Refreshing Katrina response...

A friend in northern Louisiana, bypassed by Katrina, writes:


"One of the evacuees at the resident shelter in the church I am visiting has said, "Please don't send me back to the projects. I grew up there, I was trapped there. When the hurricane came, it wiped out everything I had. Now is MY CHANCE to make a new life. I have a job, I have somewhere for me and my kids to stay while I get some money in the bank. We have a chance to be something now."

Wow. Amazing to think of a tragedy being a way to GET OUT of a bad situation and start anew. Of course some of the N.O. people up here are the thugs and police are having alot of trouble in the Monroe area - esp. the Civic Center where the Red Cross shelter is and the mall. But there are a lot of good N.O. too. As they were saying today, the first two days the families that are staying in the shelters run by the Church arrived, they were exhausted but after that, they have kept their areas neat and tidy, done all the cleaning and cooking, helped out with preparing relief boxes and GOTTEN JOBS. Most that have looked for jobs have been placed, and not at Burger King and Walmart, but decent jobs, some teachers even got jobs in the school system. Amazing when you think of all the layabouts complaing about lack of jobs. "

It's not looting...

It's just self assigned welfare benefits!

After all, lying around and letting someone else house, feed, clothe, and medicate you IS stealing. What's the difference (for an able person) between taking a welfare check to buy a television, and walking into a store to carry one out? It just bypasses the expense and administrative trouble of the check sending and cashing process.

There are no poor people in America...

There ARE NO POOR AMERICANS (or poor Britons) except those who seek destitution. Our welfare system provides a sound home, heat, electricity, hot and cold running water, food, medical treatment, education, and spending money. Go to any place in the U. S. or Britain where the "poor" go to receive benefits- there are more fat than thin and they ALL have cellular telephones, and colour televisions at home.

Poor people die young of starvation and disease. Our "poor" die old of diabetes and cancer. Poor people live in dirt floored huts or shantytowns. They get their water from a creek or street tap.

Genuinely poor people- in huts in Madagascar or slums in Lima- DREAM of the Lucullan luxury of a New Orleans housing project.

What we DO have in the U. S. and the rest of the west is a group of people in our society who have been for 3 generations treated like zoo animals. As long as they stay in their zones and vote correctly, their masters provide them with the basics of life without work. They are encouraged to breed by being paid more when they do so, and discouraged from competing by generous guaranteed benefits. If I got my pay check without having to show up, do you think I'd go to work? Do you think I'd keep myself skilled and trained?

The trash in New Orleans know that soon people with degrees and skills will drain the water, turn the power on, clean the streets, and replace the houses provided for them.

So why not tear things up? Why shouldn't the zoo animals run wild when the fence breaks?

Sneers at the unstable Americans...

For those who feel American, or Southern, or New Orleanian culture makes us particularly susceptible to anarchy, I suggest thet you spend one full rainless Saturday- Sunday night, 6 A. M. to 6 A. M,. on any urban British (or wherever you are from) council estate. Just stand on the corner and mind your own business. No fair taking your mobile telephone.

After you have done this, then you can talk. Otherwise, knock it off, idiot.

EVERY big city in Britain, and the U. S., and the rest of the west, has a little New Orleans within it. They operate all the time, even without natural disasters. Places where the cruelest and strongest are the law, where police, law, and morals are just temporary visitors.

The lord of the flies rules somewhere in your town, too.

pic

Everyone hate me now, no Katrina aid...

I stand by the David Crockett plan when it's a U. S. tsunami, too. Taxpayers should not be forced to give money to the victims of Katrina. Or to any other "charitable" work. It's unconstitutional and immoral.

Here's the whole story, read it before posting heartlessness comments-

David Crockett on government charity.

Another word for rape victims...

And those who love them.

I had a very moving experience years ago. I was helping try a really bad home invading serial rapist, and I was in a room with ten of his victims waiting for the trial to start. Some of them had been attacked 2 years earlier, this slug had a long run. All were strangers to each other.

Anyway, as we waited, one of them said, "Maybe after this is over I won't have these dreams any more".

Another one's eyes got wide. "You are having them too?"

Another one, "I dream about it all the time, I thought I was crazy".

Another, "I keep thinking he is in my house when I come home".

I just sat back and listened to them. Each one of them was having normal post traumatic reactions, yet each one thought she was the only one and was losing her mind. Now I tell that story to every rape victim, tell her she isn't crazy and how to get help if she thinks she needs it. Amazing the number who say "How did you know?"

So, if it's happened to you, here are four things to remember:

1. You aren't crazy. Dreams, sleeplessness, fears you know aren't justified, are all perfectly normal. You'd have similar reactions if you were hit by a car.

2. You will blame yourself. DON'T. Sure, you might have done something that made you more of a target, but HE DID IT. It's ABOUT HIM, you aren't any more to blame than the slightly slower gazelle is for being eaten by the lion. If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else. Learn what there is to learn, if you made mistakes don't repeat them, but HE DID IT.

3. If you feel like your reactions are a problem, talk to an expert. Not because you ARE crazy, but because talking to an expert who tells you that you aren't crazy will be a relief. The expert can also provide you with tools and strategies to help you cope. It will not cost you a dime, if you need help finding somebody, email me at staghounds@bellsouth.net and I'll get you started. Doesn't matter where you live or whether you have health insurance.

4. REPORT IT. That is something you can do, and there are two big reasons to. First, rape is all about degrading you, taking away your freedom. When you report it, you stand up and refuse to accept that. Rapists hug themselves at night thinking about all the victims who never said anything, how they have the added guilt of having just taken it. Those memories are like precious jewels to the perverts- take them away.

In the words of a victim whose case I tried, whose rapist was acquitted, "I don't care. I told everybody in that room what he did, and he had to take it, just like I did that night. He stuck his dick in my ass, but he didn't get my pride."

And you know that he will do it again and again. Don't put yourself in the position of rebuking yourself for having let him get away with it. Without exception, every rape victim I've ever dealt with- no matter what the result in court- has said the same thing- if he does it again it's not my fault.

Think about it. If he had stolen your car you would report it, right? Isn't this more important than a car?

There never would have been affirmative action if...

I wonder what would have happened if back in 1960 or so, Lester Maddox and George Wallace had started policies along the lines of,

"The Supreme Court has ordered that our schools may no longer separate negro from white. Since we all know that negroes are inferior, we will now implement programs to insure that negroes are accepted to selective institutions. These programs will create lower standards for admission for negroes, since they are not able to meet the standards white applicants can. We will call the programs 'affirmative action'."

Oh would that they had.

He dodged the draft...

http://www.nationalreview.com/memorial/memorialhelprin.html

Pantry Proof that Marxism can never work...

I have been thinking about Kelo and the one hundred percent error rate of government planning for "developement". Any sensible person knows that professionals in all sorts of businesses are often wrong in their predictions of the future. Why would mayors and aldermen, merely expert ballot whores, do better?

And if there was REALLY a chance that the scheme would turn a profit, you could be sure that the businessmen would want it all to themselves.

