The Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 2892) is a perfect example of why we need to limits bills to “one subject at a time”: the prisoner abuse cover-up legislation it contained had absolutely NOTHING to do with the funding or activities of the Department of Homeland Security.

What makes it worse is that there was no urgency to even pass this bill. Congress could have simply approved DHS funding at current levels with a continuing resolution. That’s why I think a vote for H.R. 2892 was really a vote for the prisoner abuse cover-up.

Representative Tiberi, by voting for this bill, you failed in your duty to uphold the law; you have instead chosen to side with those who wish to legislate the obstruction of justice. Have you forgotten whose interests you were elected to represent out there in D.C.?

Such behavior is completely unbecoming of a representative of the citizens of Ohio.

In the clip above, Rep. Alan Grayson (FL-8) asks the Federal Reserve Inspector General about the trillions of dollars lent or spent by the Federal Reserve and where it went, and the trillions of off balance sheet obligations. Inspector General Elizabeth Coleman responds that her office does not know and is not tracking where this money is.

The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 (HR 1207) would require an audit of the Federal Reserve. The map below shows which Representatives (by District) have cosponsored the bill as of June 16, 2009:

(Map created using a public domain image available at Wikimedia Commons and the Library of Congress’ list of cosponsors.)

So now I learn that the Federal Reserve is actually seeking to hire a lobbyist to fight against this (and similar) legislation. And I’m left wondering, “if you don’t have anything to hide, then what’s the problem with an impartial audit?” Our children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren are going to be saddled with enormous debts as a result of this massive inflation (that is, an increase in the money supply). If such spending is truly justified, then it’s a painful hardship we’ll have to deal with. But if it’s not justified, then it needs to stop!

If your Congressional District isn’t lit up yet, send a message to your Representative and Senators telling them you want them to support the Audit the Fed bill (HR 1207 in the House, S 604 in the Senate). Then show your neighbors the YouTube clip above and get them to write your Representative and Senators, too.

1. Since all American citizens are not required to vote, are our elections really that much different from web polling (where the passionate have a disproportionate turnout)?
2. Along those lines, would you say it’s good for elections to be decided by the more passionate (ie. the apathetic would make the results unreliable), or bad (ie., fewer voters means a decreased likelihood that the “right” candidate is elected to represent the people)?
3. If you think this aspect of the electoral process is bad, then do you have ideas to improve the system?
4. If, however, you think it’s good, then why are “gimmicky polls” not to be trusted?

I’ll share my own thoughts later, but I’d like to hear what you think, too.

Yup, that’s my name on the board. Just made my first-ever political contribution. Certainly wouldn’t give my money to any of the other candidates!

My personal take on polls like this is that the sorts of web enthusiasts who gravitate toward the open-source community tend to feel like Paul “gets” them more than the other Republican candidates. Those types of people are also far more likely than the average American to do their own “independent investigation” of Presidential candidates, instead of relying solely on traditional sources like newspapers, radio or television network news.

News outlets such as ABC News really do a disservice to this country’s citizens when they focus more on a candidate’s perceived chances of winning than on that candidate’s political beliefs and philosophies. This shouldn’t be a popularity contest–we’re talking about electing the nation’s President, not a high school Class President!

So here’s my suggestion to Mr. Langer: instead of these “who do you think won last night’s debate” sorts of polls, do some research and compile a list of 10-12 congressional votes, public statements or other applicable insights into each candidate’s mind, and begin a series of polls focusing on them. Inform your audience, and then poll your audience on how they feel about the information you provided.

See, then you’d be seen as responsible and mature, and you probably wouldn’t feel the urge to quote 12-year-olds in your defense.

While L. Jesse Bane coasted to an easy victory for the Democratic nomination for sheriff, the Republican results were less clear. Cochran and Price were virtually deadlocked and barely ahead of four challengers. It could take a week for election officials to count absentee and provisional ballots and determine a winner.
— Baltimore Sun, Wagner loses as old county names falter

You can get the latest results at the Harford County’s election results page. It looks like there’s a definite gap between Cochran/Price and Tritt/Benedetto, but you never know what may turn up during recounts and such.

Hey, even if Dave doesn’t make it, he can always run as an Independent… right?

From Solari MoneyChanger Calculator:
…when you pay another person in silver or gold, you are giving them real value and substance rather than merely handing off the hot potato of paper money and Federal Credit. Talk about “coming clean!”

Don’t know what they’re talking about? Listen to Episode #68 of The American View. In the meantime, I’m going to find out what my salary really is…

Apparently that last post was too much of a downer; I got the lowest daily traffic in a long time! (Hmm… or maybe a Narus 6400 just decided my blog was too unpatriotic for the general public to access. Stranger things have happened!) Anyway, I wanted to lighten the mood a bit, so here’s some short videos from iFilm for you!

It’s amazing to see such solidarity! Amazing! I have to hand it to FOX News — it’s rare that you find such likemindedness outside of a group of cheerleaders. Like, so rare it’s… impossible.

