Archive for January, 2008
Thursday, January 31st, 2008 | Posted in Politics | No Comments »
On December 14th, 2007, 47 Senators sent a letter to Secretary Dirk Kempthorne at the Department of Interior asking them to update some of the rules governing National Parks and Game and Fish land. Currently, it’s illegal to carry a firearm on your person in these areas (such as Rocky Mountain National Park and Yellowstone).
My friend Ray has established a petition in support of the letter from the US Senate to be delivered to Dirk Kempthorne (Secretary of the DOI). Please sign the petition. Please pass it on to whatever other sites/organizations you can find. This is a critical time, since the letter from the Senate was just recently delivered.
Much of the refusal on the part of the National Park Service is based on the image of National Parks being “safe”. Ray has submitted several FOIA requests for details on crime in our National Parks, but the NPS is the only organization of its kind that does not track such statistics in detail. In part, I suspect, to keep their “safe” image intact. A kind soul from within the NPS sent me some preliminary data on crime in National Parks, and more will be forthcoming.
How safe are they? In 2006 there were 11 murders, 35 rapes, 61 robberies, 16 kidnappings, and 281 aggravated assaults in our National Parks.
In addition, here’s a few facts about National Parks that may be of interest:
- National Park Service Rangers hold the most dangerous federal law enforcement job in the nation. They are 12 times more likely to be victims of assault or murder than an FBI Agent.
- There is 1 Park Service Ranger for every 100,000 visitors. That’s less law enforcement representation than any city in the US.
- Meth Labs and pot farms are being actively utilized in National Parks as a result of the low levels of enforcement.
The myth of “safe” National Parks can now be officially called “busted.” You’ll notice I left aggressive wildlife out of this, and I leave it to the reader to do their own research and risk assessment there.
The petition would require the NPS to follow state laws involving the carry and Conceal Carry of firearms in National Parks.
Please sign the petition and pass this information along!
The petition is found at:
Removal of prohibition on firearms on National Park and Fish and Wildlife Federal lands.
The original letter sent to Kempthorne by the 47 members of the Senate is at:
http://www.nraila.org/Media/PDFs/kempthorne_ltr.pdf
Thursday, January 31st, 2008 | Posted in Politics | No Comments »
The Register has a great story about resistance to intrusive authority.
Ryan Air ran an advertisement in the Herald, Daily Mail and Scottish Daily Mail advertising the “Hottest Back to School Fares.”
The British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) threw a fuss over the ad. The ASA’s censorship ruling stated “The ad breached CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Social responsibility) and 5.1 (Decency).”
Remember, this is in a country where newspapers publish pictures of topless girls on Page 3 of the morning news.
The best part of this all though, is Ryan Air’s response. Ryan Air has refused to comply with the ASA’s ruling and Peter Sherrard of Ryan Air has stated that Ryan Air would “not be withdrawing this ad” and would “not provide the ASA with any of the undertakings they seek”.”
Just tell the government no. That’s the kind of civil disobedience that our founding fathers loved.
The next time I have the opportunity, I am going to fly Ryan Air!
Saturday, January 19th, 2008 | Posted in Politics | No Comments »
The Club for Growth has released it’s 2007 “RePork Card” listing Congress’s worst offenders in terms of irresponsible management of your money.
Sixteen Congress critters scored 100% this year. They voted for every single amendment to prevent pork-barrel spending though Congressional earmarks.
One hundred and five Congress critters scored 0%. They voted against every single amendment that would reduce government waste of your tax dollars.
Notable thieves include John Murtha, who pushed through a $1M gift of your tax dollars to the “Center for Instrumented Critical Infrastructure.” In more plain terms, your tax dollars ended up as a gift to Concurrent Technologies Corporation. I wonder what Murtha got in exchange for his gift?
Charlie Rangel stole twice as much of your money — two million dollars — to establish the “Rangel Center for Public Service” at City College of New York. Charlie is trying to buy a decent legacy for himself with your tax dollars. Charlie’s true legacy will only paint him as a liar and a thief.
The most embarrassing disappointment in the 2007 report is Ron Paul. Congressman Paul constantly speaks the language of small government and fiscal responsibility — yet he scored an embarassing 29% on the RePork card — that’s an F in any gradebook.
Please review the 2007 RePork Card and find out what your Congress critters are doing with your money. Then, contact them and let them know how you feel about organized thievery.
I heartily endorse The Peoples Cube as one of the most entertaining web sites on the Internet.
“Offended Muslim Syndrome” Symptoms & Self-Help Groups is some of the funniest stuff I’ve read in years.
But really, the whole site is hilarous — even the ads. The quality of the satire is amazingly good and the artwork is phenomenal.
Check it out!
Friday, January 18th, 2008 | Posted in Humor | No Comments »
CNet Crave brings to our attention this adorable Hello Kitty AR-15.
It’s not only functional, it’s also decorative. It looks like the perfect gift for daddy’s little girl. It should definitely help teenage boys to remember their manners.
Ahh… the joys of DuraCoat. 
I usually ignore the political messages spewed by both parties, but this one was too well done to ignore.
The GOP added up all of the promises which Hillary has made lately and tallied their yearly cost to the American taxpayer.
It’s worse than even I thought. The total cost of Hillary’s pet projects is closing in on one trillion dollars per year.
On a positive note, Hillary probably doesn’t even remember all of the promises which she has made.
See the whole list for yourself at Senator Clinton’s Spend-O-Meter.
Usually when we talk about how the politicians are raping us, we are only speaking figuratively.
Jacob Zuma is the new president of the African National Congress. This means that he is almost certain to become the next president of South Africa.
Zuma is an admitted rapist. His defense in court was that the victim was wearing a knee-length skirt and therefore it was his duty as a Zulu male to rape her.
With that excuse, Zuma was acquitted of the crime.
Nature may have another punishment in store for Mr. Zuma. The young lady he raped was HIV positive at the time and Mr. Zuma admits that he raped her without using a condom. He feels safe though — because he took a shower afterwards.
It’s pretty easy for us to feel morally an intellectually superior to a man who feels it is acceptable to force himself sexually upon an unwilling and defenseless female — and feels that he can protect himself from AIDS with a shower. However, that fool is set to become the leader of the most powerful country in Africa.
It’s more strange, however, to consider how common it is to have a rapist leading your country.
Daniel Ortega, the president of Nicaragua, raped his own step daughter from the time she was eleven years of age. Moshe Katsav, the president of Israel until 1 July 2007, almost certainly committed sexual assault upon a number of women. Our own Bill Clinton is almost certainly guilty of raping Juanita Broaddrick in 1978 — as well as an enormous number of other sex crimes over the years.
Some men like to feel power. The power they achieve through politics is no different to them than the power they achieve by forcing themselves sexually upon defenseless females.
The next time you see a politician on TV, think about why they do what they do. Think about their motivations. Think about the power that they have over you. If you think hard enough, you may understand how those women feel.