Then I thought of an example, a parable in a way, that refutes the very idea of Marxism's, Keynsianism's, and Socialism's basic foundation, economic planning. The next time some goof is going on about things like "it will bring in revenue", or other Soviet planning nonsense, have this conversation.

You- "Let me ask you something. You live within minutes of stores constantly stocked with every sort of household commodity, right?"

Statist- "Yes, I do".

"Have you ever had the experience of going to the pantry or the storage room for something- sugar, toilet paper, anything like that- and finding there was none, that you had forgotten to replenish that item?"

"Yes, everybody has."

"That, my friend, proves that planning can never work. You can't even plan the needs of YOUR OWN HOUSE. You can't keep abreast of the 50 or so things you PERSONALLY use ALL THE TIME. Don't feel stupid, it's universal. If NO ONE can plan HIS OWN needs, how can you expect anyone to ever do even a mildly competent job planning for anyone else?"

And if he does not fall to the ground like Saul on the road to Damascus, make some money. Have him list 10 household items. Then have him plan his year's requirement thereof. Give him a week to do it. Then have him give you the sole copy of the plan, and have him keep a record of what he uses of each item. At the end of a year, compare the actual results against the plan. For each item that he is within an agreed range of the plan, (e. g., within 5 rolls of toilet paper, to avoid gross overbuying), pay him a sum. For those where he was 5+ out, he pays you the same sum.

I'm going to call this the "Pantry Proof".

Famous Soldier Test...

Orright, try this on your friends, Americans.

Who are the U. S. A. 's most famous soldiers? I don't mean Generals, and not your great uncle Jim, but famous working soldiers? And why?

War by war, you'll get-

First world war? Sergeant York, maybe Rickenbacker. Killed lots of enemy.

World war II? Audie Murphy. Killed lots of enemy.

Korea? Nobody.

Vietnam? John Kerry. Killed one enemy, threw away medals.

John McCain. Captured, imprisoned a long time.

Iraq?

(No, "that football guy" Tillman was Afghanistan. ) IRAQ.

That's right-

Lynndie England. Naked prisoner on leash.

Jessica Lynch. Captured, tortured after being knocked out in a truck wreck.

And now "that protestor woman's son", Casey Sheehan. His mother is angry.

Should we see a pattern here?

An outrage indeed...

Via some internet character,

"The only time local stations or newspapers cover a local Marine or Soldier is if they die in combat. That is an outrage."

"I did it because I knew no one else would. A lot of others could, but no one else would."

"They have a bachelor's degree in Mass Media or Journalism, possibly the worst education possible outside of a teaching degree."

"I worked in television for four years producing newscasts every day, these reporters are some of the least equipped individuals to be covering important topics that affect people's lives. "

"Twenty years ago, or even ten, it took a huge infrastructure to allow one guy in a safari jacket to report from places like Baghdad and pretend he knew what was going on there. Now it can be a do-it-yourself project. This is probably bad news for terrorism, which is an information warfare operation disguised as a military one, and one that is based on taking advantage of the kind of reporting (hysterical and shallow, for the most part) that traditional mass media tend to do. I suspect that the growth of guerrilla media -- ranging from operations like Faces From the Front, to reporting by freelancers like Michael Yon, to reports from Iraqi bloggers and even emails from soldiers -- has made the terrorists' task tougher, as the reporting is by people who are much closer to what's really going on, and much more closely connected to their audiences."

This is another real journalist, in the Yon and Ernie Pyle mold. Amazing how weak just a couple of good reporters make the whole sorry media establishment look.

http://www.facesfromthefront.com/

A letter for Maureen Dowd...

Maureen Dowd, now that Mrs. Sheehan became a vocal opponent of the war, asserts that

"the moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute."

Intrigued by this discovery, I wrote for clarification-


So let me understand, if Harald Quandt had been shot down Magda Goebbels would have then assumed absolute moral authority? Oh wait, only the parents of children killed in Iraq. That's a relief.

Is assumed the right term? Absolute moral authority status must require awareness of the child's death, since only burying the child confers it. (It would be silly to think that a parent could be an absolute moral authority in the interval between the death of the child and notification of the death.) But at what point does the parent become morally absolute? The day of the funeral? A week later? A month?

Or just when she finally gets around to agreeing publicly with Maureen Dowd?

And since parents who bury children killed in Iraq have absolute moral authority, shouldn't we now refer moral questions to them? Can they tell me, for example, if it is stealing for me to take home a blank cd from work to replace one I paid for but used for work purposes, without going through the company reimbursement process for a lousy dime?

And are the parents who bury Iraqi children killed in Iraq also absolute moral authorities, or is this another lefty whites only policy? For example, the parents of jihadis who believe that Ms. Dowd should put on a burqa, stay home, and do as her husband commands?

Just wondering.

Sometimes I start to think I'm doing something worthwhile...

Prosecuting my burgalrs and murderers.

But then I read this

http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/2005/08/jungle-law_10.html

or this

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8941525/site/newsweek/page/2/

Although I will pat myself on the back, I bought the camera for Michael Yon to take those pictures.

Aaaaaanyway, I'll start regular commentary tomorrow.

No need to go overboard on ethics...

So the chairwoman of the new Tennessee legislature's ethics committee left that position when it came out that she had accepted a $200 "birthday present" to gamble with in nickel slot machines. Dream big! Didn't resign her office, just left the ethics committee.

Her replacement says...

"I don't see a need for it even though I'm on it."

"Some of the lobbyists are my friends. You see them in the evening, and you have dinner with them because your family's not there."

NO, Rep. Favors, lobbyists dine with you because they WANT SOMETHING FROM YOU.

You have dinner with lobbyists because you WANT SOMETHING FROM THEM.

Rather surprising, Rep. Favors is pretty new but I suppose she knows already how to get along.

75000 British Suicide Bombers and Allies...

So the dhimmi Stalinists at the Guardian rag commissioned a poll to tell us how threatened Moslems feel nowadays, and the headline reflects that-

"Two-thirds of Muslims consider leaving UK "

I considered running marathons and it made me feel faint. But reading on down to the very bottom of the article, we find

"A small rump, potentially running into thousands, told ICM of their support for the attacks on July 7 ..."

Orright, there are over 1,500,000 Moslems in Britain. I looked at the PDF of the raw data, and FIVE PERCENT of the respondents told a stranger that "further attacks by British suicide bombers in the U. K. are justified". Not to be expected (that was 33%), or understandable, but JUSTIFIED.

Now my math is that 5% of a million and a half actually does run into exactly seventy five thousand.

Without speculating on how many bomb cheerleaders lied to the poll, that gives a pretty good recruiting and support base. If I had a product to sell and I could identify a population with 5% who already wanted to buy it, I'd be rich. It's a marketer's dream.

Eliminate oldsters and children, and one or two out of every 20 british Moslems thinks MORE BOMBS ARE JUSTIFIED.

20 Moslems working in your office or living in your building? One of them thinks that more bombs are right and proper.

Surrender, Dorothy.

This is the Guardian story:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1536222,00.html

And the PDF of the raw data:

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Politics/documents/2005/07/26/Muslim-Poll.pdf

Amazing Christianity...

