounded the benefits of consuming raw milk. In Raw Milk Is Not Crack, I reported the true misadventures of my local farmer. Richard Hebron sadly came into the crosshairs of the Michigan FDA for peacefully supplying raw milk to cow share owners who willingly purchased it. I’m happy to report some good news, for a change, and that’s besides the benefits of raw milk obtained from healthy cows." [A good read, and a very good launch point into discovering how destructive to food the pasteurization process is. --MJ]

6/10 - Blog of Funk: Extraordinary Renditions: Prisons Identified.

"We learn that there were two main prisons, in Poland and in Romania; that at least 70 people were kept in detention where they were interrogated, i.e. tortured, without any recourse to lawyers or the Red Cross; and that among the detained was a child of seven years old. CIA agents reported directly to the national executives' office - Nato countries offered blanket exemptions to usual legal process under anti-terror laws."

6/1 - Matthew Engel: The lay of the land.

"I have just laid Hillary Clinton. She was an easy lay too and, in my opinion, rather a good lay."

5/25 - esoterically.net: They knew.

"None of this comes as a surprise to those of us who have been paying attention, but there are some (Republicans) who may find it interesting…

CIA warned of risks of war in the Mideast

In a move sure to raise even more questions about the decision to go to war with Iraq, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will on Friday release selected portions of pre-war intelligence in which the CIA warned the administration of the risk and consequences of a conflict in the Middle East.

Among other things, the 40-page Senate report reveals that two intelligence assessments before the war accurately predicted that toppling Saddam could lead to a dangerous period of internal violence and provide a boost to terrorists. But those warnings were seemingly ignored."

5/24 - Scott-O-Rama: Will Nothing Stop Google?.

"I’m sorry, but I’m just not a big fan of Google. I can’t put my finger on an exact reason (other than possible homophobia regarding AdSense)."

5/20 - AV Club Blog: Trash + Plasma = Electricity + Obsidian.

"...once you start this machine, as long as you keep feeding it trash, it keeps spitting out usable byproducts and generates enough energy to keep itself running."

4/29 - Baghdad Burning, by river: The Great Wall of Segregation... [or, We're getting the hell out!].

"The problem is that we don't even know if we'll ever see this stuff again. We don't know if whatever we leave, including the house, will be available when and if we come back. There are moments when the injustice of having to leave your country, simply because an imbecile got it into his head to invade it, is overwhelming. It is unfair that in order to survive and live normally, we have to leave our home and what remains of family and friends… And to what?"

4/23 - TEXAS STRAIGHT TALK, by Ron Paul: Security and Liberty.

"The senseless and horrific killings last week on the campus of Virginia Tech University reinforced an uneasy feeling many Americans experienced after September 11th: namely, that government cannot protect us. No matter how many laws we pass, no matter how many police or federal agents we put on the streets, a determined individual or group still can cause great harm. Perhaps the only good that can come from these terrible killings is a reinforced understanding that we as individuals are responsible for our safety and the safety of our families."

4/21 - Baghdad Burning, by river: The Rape of Sabrine....

"Let me clear it up for any moron with lingering doubts: It’s worse. It’s over. You lost. You lost the day your tanks rolled into Baghdad to the cheers of your imported, American-trained monkeys. You lost every single family whose home your soldiers violated. You lost every sane, red-blooded Iraqi when the Abu Ghraib pictures came out and verified your atrocities behind prison walls as well as the ones we see in our streets. You lost when you brought murderers, looters, gangsters and militia heads to power and hailed them as Iraq’s first democratic government. You lost when a gruesome execution was dubbed your biggest accomplishment. You lost the respect and reputation you once had. You lost more than 3000 troops. That is what you lost America. I hope the oil, at least, made it worthwhile."

[I find it extremely distressing to read River's blog. I don't wish to believe that anyone could be as evil and sociopathic as she shows that people are. More to the point I desire to completely deny that a multitude of people from my own country can be that lacking in any semblance of the desire to do right instead of wrong. Please continue writing River, there are those on this side of the pond who share your expressions for justice and ethical humanity. --MJ Taylor]

4/10 - Ron Brynaert: Florida police chief: Do you think this is the first 6-year-old we've arrested?.

"In an interview with New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, the 'no-nonsense' police chief of a small town in Florida defended the arrest of a six-year-old African American girl who had a tantrum in her kindergarten class. 'When 6-year-old Desre'e Watson threw a tantrum in her kindergarten class a couple of weeks ago she could not have known that the full force of the law would be brought down on her and that she would be carted off by the police as a felon,' Herbert writes. 'But that's what happened in this small, backward city in central Florida. According to the authorities, there were no other options.'" [HatTip Rational Review]

4/2 - Matthew Engel: I propose a global ban on sanctimoniousness.

