Titled:   Sen. Kennedy to Publish Children's Book

The rolling train wreck of comedy that is Swimmer Senator Kennedy continues his journey into the annals of comedic irony this week with the launch of his new childrens book "My Senator and Me: A Dogs-Eye View of Washington, D.C."

And what do we learn from Ol' Flipper this time? That he has a dog named "Splash".

This is the same Senator quoted in the aftemath of hurricane Katrina:

"What the American people have seen is this incredible disparity in which those people who had cars and money got out and those people who were impoverished died."

Does he actually know what he is doing?

 

Titled:   The End of Blogs?

Say Uncle reports on what may be the end of blogs as we know it. Aparently on January 5th 2006 H.R. 3402, the “Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005″ outlawed any anonymous comment on a blog that "annoys" another party.

According to CNET News.com:

Buried deep in the new law is Sec. 113, an innocuously titled bit called "Preventing Cyberstalking." It rewrites existing telephone harassment law to prohibit anyone from using the Internet "without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy."

Because the penalty is up to two years, that is enough to ensure you would lose your Second Ammendment rights too.

The word "annoys" is clearly a problem too, being so vague and not specifying even a reasonable level of actual harm and distress.

It looks as if the Right to not be Annoyed has trumped at least the First and Second Ammendments.

 

Titled:   No ID card? Hand over £2,500 then!

Samizdata highlights the slippery slope of liberty infringement in the UK. First there is floated the idea of a voluntary card for security purposes, with public consultation. Then despite an overwhelming outcry, the project gets moved ahead anyway, with assurances that no-one will be forced to have one. Then the cost comes in: about $150 per card. Which will now be required if you want Government "Services". Then local government is given sweeping new powers to heavily fine people if they don't have one when their homes are searched. Full story here.

 

Titled: N.Y. Times Editor-Reporter Dies After Attack in NW

It is often said a liberal is a conservative who hasn't been mugged yet. Often, this violent and unexpected shock is enough for people to open their minds a little and consider options previously considered out-of-bounds. In the above story, David E. Rosenbaum was killed and robbed near his home in Washington D.C., a city with a blanket gun ban in place, despite constitutional protections. And the local people's reaction?

"We have very small children. We'll have our guard up even more, use our alarms more religiously," Bass said.

Yup - that will do it. Just like those appalling ADT commercials on TV, where the guy in black breaks open the back door, the alarm sounds and the family huddles hopelessly together awaiting the call from the montoring center. "Are you OK? Help is on its way." I'd just like them to show what happens in the intervening 15 minutes. Or an alternative version, where the family replies "Yes we're fine, but we need someone to come take the body away."

So citizens of D.C., set your alarms. Especially the ones you use when walking around in that oh-so-safe city of yours?

 

Titled: Gun Control: The Promotion of Denial

Have you ever asked yourself: Why, when evidence overwhelmingly shows gun banners are wrong, do they persist in making outrageous claims about law-abiding gun owners? There may finally be an answer, so read on.

“Protecting your proverbial castle would not only include your home, but also your car and any place you are legally allowed to be. "It would decriminalize the use of deadly force or lethal force in self-protection circumstances," said Wayne Groth – a supporter of [Michigan] state House Bill 5142 and House Bill 5143.”

“There is no reason to pass a law that sends a signal to the most aggressive people in society that they can act more aggressively than they can now,” said Peter Hamm, Communications Director for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

Michigan House Bill 5142 would allow the use of “deadly force” without first trying to retreat if a law-abiding gun owner is attacked in their home or on their surrounding land. House Bill 5143 goes further by stating that the defender does not have a duty to retreat and is also free from prosecution and civil action if their actions are found to be lawful. Such defense would be allowable in a “dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle.” This bill also mentions conditions under which the use of deadly force is not acceptable. For instance, in the case of simple trespass, the defender may not use deadly force. Thus, the law-abiding gun owner or Right-to-Carry licensee is responsible to understand and follow the law or suffer terrible consequences, which is simply a continuation of current law.

As to Mr. Hamm’s implication that gun owners are “the most aggressive people in society,” we should at least try to determine if Michigan RTC licensees make the state more violent. After all, Oxford English Dictionary defines aggressive as: “ready or likely to attack or confront.” Therefore, there should be some statistical record to show that violent attacks or confrontations increased after Michigan enacted its RTC law in 2001. Instead, what we find is that from 2001 through 2004, Michigan’s homicide, robbery, and assault rates dropped more than the national average.

Michigan Vs. U.S. Violent Crime, 2001-2004
	Violence	Homicide	Rape	Robbery	Assault
Michigan	-10.0%	-4.5%	+2.8%	-13.6%	-13.1%
U.S.	-7.7%	-1.8%	+1.3%	-7.9%	-8.6%

Read the rest at the Chron Watch Blog

 

Titled:    Americans Okay With Current Balance Between National Security and Individual Liberty

Americans are generally comfortable with the current balance between national security concerns and individual liberties. Nearly a third of the respondents in a Rasmussen Reports survey (32%) say that our legal system worries too much about individual rights at the expense of national security. A similar number (29%) say there is too much concern for national security at the expense of individual liberties. Twenty-seven percent (27%) say that the current balance is about right.

So about a third are happy, and two thirds are unhappy. And this makes the current situation OK? I don't think that is what the results say. To me, it shows a broadly divided opinion, in which the views spread from the far laft to the far right, resulting in the mean and median being near the center. "Americans Broadly Divided Over Current Balance Between National Security and Individual Liberty" is nearer the mark. Mind, I'm not a polling expert like Rasmussen, so believe who you like, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once.

Posted by Dave the hyphenated American


 

Titled: Your phone records are for sale

The Chicago Police Department is warning officers their cell phone records are available to anyone -- for a price. Dozens of online services are selling lists of cell phone calls, raising security concerns among law enforcement and privacy experts.

Criminals can use such records to expose a government informant who regularly calls a law enforcement official.

Suspicious spouses can see if their husband or wife is calling a certain someone a bit too often.

And employers can check whether a worker is regularly calling a psychologist -- or a competing company.

Some online services might be skirting the law to obtain these phone lists, according to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has called for legislation to criminalize phone record theft and use.

Yea but Bush did it first!!!

 

You know you've hit the big time when your blog gets recognized in the "The Truth Laid Bear Ecosystem".

The Liberty1st blog has reached a ranking of #17880 making us a Multicellular Microorganism.

Thanks to all readers, linkers and commenters for helping us reach a level at which we can at least probably move, even if intelligent thought is a few steps away.

 

Titled: New Disclosure Rules Expose NEA's Millions to 'Left-Wing' Causes

A union watchdog group says a new disclosure report confirms that the nation's largest teachers union, the National Education Association (NEA), is heavily involved in the wider liberal political movement and the Democratic Party.

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the NEA gave $65 million last year to liberal groups such as People for the American Way, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and the Human Rights Campaign, which is the largest pro-homosexual lobby in the U.S.

In the past, unions with at least one private sector member have had to report their costs and expenses, but they have been able to lump them into large categories such as contributions, gifts, and grants. But now, under new federal rules, the NEA must detail where all its grants have gone, down to $5,000.

Just in case you thought the public education system was well balanced.

 

Ravenwood links to a brief four minute video demostrating the difference between so-called "assault weapons" and sporting rifles. On view are an AR-15, M1 Garand and an SKS, as well as a brief discussion on ball and expanding bullets. Well worth a look, if only for the confused and suprised look on the face of the interviewer.