Usually I see the worst in human behaviour in my work. Yesterday was a change. I was prosecuting a car theft, an older couple had their car stolen. The thief was a neighbour child, single mother, 16 years old, directionless. The victims had sort of adopted him- bought him clothes, spent time with him. He repaid them by stealing and destroying their car, $11,000 worth.

Little weasel pled guilty. I announced the plea, the restitution amount and my standard reccommendation of an order that the defendant have no future contact with the victims or their property.

The victims interrupted me from behind.

"No, that isn't necessary."

"He is welcome in our home any time. We love him."

Some people really believe.

Moslems stand AGAINST murder, no publicity...

I hear, and issue, complaints that Moslems who oppose murder don't say so loudly enough. Here's an exception, not reported on any of the conservative blogs I read, not on U. S. news that I saw-

"More than 500 British Muslim religious leaders and scholars have issued a fatwa in response to the London bombs.

Gul Mohammad, secretary general of the British Muslim Forum, quoted the Koran saying: "Whoever kills a human being ... then it is as though he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a human life it is as though he had saved all mankind."

He went on: "Islam's position is clear and unequivocal: murder of one soul is the murder of the whole of humanity; he who shows no respect for human life is an enemy of humanity.

"We pray for the defeat of extremism and terrorism in the world. "

The fatwa was read out at Parliament square and will be read at prayers on Friday. These Imams are all named as signatories and have been on television undisguised. They are taking a real personal and professional risk to stand against murder and they should be noticed and praised.

More detail at

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4694441.stm

An original thought!

Nlotice how many fouled up states have capitals distant from their great population centres?

California- not L. A. or S. F, Sacramento.

N. J., who lives in Trenton?

New York City? No, Albany.

Illinois picks not Chicago, but Springfield.

Pennsylvania has Harrisburg rather than Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.

BBC makes people mad by not using magic T word...

Seems the BBC style book frowns on using "terrorist". Discovering this has twisted many knickers.

I completely DISAGREE with the dhimmis at the BBC's reasons for changing to bombers, but I agree with the change. The words we use matter.

Murderers would be better. We have plenty of perfectly good English words.

I dislike the whole "terrorist" and "war on terror" term anyway. It seems that if our enemy's goal is to produce terror, that word should not pass our lips.

Yes the bombs may have terrified some people, but that's about the targets, not the killers.

And I have yet to be terrified. Angry, concerned, sad, all these, but not terrified. And of the dozen or so people I know who have been bombed, terror isn't the emotion they relate to me.

I'm not afraid of that bastard hog blowing trash.

Maybe this is better than crying...

over our dead and being proud of our victimhood.





"The British Lion's Vengeance on the Bengal Tiger", Sir John Tenniel

Neill or Canning are the choices.

But we'll probably get more of this for a while:





"They shan't blow him from nasty guns; but he must promise to be a good little sepoy."

Both from Punch, these pictures courtesy http://www.bl.uk/collections/early/victorian/illustra/illust1.html

and

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.victorianweb.org/periodicals/punch/53.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.victorianweb.org/periodicals/punch/53.html&h=432&w=578&sz=103&tbnid=sOj6J5hsXf0J:&tbnh=98&tbnw=132&hl=en&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvengeance%2Bbengal%2Btiger%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG

Pitiful "London can take it" nonsense...

In 1940, the British empire stood alone. Defeated in war, unable to prevent the hun from bombing London, the great Churchill made a virtue out of endurance. Dunkirk and the East End became examples because Britain's weakness meant they could not be avoided.

But Churchill knew that the making of virtue from necessity was a dangerous fraud. "Wars are not won by evacuation", he said; and when he spoke of the finest hour and the debt owed the few, he referred to those who killed Nazis, not those who nazis killed. And when he did pay tribute to our endurance he always made it clear that the first goal was testing the enemy's ability to do the same.

Bliar, Livingstone, and all the other bien pensant accommodators are weak. They are wrong to only speak of how good we are at suffering. It sends a bad message to our enemies and a worse one to us.

Our culture has become so obsessed with the virtues of the downtrodden that we now see being beaten as morally better than winning victory. We have such contempt for the things that gave us success- lack of nuance, focus on the goal, self confidence - that we forget that others have and value these things. The enemies- moslems, Chinese tyrants, or whoever- DO live in a black and white world. THEY know weakness when they see it. It's good to not be afraid, I suppose. But what good is it in isolation? Better that we should be feared.

It's the old story. We are better than they are, and we really do try to avoid wholesale slaughter. Maybe they will shrink before our moral power. It's a nice fantasy. "London can take it, we'll go back to the desert now."

The historical precedent is.... hmmmm....

And some future perspective for us....

Americans have always been self focussed and not had much historical perspective. And since the 1960s when we collectively decided to stop teaching and start self esteeming in schools it's been worse. Now it's like we are dogs, every day is a surprise.

Whatever is in front of our faces is the ONLY THING THAT EVER WAS OR EVER WILL BE. Some woman lost in Aruba, airplanes crashing into buildings, a has been football player on trial, it's all the same.

But there is a future, and I've been thinking that all this terrorism / war on terror is an interesting rehersal and test bed.

For our real future competitors.

I expect the general staffs in Peiking, Moscow, and Delhi- as well as Teheran and the forests of Colombia- are watching with interest. This is what they do when you crash into their buildings, shoot a dozen people from the trunk of a car, fight a war, or get accused of flushing a book down a toilet. This is how we defend our borders.

If I was on those staffs I might be concluding that we are no longer serious people. Look at it from their perspective. The west has the ability to totally overpower the Arabs. Yet a collection of desert nomads who can barely work an electric generator hold us hostage to the tune of billions. If China had our navy, the oil would be shipped east for nothing. We conquer Iraq, and assign our very effective army to patrolling for men with rifles. Foreigners conspire to slaughter our people, and we make fools of ourselves extending our incomprehensible legal rights to them. Four bombs in London, and we apologise to the murderers' coreligionists.

I might be wondering if a couple of snipers or kidnaping some brides could draw our focus better than, say, annexing Taiwan.

The Moslems are a problem, but the rest of the world is still there.

A little historical perspective for the Moslems...

The problems are:

they won the crusades;

they haven't progressed since then and think we haven't either;

they didn't go through the wars of religion and so don't have a cultural revulsion to same; and

they mistake forbearance for weakness, because they would not forbear.

The Germans killed a quarter of their OWN PEOPLE fighting over religious trivia in the 30 years war. I strongly suggest that intelligent or self preservationist moslems consider that statistic before approving of those picking a religious war. And that those who live in the west choose to be our allies openly and obviously.

We are nice and kind fat and soft and ridden with unearned guilt. We also have a history of savage bloodshed that makes the earth blanch.

We are horrified by what our own civilization did as recently as 1914-18 and 39-45. But we DID do it, and there are plenty of men still living who found it possible to incinerate cities full of white European babies, or throw them screaming into gas chambers for that matter. Enough of their grandchildren can be found to push the buttons.

Forbearance and measured response are still what we are doing, but we might decide they aren't effective.

And OUR jihad won't just blow up a handful of buildings and a bar and some trains and a bus. Everybody loses in a war, but some lose more than others.