"The inevitable consequence was a letter to London’s Daily Telegraph this week: “Sir – Is it not time to have a global ban on all organised betting on cricket? Almost none of the money from betting flows back into the game. It makes a few people very rich but many more people poorer or even ruined, and it creates a permanent threat of corruption and crime.”

Where do we even start to reply? Where can one ever begin with the global army of prohibitionists, the people whose urge is always to ban everything they don’t enjoy themselves?"

3/26 - theNewspaper.com: City to Seize Homes Over a $5 Parking Ticket.

"The city council in Brooksville, Florida voted this week to advance a proposal granting city officials the authority to place liens and foreclose on the homes of motorists accused of failing to pay a single $5 parking ticket. Non-homeowners face having their vehicles seized if accused of not paying three parking offenses."

3/23 - Bob Avakian: Bush Paves the Way for Martial Law: 2007 National Defense Authorization Act overturns Posse Comitatus Act.

"In October 2006, Bush signed into law the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007. Quietly slipped into the law at the last minute, at the request of the Bush administration, were sections changing important legal principles, dating back 200 years, which limit the U.S. government's ability to use the military to intervene in domestic affairs. These changes would allow Bush, whenever he thinks it necessary, to institute martial law--under which the military takes direct control over civilian administration."

3/23 - Paul Armentano: It's Been an 'All Out War' on Pot Smokers for 35 Years.

""[T]he criminal law is too harsh a tool to apply to personal possession [of Marihuana] even in the effort to discourage use," concluded the commission, which included several conservative appointees of then-President Richard Nixon. "It implies an overwhelming indictment of the behavior, which we believe is not appropriate. The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only with the greatest reluctance.

"... Therefore, the commission recommends ... [that the] possession of marihuana for personal use no longer be an offense, [and that the] casual distribution of small amounts of marihuana for no remuneration, or insignificant remuneration, no longer be an offense."" [Hat Tip: reddit.com]

3/19 - Per Bylund: What the E.U. Is All About.

"Freedom has never been a real part of the EU – the so-called four freedoms might as well be called the Four Control Areas. The union is an enormous political entity handing out favors and privileges to whoever plays the political game best (which very seldom is the best actor in the marketplace). In the name of social justice, the environment, employment security, or whatever the EU regulates, taxes, and in any way possible tries to intimidate and destroy non-political actors." [Hat Tip: Rational Review]

3/18 - Matthew Engel: In the smoking gloom.

"Long before the war on smoking, politicians waged two other wars. There was the war on sex. Remember how there was once a quaint habit called “prostitution”, whereby men paid women to have sex with them. Countries passed laws against it and this degrading practice disappeared.

There was the war on drugs. People used to take strange substances with names like “cocaine” and “cannabis”. The politicians made them illegal. Some silly campaigners said this merely encouraged their use, handed the supply chain to gangsters and exponentially increased crime. What nonsense. Such drugs are hardly heard of nowadays.

One could also mention the war on terror. But maybe you are getting the point."

3/16 - Wendy McElroy: The transaction costs of life are soaring.

"For a few years, I have been complaining to my husband that the transaction cost of being alive was soaring...and almost always because of increased governmental requirements and ensuing governmental inefficiency."

3/16 - Jim Davies: The Pretense of Justice.

"Sure enough, the case opens and witnesses swear that you were seen in very close proximity to the parade, wearing one of the brightest orange jackets upon which Bostonians ever set eye; and that, at high noon on March 17th! In vain does your attorney ask them whether they know of any law forbidding your impertinence--for the judge threatens him with jail for contempt unless he keeps clear of that topic; for he alone, from his high and mighty bench, will declare what is, and is not, The Law."

3/4 - I love to eat, I hate being fat: Ted Nugent's Point Of View. "I like big trucks, big boats, big houses, and naturally, pretty women.I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some midlevel governmental functionary with a bad comb-over who wants to give it away to crack addicts squirting out babies.I don't care about appearing compassionate."