Beziers, Magdeburg, Ypres, Guernica, Rotterdam, Auschwitz, Hamburg, Tokyo, Kolyma, Hiroshima, Nagasaki.

We are crazy. Maybe ought to not fuck with us too much.

Stop helping us to death, white people !

An interview with a startlingly honest African. Economist James Shikwati:

SPIEGEL: Mr. Shikwati, the G8 summit at Gleneagles is about to beef up the development aid for Africa...

Shikwati: ... for God's sake, please just stop.

SPIEGEL: Stop? The industrialized nations of the West want to eliminate hunger and poverty.

Shikwati: Such intentions have been damaging our continent for the past 40 years. If the industrial nations really want to help the Africans, they should finally terminate this awful aid. The countries that have collected the most development aid are also the ones that are in the worst shape. Despite the billions that have poured in to Africa, the continent remains poor.

SPIEGEL: Do you have an explanation for this paradox?

Shikwati: Huge bureaucracies are financed (with the aid money), corruption and complacency are promoted, Africans are taught to be beggars and not to be independent. In addition, development aid weakens the local markets everywhere and dampens the spirit of entrepreneurship that we so desperately need. As absurd as it may sound: Development aid is one of the reasons for Africa's problems. If the West were to cancel these payments, normal Africans wouldn't even notice. Only the functionaries would be hard hit. Which is why they maintain that the world would stop turning without this development aid.

SPIEGEL: Even in a country like Kenya, people are starving to death each year. Someone has got to help them.

Shikwati: But it has to be the Kenyans themselves who help these people. When there's a drought in a region of Kenya, our corrupt politicians reflexively cry out for more help. This call then reaches the United Nations World Food Program -- which is a massive agency of apparatchiks who are in the absurd situation of, on the one hand, being dedicated to the fight against hunger while, on the other hand, being faced with unemployment were hunger actually eliminated. It's only natural that they willingly accept the plea for more help. And it's not uncommon that they demand a little more money than the respective African government originally requested. They then forward that request to their headquarters, and before long, several thousands tons of corn are shipped to Africa ...

SPIEGEL: ... corn that predominantly comes from highly-subsidized European and American farmers ... Ruandan President Kagame has over a million deaths on his conscience, says Shikwati.

Shikwati: ... and at some point, this corn ends up in the harbor of Mombasa. A portion of the corn often goes directly into the hands of unsrupulous politicians who then pass it on to their own tribe to boost their next election campaign. Another portion of the shipment ends up on the black market where the corn is dumped at extremely low prices. Local farmers may as well put down their hoes right away; no one can compete with the UN's World Food Program. And because the farmers go under in the face of this pressure, Kenya would have no reserves to draw on if there actually were a famine next year. It's a simple but fatal cycle.

SPIEGEL: If the World Food Program didn't do anything, the people would starve.

Shikwati: I don't think so. In such a case, the Kenyans, for a change, would be forced to initiate trade relations with Uganda or Tanzania, and buy their food there. This type of trade is vital for Africa. It would force us to improve our own infrastructure, while making national borders -- drawn by the Europeans by the way -- more permeable. It would also force us to establish laws favoring market economy.

SPIEGEL: Would Africa actually be able to solve these problems on its own?

Shikwati: Of course. Hunger should not be a problem in most of the countries south of the Sahara. In addition, there are vast natural resources: oil, gold, diamonds. Africa is always only portrayed as a continent of suffering, but most figures are vastly exaggerated. In the industrial nations, there's a sense that Africa would go under without development aid. But believe me, Africa existed before you Europeans came along. And we didn't do all that poorly either.

SPIEGEL: But AIDS didn't exist at that time.

Shikwati: If one were to believe all the horrorifying reports, then all Kenyans should actually be dead by now. But now, tests are being carried out everywhere, and it turns out that the figures were vastly exaggerated. It's not three million Kenyans that are infected. All of the sudden, it's only about one million. Malaria is just as much of a problem, but people rarely talk about that.

SPIEGEL: And why's that?

Shikwati: AIDS is big business, maybe Africa's biggest business. There's nothing else that can generate as much aid money as shocking figures on AIDS. AIDS is a political disease here, and we should be very skeptical.

SPIEGEL: The Americans and Europeans have frozen funds previously pledged to Kenya. The country is too corrupt, they say.

Shikwati: I am afraid, though, that the money will still be transfered before long. After all, it has to go somewhere. Unfortunately, the Europeans' devastating urge to do good can no longer be countered with reason. It makes no sense whatsoever that directly after the new Kenyan government was elected -- a leadership change that ended the dictatorship of Daniel arap Mois -- the faucets were suddenly opened and streams of money poured into the country.

SPIEGEL: Such aid is usually earmarked for a specific objective, though.

Shikwati: That doesn't change anything. Millions of dollars earmarked for the fight against AIDS are still stashed away in Kenyan bank accounts and have not been spent. Our politicians were overwhelmed with money, and they try to siphon off as much as possible. The late tyrant of the Central African Republic, Jean Bedel Bokassa, cynically summed it up by saying: "The French government pays for everything in our country. We ask the French for money. We get it, and then we waste it."

SPIEGEL: In the West, there are many compassionate citizens wanting to help Africa. Each year, they donate money and pack their old clothes into collection bags ...

Shikwati: ... and they flood our markets with that stuff. We can buy these donated clothes cheaply at our so-called Mitumba markets. There are Germans who spend a few dollars to get used Bayern Munich or Werder Bremen jerseys, in other words, clothes that that some German kids sent to Africa for a good cause. After buying these jerseys, they auction them off at Ebay and send them back to Germany -- for three times the price. That's insanity ...

SPIEGEL: ... and hopefully an exception.

Shikwati: Why do we get these mountains of clothes? No one is freezing here. Instead, our tailors lose their livlihoods. They're in the same position as our farmers. No one in the low-wage world of Africa can be cost-efficient enough to keep pace with donated products. In 1997, 137,000 workers were employed in Nigeria's textile industry. By 2003, the figure had dropped to 57,000. The results are the same in all other areas where overwhelming helpfulness and fragile African markets collide.

SPIEGEL: Following World War II, Germany only managed to get back on its feet because the Americans poured money into the country through the Marshall Plan. Wouldn't that qualify as successful development aid?

Shikwati: In Germany's case, only the destroyed infrastructure had to be repaired. Despite the economic crisis of the Weimar Republic, Germany was a highly- industrialized country before the war. The damages created by the tsunami in Thailand can also be fixed with a little money and some reconstruction aid. Africa, however, must take the first steps into modernity on its own. There must be a change in mentality. We have to stop perceiving ourselves as beggars. These days, Africans only perceive themselves as victims. On the other hand, no one can really picture an African as a businessman. In order to change the current situation, it would be helpful if the aid organizations were to pull out.

SPIEGEL: If they did that, many jobs would be immediately lost ...

Shikwati: ... jobs that were created artificially in the first place and that distort reality. Jobs with foreign aid organizations are, of course, quite popular, and they can be very selective in choosing the best people. When an aid organization needs a driver, dozens apply for the job. And because it's unacceptable that the aid worker's chauffeur only speaks his own tribal language, an applicant is needed who also speaks English fluently -- and, ideally, one who is also well mannered. So you end up with some African biochemist driving an aid worker around, distributing European food, and forcing local farmers out of their jobs. That's just crazy!

SPIEGEL: The German government takes pride in precisely monitoring the recipients of its funds.

Shikwati: And what's the result? A disaster. The German government threw money right at Rwanda's president Paul Kagame. This is a man who has the deaths of a million people on his conscience -- people that his army killed in the neighboring country of Congo.

SPIEGEL: What are the Germans supposed to do?

Shikwati: If they really want to fight poverty, they should completely halt development aid and give Africa the opportunity to ensure its own survival. Currently, Africa is like a child that immediately cries for its babysitter when something goes wrong. Africa should stand on its own two feet.

The most important single thing the west can do...

President Bush said,

"Let's join hands as wealthy industrialised nations, and say to the world, we're going to get rid of all our agricultural subsidies together. And so the position of the US Government is we're willing to do so, and we will do so with the, uh, with our fine friends in the European Union."

Let's fantasise that it happens. What results?

Food in the west gets cheaper immediately.

Farmers in the west become competetive, since there is now competition.

Western farmers stop being dependent on handouts.

Western consumers pay less for food at the shop, and pay less in taxes for welfare (since food is cheaper), and pay less in taxes again since the subsidies aren't being paid.

Unproductive farmers go into other lines of work, no longer wasting their abilities on subsidy chasing.

What about the third world? Their agricultural products are suddenly marketable.

They have an incentive to grow for more than just subsistence.

Western imports of food increase, making western consumers more dependent on third world suppliers.

Conditions in third world hellholes become important to the western economy. Tyrants in those hellholes are bad for business, so important voices in the west pressure Western goverments soactually do useful things to depose them.
At a stroke, this could be the greatest positive change that western governments could possibly do on their own to improve the material lot of the planet.

Neeeeever happen.

More Gay Police Monitoring- Terrifying

As usual, reading what the GPA has in mind is even more frightening. Positively 1938.

And this is ALREADY IN FORCE IN 3 DEPARTMENTS.

The links at the bottom are to the GPA's own PDFs about the monitoring plan. They reveal that the GPA believes that sexuality is in fact everyone's business and that there is something wrong with anyone, especially any gay person, who disagrees.

Here are some bits-

"It is intended that this will see the introduction of attributable or identifiable sexual orientation monitoring."

We can't tell who you are just by looking.

"Sexual orientation need be no more personal than ethnic identity, gender, or age."

Here's your pink triangle.

"Sexual orientation monitoring will enable gay staff to more easily demonstrate personal integrity."

If you don't like the triangle, maybe you plant evidence, too.

"The issue of one's sexual orientation SHOULD be no more "secret" than other forms of personal information already sought.

What do you mean, private? This isn't private, you should be proud to wear the triangle. What's your problem?

"TO ARGUE TO THE CONTRARY CULTIVATES AN INSTITUTIONALLY HOMOPHOBIC VIEWPOINT" (Emphasis in original)

You are a homophobe if you oppose or won't wear the triangle.

If you are a British police officer, even your bedroom belongs to the government. If this isn't tyranny, what is?

http://www.gay.police.uk/files/MonitoringPressRelease.pdf

http://www.gay.police.uk/files/MonitoringFAQAug04.pdf

Police Sexual Orientation Monitoring Form

Here's a draft-


In order to better serve the public, Your Police Service has begun a program of Sexual Orientation Monitoring. Please note that completion of this form is voluntary. It is also anonymous, please do not place your name on this form. Interested co workers will not use your fingerprints, dna, or their ability to notice who drops the form in the box in our 24 hour CCTV monitored building to find out who the perverts are. Or put their names on the internet. Really. Promise.

Please check all that apply:

I have a: Vagina____ Penis and/or Testicles____ Both___

Neither___ (Chief inspectors and above check here)
I would like sexual contact with a: Vagina__ Penis __ Both ___

I would be willing to accept contact from a: Vagina __ Penis __

If it is attached to someone:

Pretty Enough ___

Young Enough ___

Not That Young Though, I'm Not A Pervert ___

Need Young And Pretty ____

If Pretty Enough, Older Is Fine ___

I Prefer Old And Ugly, Actually ___

A More Senior Officer In Exchange For
Career Advancement _____

Rank Of Officer ____

Amount Of Career Advancement____________________

The Person Named Here __________________________

Don't Care, As Long As It's Not ________________________

Anybody, Please, Just Some Pathetic Simulation Of Love: ___

Anyone Who Will Hire Me, This Form Is The Last Straw ____

Britain registers sexual tastes of police officers....

Yes, if you are a police employee, tell the boss who you like to fuck right away!

"Over the last 18 months, The Gay Police Association has been working to introduce sexual orientation monitoring for all police officers and police staff. Monitoring refers to the collection of data about the sexual orientation of a member of staff. The process is similar to that already used to identify race, gender and disability within organisations. Monitoring is voluntary and will rely on self-classification."

What does the form look like? Is it boxes, check all that apply? Or a blank to fill in?

Can I just write down Miranda Otto?

Someone who likes long walks on the beach?

Does one time back in college with that girl from Psychology class count?

What if I'm willing to switch for that hot Inspector down the hall?

The possibilities are endless.

And the monitoring aspect, does that mean they get to watch? Are pictures required? Testimonials?

Voluntary, right.

Really, why on earth is it the business of any government agency? Or anybody at all for that matter?

(Except Miss Otto and the Inspector down the hall.)

And why is a gay rights organisation pushing this? I know, because it's money, but think about it.

If there IS prejudice, then wouldn't they want to DISCOURAGE the question of sexual orientation being asked? Shouldn't that be off limits?

And if there is no prejudice, shouldn't it be a non issue?

But if there's no prejudice AND you want some sort of special advancement, well...

News for the gay police folks- registration precedes confiscation.

http://www.gay.police.uk/monitoring.html

My name is Sharareh Shirvani, and I'm not afraid of anyone.

Heroes are all around us. Here's a braver woman than I'll ever be, risking her life to stand up to the mullahs in, of all places, Houston. The mullahs are not bogeymen, they are real and they do genuinely terrible things to actual people every day.

"I know they're going to report me to the Iranian government, come and torture me, or, you know, if my family goes to Iran. But I don't care, because I'm protecting all the innocent people in Iran who are in need of democracy and freedom."

Read the whole report at

http://www.willisms.com/archives/2005/06/video_transcrip.html

Will is pretty brave and energetic, too.

http://www.willisms.com/archives/2005/06/video_transcrip.html

A salute to a teacher...

Every hero doesn't wear medals. Read this wonderful tribute at

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8707578

Here are some samples...

“Mr. Cross’ discipline style was an art,” Elsa says. “Some teachers will accept a student sleeping in the back of the class. The fact that he would throw a Kleenex box—it was a sign of respect. You might not have had the respect and self-discipline to allow yourself to be taught, but Mr. Cross demanded that you respect yourself.”

“That Kleenex box represented what he saw in you,” she says. “Literally and metaphorically, it woke you up. "

“People wanted to bring me down, but he saw in me what others wanted to tear out of me, and he validated it.”