2/21 - Fourth Grader Settles Gun Control Debate: Details at 11:00, by Mike S. Adams. "Despite a recent survey conducted by Dee Rowland, Chairwoman of the Gun Violence Prevention Center, I know that owning a gun is the best way to protect myself from criminal victimization. After all, Dee only surveyed one person — her nine year old grandson. I doubled her sample size by surveying two of my closest friends.But, unfortunately, in the wake of the recent murderous rampage at Trolley Square, the folks at Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah are embarking on an anti-gun rampage that could soon be the envy of every Muslim who likes to kill innocent people at a shopping mall." [hat tip to Rational Review. -MJ]

2/18 - MyPeace: Politics Of War. "Jack Murtha, retired Marine Colonel, veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, twice awarded the Purple Heart for his bravery and sacrifice, is anti-American. Well, at least that’s what some Republicans are calling him after the Congressman has revealed key elements of his new bill to support our troops. How can a politician represent the will of the people - who want the troops to come home - and still support those troops who are in harm’s way?"

2/14 - Matt's Political Blog: End Preemptive War. "Preemptive wars, wars of aggression are the same in that they are against everything our country stands for. America does not attack and kill for fun, for greed, or for ideology, right? As an American, I truly believe that we do not, so to stop our (supposedly) elected officials from once again making us look like what the Polish saw in the fall of 1939"

2/11 - tales from a muse: Dear Abby. "many people enter into relationships because they are looking for someone to make them happy. sorry to have to tell you this, but your happiness is your OWN responsibility. nobody can make you happy - nobody should have to!" [blog uses (rel="nofollow"), no comment left]

2/10 - informationliberation, by Steve Watson: Big Brother Brain Scanners to detect pre-crime. "The use of this technology for crime prevention and social control is worse than anything Orwell or even Huxley predicted, and is directly out of Phillip K Dick's Minority Report."

2/9 - f a t c a t politics: Save PBS and NPR Again, Bush Trying To Snuff Big Bird... Again...!!!. "Congress must save NPR and PBS once and for all. Congress should guarantee permanent funding and independence from partisan meddling.." [Great Blog by fc, you should visit often... MJ]

2/7 - Equine Shine: Horrible Beyond Words.. "Youtube video in which an unidentified man claiming to have been a guard at Abu Ghraib boasts about abusing and torturing inmates and the rape and suicide of a young girl." [blog uses (rel="nofollow"), no comment left]

2/6 - Gimpy, Grumpy and Gay: When Did We Fall So Far?. "Bush and dumb starlets, that's all that's out there these days ... ost in the sea of stupidity that has become America's reporting media, I find myself clinging to but one clear thought ..." [I would have left her a comment, but she's doing that 'rel=nofollow' thing. -MJ]

2/6 - f a t c a t politics: Presidential Records Act, What Bush Changed.... "Most people are aware that Bush changed the Presidential Records Act of 1978 to allow him to seal Poppy's records. The information in his and Reagan's papers could be very telling about the true nature of their administrations. It was general knowledge that the Iran-Contra papers from Ronnie Raygun's reign were to be declassified and released after the 12 years mandated by this law.

Where we did not fill in the blanks well enough was why this would be so important. A few weeks after 9-11 Bush re-wrote the Records Act to kill info about some of the NeoCon Felons of the Reagan Iran-Contra Affair who he was in the process of appointing to high level positions in his administration."

2/5 - The Liberty Papers: Forced Vaccination And Individual Liberty. "I’ve written about the issue of forced vaccination in the past, but the idea that the state should not force parents to innoculate their children against their will seems even stronger when you’re dealing with a virus like HPV, which cannot be considered a public health threat..."

2/5 - NewsChannel5: Woman's Lawsuit Threatens To Remove Red-Light Cameras. "Warner Mmendenhall is now representing the case before the Ohio Supreme Court, challenging all red-light cameras in the state of Ohio ... on constitutional grounds. He claimed the cameras and the tickets deny due process."

1/28 - f a t c a t politics: Faux News To Air 'Path To 9-11' Deleted Scenes. "Faux News must be getting desperate to stir the faithful wingnuts. With all the Republicans turning (flopping) on Bushji and even some of the NeoCons spewing bile as to what Bush didn't do enough of when he had the chance, times must be getting hard..."

1/26 - Anti War Politics: Close Guantanamo. "The America I believe in would close Guantanamo and lead the world on human rights. Five years of lawlessness is too long."

1/24 - yellowdog granny: YUP.......HE'S STILL A DICKHEAD...... Best response I've read to Mr. Bush's speech. Granny, we need more like you, MJ

1/24 - KCCI News, The Associated Press: Secret Service Visits Man After Letter To Editor. "BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Some might say Dan Tilli's letters to the editor threaten conservative values. The Secret Service briefly worried that the 81-year-old's words threatened President George W. Bush ... There was no mention of a threat to Bush."

1/24 - L'Enfant Terrible, mephi: There is No War on Terror. "...of terrorism carries another more subtle, perhaps equally pernicious, risk. Because it might encourage a fear-driven and inappropriate response. By that I mean it can tempt us to abandon our values..."