Wish I could have reactions like this, but I seldom know the people I've helped.

A murder juror raps...

This week wound up a trial for a man who killed a fine young police officer, Julie Jacks.

It appears that one of the jurors felt compelled to write a letter to the local e-paper,

Here it is...

"Determining Innocence Or Guilt: There's A 50/50 Chance Of Being Wrong

(While reviewing tapes and pictures of dead bodies, holding back tears for the victim, trying to be strong)

To think that this man's destiny lies in our hands

Trying to get a perspective of both sides, looking at evidence from a stance.

Will our decision bring justice for the victim, for she's no longer here?

Will we make the right decision, this is what I fear.

Trying to stay awake.

How much longer will this take?

Is this man really insane?

I can feel both parties' pain.

Listening to witnesses as they're brought in back

Trying to determine if what they're saying is fiction or fact

We're all in this together. We've become each other's family

Conversing, going out to dinner, enjoying each other's company.

Question remains in the back of my mind. . . When will this come to an end?

But overall happy to know that I've obtained 15 new friends

But we have no other choice but to stick this thing out

And I'm confident in the end we'll make the right decision without a doubt."

It's a good thing we have juries, right? So the collective wisdom of our finest citizens is used to decide the most important questions.

Riiiiight...

A jury trial is like going into McDonald's and giving the first 12 people in line the authority to assign your house, job, and spouse.

Original at

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_68368.asp

Waterloo day reflections.

It's once again Waterloo day. Like Normandy and Gettysburg one of those place named anniversaries that help us remember times when good stood up to evil.

Good embodied in thousands of ordinary people who for one day risked and sometimes gave their futures for our tomorrows.

Although it's been almost two centuries, it's not that long ago. There are still people alive today whose lives overlap the very oldest veterans of the war to defeat the Corsican tyrant.

So as you go about your day spare a thought for those sweating, dead, or maimed for us in the wheat that day, and all the others who strove for 23 years against that despotism.

In the interest of Racial Social Cultural Balance...

A people like us joke.

A man and wife are dining at a restaurant. A gorgeous woman comes in, walks over to the man, gives him a big kiss and says "I can't wait to see you later tonight".

She walks off.

Wife asks, "WHO was THAT?"

"That was my mistress."

"I'm not putting up with that. I want a divorce."

" That's fine. You know if we divorce, there will be no more ski house, no more beach house, no more new car every year, no more furs. But I understand, I'll call the lawyer in the morning and set it up."

They continue with the meal. Because they are people like us A few minutes later their friend Tom walks in, with a beautiful woman on his arm.

The wife asks her husband "Who is that with Tom?"

"That's his mistress."

The wife leans in and whispers,

Click these blue letters for the punch line, plus a bonus illustration by the New York Times!

The wife leans in and whispers,

" Ours is prettier. "



BONUS! Illustration of this joke, from the NEW YORK TIMES!

African Joke...

3 young men graduate together from a famous university. One is a European, one a South Asian, and one an African.

20 years pass. At their class reunion the 3 learn that each has become a government minister. They arrange for mutual visits.

The first visit is to the European, Minister for Navigation. Instead of going to the capital, the friends meet at a coastal city. They pile into the European's Mercedes and he drives them to the harbour, where they gather on his boat. It's big- 50 feet, with a crew of 3. As they eat the filet mignon, the African says, "Government ministers don't get paid enough to afford a boat like this. How do you do it?"

The European points back toward the harbour. "See that breakwater and those docks?"

Then he points at himself, "Ten Per Cent."

They next visit the South Asian, Minister for Air. They meet at the airport and are driven to the minister's house in 3 chauffered Mercedes. The 20 room house is in a beautiful neighborhood on a high hill with a view of the city. As they eat lobster, the African says, "Government ministers don't get paid enough to afford a place like this. How do you do it?"

The South Asian points out the window. "See that airport where you landed?"

Then he points at himself, "Fifty Per Cent."

Finally the African is the host he's the, Minister for Transport. They meet at the airport where a helicopter is waiting. They pass over nothing but lush virgin jungle for a hundred miles to his estate. The forty room house sits atop a mountain, and there are scores of staff. As the friends snack on caviare, the European says, "Government ministers don't get paid enough to afford a place like this. How do you do it?"

The African points off the verandah across the vast green canopy. "Do you see any highways?"

Then he points at himself, "One Hundred Per Cent."

More African Slaughter, Thanks to the G8 Giveaway...

When relief and make work got started back in the 1930s my hard headed grandfather said, "You get what you pay for. Even if it's only a dollar a day, it will be enough for some people. And since they are wards of the state, all they will do is breed more like them."

So true. And the west is paying for third world tyranny, war, famine, and democide. This latest 50+ billion is only the most recent reward for the Mugabes, Bokassas, and Samuel Does. As long as we keep writing them checks, they will keep using the cash to protect themselves.

As usual, the left seem to think that black men are stupid, and will do what the master thinks is best for the master. NO, Mugabe and Nguema are not fools. They got where they are by being at least as shrewd as anyone on the planet, and a good deal more ruthless than most. They are what they are. It is insane to think that men who have climbed to the top over the corpses of their own compatriots will suddenly renounce their whole personalities because some white men asked them to.

You say you want change, yet you pay for things as they are. That won't work with a child and it certainly won't with a kleptocrat.

The ONLY THING that permits genuine quality of life advancement is economic liberty- the ability of individuals to keep the proceeds of their own labour. Economic liberty is something that a tyrant can never permit, because if Mr. Peasant gets to decide how he sells his crop, then Mr. Dictator doesn't.

Only the most profound wilful ignoring of all history, all life experience, and the torment and death of millions can permit the belief that this will do anything but make things worse.

We get what we pay for. Disease, torture, starvation, death. But it's all happening to dark people far away.

Gordon Brown says that the next infusion of our money "must" go to medecine, schools, and infrastructure.

That means new palaces for the ministers of health, education, and public works!

I am grateful that there was no one to help out European and North American developement through charity. We'd still be living in wattle huts.

Professional Anti Gun Rights People...

Denise from the Ten Ring posted a list of anti gun types, but she left out the most dangerous- the PROFESSIONAL.

- the person who makes, or hopes to make, a living from pushing anti gun agenda. You'll seldom hear of these consultants, pr experts, and trial lawyers. They are our most dangerous enemies, because they coordinate the others and make them effective. They can't be converted, because their agenda and their livelihood have merged. If they are big in their world- Sarah Brady or Josh Sugarmann- they have become well paid leaders and are in charge of spending large sums of money that depend on their zeal and fund raising skill. If they are foot soldiers, their professional advancement depends on the same things plus office politics- they have to outdo their competitors.

Professionals might have come to their beliefs through one of their other routes, but their professional status makes them very different than your ordinary citizen from any other anti category.

Thaank you, Denise.

http://haloscan.com/tb/denisebill/111783482075489509

Tears of the White Man Kill Again...

It looks as though Rhodesia / Zimbabwe is next on the democide list. Who could have predicted it?

I mean, only paying the slightest attention to Mugabe's own words and actions would have given an inkling. Lefties always act so surprised when Lenin or Mao or Pol Pot do EXACTLY WHAT THEY SAY THEY WILL, and exactly what their conduct shows they mean to do.

(One reason why people like Hillary Clinton and Howard Dean and Pat Buchanan are so scary.)

People suggest massive aid, peace keeping intervention, and other costly choices which might alleviate some suffering but ignore the problem.

The problem is the TYRANT.

The U. S., Britain, Denmark, Argentina, or any other advanced country could stop it today. Mugabe is easy to find and cruise missiles are cheap. George Soros, Bob Geldof, Richard Branson, or Bill Gates could probably make it happen.

The west has been crying the tears of the white man so long that it is political suicide to violently intervene in Africa. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Hillary Clinton will remain silent while millions die, but stop it effectively and watch them go ape. Any intervention other than giving money is racist, imperialist, colonialist, eurocentric, or some other third rail term.

They all do look alike to the left- Mugabe, Parks, Brawley, King. Because race really is everything to them and their ideology.

It's strangely similar to the bien-pensants' obsession with the "root causes" of crime- poverty, lack of self esteem, etc.

Just ANYTHING is better than holding an individual they sympathise with personally responsible for what he has chosen to do. That would mean respecting people, accepting that even poor black men make their own decisions and run their own lives. And there are no individuals, only groups and classes.

Some members of groups are responsible of course- Trent Lott is still on the hook for every single word.

Anyway, solving the problem is simple- kill Mugabe and make it clear that the next tyrant will get the same. His successor might need sending off too, but the third man would know the deal and make it work.

But that won't happen. Because he's a black man killing black people in a place far away.

Whether it's Harare or Harlem, nobody important really cares about that.

Orright, read this...

Ben Stein is so honest and directly eloquent.

Some samples-

"...we could live without the stock market, could get on without Hollywood or new cars, but could not last a week without our armed forces and the armed forces could not last a week without the military family. "To most," I said, "the war on terrorism is an abstraction. But there is blood all over this room."



"Yet, they have something the rest of us rarely have: meaning. They know why God put them on earth, why they live and suffer. They never doubt their worth."

Which is why I do what I do, to share that with the protectors. Thank you Mr. Stein.

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=8261

One Senatewhore gone...

Ford called it quits after the videotape of him taking the pile of money hit the public domain.

2 more to go, so far...

Today's favourite quote- Herron saying that the arrests were

"like the day President Kennedy was shot, like 9/11, a day that scares us and scars us like few other days."

Hmmm, let's see, November 22 and September 11 were days when innocent people were struck down by evil killers. That means that the F.B.I. is Oswald and Osama inside Herron's head. Interesting...

Also why should the arrest of criminals scar and scare you, Mr. Herron?

And what's this "us" stuff? I wasn't taking any bribes, I'm neither scarred nor scared.

The hit hound howls the loudest, but maybe it's the barely missed senatewhore....

God disapproves of catching criminals!

Or at least our Lt. Governor thinks so. Though to be fair, he has often opposed bills protecting Tennesseeans from non Senatewhore criminals, too.

" In a rambling Senate speech and prayer, Lt. Gov. John Wilder said it was "wrong" for undercover agents to bait lawmakers with money. "

"I'm hurt because John is where he is, and Roscoe is where he is and Kathryn is where she is," Wilder said. "It's rough. We're family. Three members of our family are in hell. Why? Because they're legislators."

"I hurt because we have some members that are in serious trouble."

"Money out there was here offered as bait to get someone in jail," he said. "It's wrong. It's not your (God's) way."

The article goes on to say,

"Several lawmakers have criticized authorities for allowing phony bills to be put before lawmakers as part of the sting. Others said undercover agents went too far by offering money as "bait" to trap the indicted lawmakers. "

Via the Commercial Appeal, you have to register-

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/local_news/article/0,1426,MCA_437_3811633,00.html

There is just no end to the cynicism and hypocrisy, is there?

How DARE they use MONEY to catch CRIMINALS! How DARE the F. B. I. pollute the sacred halls of our capitol with FALSE BILLS!

What do you expect a Senatewhore to do when you offer money- refuse to take it?

News for you, Lt. Governwhore- there's not an F. B. I. agent in the world who can introduce a bill in the Tennessee legislature. If it's a fraudulent bill, a LEGISLATOR introduced it.

The corrupt aren't OUR family, they are CRIMINALS.

Poor Senatewhores...

Here's a Fisk of Hamilton County's Democratic Chairman's release. His in quotes, mine not.

"I learned of the indictments against two of our local legislative leaders on Thursday morning, and I am saddened to hear the news of the arrest of Sen. Ward Crutchfield. "

Not sad about Charles Love being arrested? Oh, he's not a Senator, just the black bag man...

"Ward has been an influencial leader in our community, and in our state for over 50 years."

Yes, it's hard to sell non influence.

"The Ward Crutchfield I know is a leader of integrity, fighting for the people of this community."

Then you can relax, because they indicted the one who goes to bat for
corporations from Atlanta who can pay his rate.

"As we learn of the indictments against Ward, and others, I am asking the people of this community to study the facts, to remember that the grand jury only heard evidence from the prosecutor before returning the charges, and that no one indicted has presented facts regarding the indictments."

One... No, a grand jury hears evidence from WITNESSES presented by a
prosecutor.

"In our system of justice, every person charged is presummed innocent until proven guilty. "

Two... Thank you, we had no idea.

"It is important to let the system of justice work, to allow all sides the opportunity to present facts, and to remember that none of the persons indicted are guilty. "

Three... What happened to "presumed" and "proven"? I thought a court decides guilt or innocence?

"It is my hope we avoid talking about these charges without first gathering the facts."

Four... And keep quiet, you out there on the plantation. Hope on.

"This is a difficult time for our community,"

Why? I wasn't bribing him, seems like an honest Senator would be an
improvement. But that's just me.

"our state,"

Because a foul betrayer of our trust has been caught? How does that make
things difficult?

"and for those charged."

WELL I HOPE SO. IT CAN"T POSSIBLY BE DIFFICULT ENOUGH.


"It is my hope that we allow the legal process to find the truth, and that the truth is learned regarding these indictments. "

Five... Because if I keep assuming a distinction between the
indictments and facts / truth, maybe that will stick.

"Until we know more, I would encourage everyone to remember that the charges must be proven in court, and until proven, all charged remain innocent."

Six. Seems like a lot of repetition of presumed innocent until proven guilty, but Democratic leaders seem to believe that their adherents are particularly stupid and ignorant.

"Once I have an opportunity to learn more, I will issue further statements on behalf of the Hamilton County Democratic Party."

Even though I will learn it from the television just like everybody
else. The evidence will be too complicated for you to understand,
but I will explain it for you. Await the next coming of Zardoz.

The message can be found in the original at

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_67515.asp

Fallout from the Senatewhores...

John Ford's nephew Harold announced the other day that he was running for U. S. Senate. And Crutchfield's son in law, Bob Corker, is already a candidate for the same post. Wonder what effect this will have on them?


I was musing on how the senatwhores might react to all this, and there are 4 choices.