1/20 - Meditations on Meaning, Avanoo: The Science Is Clear: Marriage Should Be Eradicated. "So maybe its time to eradicate an antiquated social institution founded in mythologies and traditions that simply aren’t real or relevant anymore."

1/15 - CounterPunch, Paul Craig Roberts: Only impeachment can stop him. "Nothing can stop the criminal Bush from instituting wider war in the Middle East that could become a catastrophic world war except an unequivocal statement from Congress that he will be impeached."

1/15 - Another Political View: Iran and War Escalation. "Not surprisingly little was picked up by the main stream press on [Bush's] threat or military preparation to attack Iran."

1/12 - Matt McAdoo for Congress campaign: Rummy and friends may find themselves in the pokey. Snippet, but a good link to the Time article "Exclusive: Charges Sought Against Rumsfeld Over Prison Abuse".

1/11 - Backwoods Home, Claire Wolfe: The Coup:
After Midnight
At that moment -- that very, precise moment -- a deadly slide has started.

Truly civilized people will stop. They'll say, "Never again. Not one more innocent life will be considered disposable. We will not only stop this. We will stop the attitudes and actions that led to this -- for the sake of all that's decent and just."

Uncivilized people will yawn and say, "What's on the other channel?" Or worse, they'll hope that the other channel will be playing a reality show in which face-masked cops kick down doors and throw people to the ground while screaming obscenities.

A society that tolerates that kind of thing -- even once -- is sliding downhill on gravel and broken glass.

You have to choose. One way or the other. If you make the lazy, ignoble, uncaring choice, you can't honestly call your society free. Or just. Or healthy. Because, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me."

1/4 - Godless Kiwi: Arguments for atheists: #1
No doubt many of you atheists out there have heard that Atheists live in a World without wonder or magic? The True Believers tend to argue that, to appreciate beauty and "mystery" you need to be religious. But let me turn this argument on its head. It's the True Believers who live in a universe without wonder or mystical beauty.

1/3 - Prison Breakdown: Adults and Children

1/1 - Sandy Arsham: A Trip To ScaliaWorld

12/30 - Paul Craig Roberts: The Disrespect for Truth has Brought a New Dark Age. Starts slow, keep reading.

12/29 - Some thing wrong: Importance of Drinking Enough Water

12/21 - Strike The Root, Wilton D. Alston: So we have to pay, in perpetuity, for everything we supposedly own...

12/15 - AfterDowningStreet.org: HAS THIS COUNTRY GONE COMPLETELY INSANE?

12/15 - James Brooks: US and Israel Targeting DNA in Gaza? :: The DIME Bomb: Yet another genotoxic weapon

12/14 - Texas Monthly: NOT NECESSARY TO TOLL, A&M EXPERT SAYS

12/7 - Lionboi Blues & News: CIA Agents Charged With Kidnapping

12/5 - GreyWulf: Five Things I Dont Understand

12/4 - Who Hijacked Our Country: Turning A Corner in the War On Drugs</a>

12/3 - ZD Net: FBI taps cell phone mic even when phone is off.

11/29 - CounterPunch: "The pogrom against independent journalists who refuse to conform to
corporate media definitions of what a reporter should be continues
full throttle. The murder of Indymedia correspondent Brad Will this
past October 27th on the barricades in Oaxaca by death squads in the
employ of that southern Mexican state's bloodthirsty governor, segues
into the denial of the courts to release 23 year-old Josh Wolf from
prison during the life of the present grand jury. Wolf is charged with
refusing to turn over video clips of an anarchist anti-capitalist
march on Mission Street during which San Francisco's Finest beat the
living shit out of protestors -- one cop claims to have been maimed.
The Ninth Circuit is now insisting that it will entertain no further
motions in the case which insures Wolf of a place in the Guinness
Record Book as the longest-serving imprisoned reporter in U.S.
history."

11/27 - Pass Green Gas: Global Warming & National Security

# # #

As I do a fair amount of 'surfing' I tend to stumble across a diverse spectrum of facts and opinions. Above I've compiled the last ten 'good' reads that I've seen that have timely, relevent content. The latest entries (as I've seen them) are at the top and anything beyond ten will roll off the bottom.

I've turned comments off on this page, but please feel free to leave comments on the blogs mentioned.

Enjoy,

MJ

PS: Uhm, no, I can't seem to count to ten on a reliable basis . . .
SPS: I'm leaving the links here until I figure out an archival system. I don't want good articles to disapear.