Deny, deny, deny that lying videotape. Blame the bagmen, secretaries, and the F. B. I. Worked for Alcee Hastings, not for Marion Barry.

Take the medecine, plead, serve the sentence. Honourable, and just not the way of the long time crook and fixer.

Pull the car into the garage and close the door. Coward's way out, so it's a distinct chance.

Or, the most intriguing possibility-

I'd like to think that once upon a time, even these characters were honest. Maybe, realising that their only place in history right now is being led out in chains, one or more of them will decide to select redemption and tell all. Not for a deal, not for a lesser sentence, but out of loyalty to who he once was.

The truth won't set them free, but it might make them able to face themselves.

Never happen, but it's an interesting fantasy.

I'm still infuriated by the leadership response, as is every voter to whom I speak.

Somebody posted on Rep. Campfield's blog that "everyone is hurt" by this.

NO, moral moron, "everyone" is not hurt. Any more than everyone is hurt when a burglar or rapist is caught and imprisoned.

The only ones hurt are the CRIMINALS and their ACCOMPLICES.

The honest legislators, and- try to remember them- the CITIZENS, are HELPED when a nest of thieves is discovered.

Why oh why does no one in a leadership position seem pleased that this happened?

The Governor, the Speaker, the Committee Chairmen, they all act...

hurt...

Our Embarassed By The Truth Governor....

Says,

"These individuals under our constitution are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and it is important to remember that in the days ahead. If these charges are proven however, it will be a sad and difficult day for our state. Even the fact of these indictments and arrests are a challenge and a sadness to us all, and cannot help but shake the confidence of the people of Tennessee."

No, Governor, THIS is what you should have said...

"A court will determine their guilt or innocence. But if they are guilty, then their arrests and convictions will be great things for the people of our state. I despise corruption, support any investigation into it, and will do all I can to help root it out from its hiding places. No one who betrays the public trust is, or will be, safe in this state."

Or even

"When the Romans discovered that a public servant was corrupt, they sewed him in a sack with wild animals and threw it in the river. It's a shame that punishment is no longer available."

(Apologies to Brian DePalma.)

Only Campfield seems to think catching criminals is a GOOD THING. The rest of the politicians have forgotten that they work for US, they are OUR SERVANTS, and that THIEVES ARE BAD, even when you work beside them and watch them steal every day.

Corrupt Legislarors arrested, FINALLY...

For the last few months Tennessee's legislature, a common trough of patronage that would shame Tammany, has been doing its best to avoid passing an ethics bill fomented bu boat rocking boy and girl scouts. The bill, in its final form, basically makes it a misdemeanor for a legislator to ask for and then accept a big handful of cash from a lobbyist in exchange for a written promise to support and vote for a particular bill.

Senator's wives, children, employees, or others can still do it, though.

Today, 4 legislators and a former legislator were arrested fot federal corruption offenses.

When asked if this had implications for ethics legislation, two prominent senators said,

“If you pass you ethics bills in a hurry, you’re reacting to headlines”, and

“We should not have a knee-jerk reaction”.

Turn off those lights! Everything is fine in here in the dark! Nothing to see, move along!

Another senator said, “It’s a sad day for the legislature and the families."

Not for the taxpayers, whose legislators sell the public purse to whoever will pay, no, it's all about US...

Another brilliant thinker and writer...

Quit reading my tripe and go to

http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/

Uncompromising honesty, careful observation, precise writing, and original thought from an embedded reporter in Iraq.

A few samples-

"There are a thousand such details falling likes trees in a forest, but no one is listening for those kinds of sounds."

" Yet, finally, the ultimate decision-maker is the person reading or watching the news. We cannot expect mainstream media to give quality reporting if we accept drive-through service every night. "

" The media is an industry; but their business is not to report news. The industry needs a captive audience to beat the bottom line. The product is advertisement.

This is not a right or wrong. It's just a business concept for moving merchandise, and every profession or industry has one. Doctors, soldiers, preachers, lawyers, journalists: everyone needs to earn a living. Only a reclusive holy man might argue otherwise, but most holy men also expect alms.

There are probably many reasons why violent acts get more attention than do acts of kindness. All of these reasons fit somewhere under the heading of human nature. Any person rummaging around in his or her own head while asking the simple question, "What do I find interesting?" is bound to find a few garish relics. Sex and someone else's bad news will sell. "

" A fanatic who straps a bomb to his chest and walks into a market crowded with women and children, then detonates a bomb that is sometimes laced with rat poison to hamper blood coagulation, is properly called a "mass murderer." There is nothing good to say about mass murderers, nor is there anything good to say about a person who encourages these murders. Calling these human bomb delivery devices "suicide bombers" is simply incorrect. They are murderers. A person or media source defending or explaining away the actions of the murderers supports them. There is no wiggle room.

Calling homicide bombers martyrs is a language offense; words are every bit as powerful as bombs, often more so. Calling murderers “martyrs” is like calling a man "customer" because he stood in line before gunning down a store clerk. There's no need to whisper. I hear the bombs every single day. Not some days, but every day. We're talking about criminals who actually volunteer and plan to deliberately murder and maim innocent people. What reservoir of feelings or sensibilities do we fear to assault by simply calling it so? When murderers describe themselves as "martyrs" it should sound to sensible ears like a rapist saying, “It’s God’s will.” "

Now, head over there. Before he gets fired for referring to those who are killing Americans as
"the enemy".

Who needs to be literate?

Dealt with a defendant today, seventeen years old, eleventh grade in school. He couldn't fill out a simple form, defeated by the first question, "YOUR NAME:_____".

His mother confirmed his inability, which she shares. He's not "special" * , he just didn't learn. Nor are these people from an "urban" ** environment. Neither seemed concerned, which got me thinking. Who could bear to be unable to read? What sort of person would willingly go through life illiterate? I'd DEMAND to learn, and I'd find a way to get the ability.

This isn't unusual-

http://www.detnews.com/2005/editorial/0501/18/A07-62025.htm

via

http://www.fredoneverything.net/

But then I thought some more. Why do they need to read? They eat, watch television, drink, fight, and breed. Their needs are met by social workers, police officers, court appointed lawyers, subsidised housing, and taxpayer paid health care providers. If they have a problem they can't manage themselves, a degreed person in the employ of the state will sort it out, even to reading them the forms.

Even the most basic of educational skills is entirely superfluous. What a world we have built.

Translation for those who speak only English and not American leftist euphemism-

* Special- an idiot.

** Urban- negro, syn. inner-city.

Welcome to America!

It seems as though every time I want to post something on this blog, I read something that makes me feel like I'm wasting a reader's time. Today, it's this-

http://riverfronttimes.com/issues/2005-04-13/news/feature_1.html

If you aren't choked up with pride halfway through reading about Samir, you are not mich of an American. Nor much of an Iraqi, or much of a human being.

I'm a 15th generation American. We hear all the time griping about immigrants, and I'm the first to say if you aren't supporting yourself and obeying the law, go home. But most immigrants come here to be good Americans, and Samir is just an example.

He's a better citizen than I'll ever be. And his is a better story than I'll ever tell.