That’s great, Jack, but tell us how you really feel! (I’m not familiar with the Cafferty file, but this seems like a CNN segment I might actually like!)

C’mon, Georgie, baby…stop treating the Constitution like it’s set in stone! The acting in this thing is a tad wooden… almost as if these guys were born before acting lessons became popular. (Must-see surprise ending!)

I guess on the bright side, this whole crisis isn’t bad enough to keep us from laughing at it? I’d like to (once again) commend the folks in the MSM who are looking into matters we’re too busy to be bothered with.

Kudos to the many brave souls blowing the whistle on the U.S. Government’s illegal domestic spying programs! Some of the more recent examples include:

• Daily Kos: All About NSA’s and AT&T’s Big Brother Machine, the Narus 6400
• Wired News: Wiretap Whistle-Blower’s Account (excerpt from this is below:)

In 2002, when I was working in an AT&T office in San Francisco, the site manager told me to expect a visit from a National Security Agency agent, who was to interview a management-level technician for a special job. The agent came, and by chance I met him and directed him to the appropriate people.

In January 2003, I, along with others, toured the AT&T central office on Folsom Street in San Francisco — actually three floors of an SBC building. There I saw a new room being built adjacent to the 4ESS switch room where the public’s phone calls are routed. I learned that the person whom the NSA interviewed for the secret job was the person working to install equipment in this room. The regular technician work force was not allowed in the room.

In October 2003, the company transferred me to the San Francisco building to oversee the Worldnet Internet room, which included large routers, racks of modems for customers’ dial-in services, and other equipment. I was responsible for troubleshooting problems on the fiber optic circuits and installing new circuits.

While doing my job, I learned that fiber optic cables from the secret room were tapping into the Worldnet circuits by splitting off a portion of the light signal. I saw this in a design document available to me, entitled “Study Group 3, LGX/Splitter Wiring, San Francisco” dated Dec. 10, 2002. I also saw design documents dated Jan. 13, 2004 and Jan. 24, 2003, which instructed technicians on connecting some of the already in-service circuits to the “splitter” cabinet, which diverts some of the light signal to the secret room. The circuits listed were the Peering Links, which connect Worldnet with other networks and hence the whole country, as well as the rest of the world.

One of the documents listed the equipment installed in the secret room, and this list included a Narus STA 6400, which is a “Semantic Traffic Analyzer”. The Narus STA technology is known to be used particularly by government intelligence agencies because of its ability to sift through large amounts of data looking for preprogrammed targets. The company’s advertising boasts that its technology “captures comprehensive customer usage data … and transforms it into actionable information…. (It) provides complete visibility for all internet applications.”

My job required me to connect new circuits to the “splitter” cabinet and get them up and running. While working on a particularly difficult one with a technician back East, I learned that other such “splitter” cabinets were being installed in other cities, including Seattle, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego.

(HT: Aaron at TheNotSoFreeState, for one…)

UPDATE: Ooh! Here’s another, from The New Yorker:

But the point, obviously, was to identify terrorists. �After you hit something, you have to figure out what to do with it,� the Administration intelligence official told me. The next step, theoretically, could have been to get a suspect�s name and go to the fisa court for a warrant to listen in. One problem, however, was the volume and the ambiguity of the data that had already been generated. (�There�s too many calls and not enough judges in the world,� the former senior intelligence official said.) The agency would also have had to reveal how far it had gone, and how many Americans were involved. And there was a risk that the court could shut down the program.

Instead, the N.S.A. began, in some cases, to eavesdrop on callers (often using computers to listen for key words) or to investigate them using traditional police methods. A government consultant told me that tens of thousands of Americans had had their calls monitored in one way or the other. �In the old days, you needed probable cause to listen in,� the consultant explained. �But you could not listen in to generate probable cause. What they�re doing is a violation of the spirit of the law.� One C.I.A. officer told me that the Administration, by not approaching the FISA court early on, had made it much harder to go to the court later.

We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent. We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.

This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box.

— Edward R. Murrow, in a speech to the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) convention in Chicago (15 October 1958).

Nicole and I watched Good Night and Good Luck on Friday night, and I highly recommend the film! (This isn’t a review, though; there are plenty of those around already.) It’s incredible how many parallels can be drawn to current events… I don’t think the release could have been any more timely.

Have you heard yet? We’re living in a time where the United States has a President who thinks he’s an emperor: this nation was founded on the Rule of Law (“Lex Rex”), but George W. Bush claims the “Divine Right of Kings” every time he refuses to comply with the laws enacted by Congress—as he has been doing for at least the past four years. To top it all off, anyone who opposes him (no matter the reason) is labeled a “lover of terrorists’ rights.”

May I ask you, do you “love this land”? Do you want to consider yourself patriotic? Then prove it: read the Constitution; read the Federalist Papers; read Max Farrand’s Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. (Then repeat at least five times.) If you remain ignorant of what America was intended to be, then all your flag-waving and cheerleading amounts to nothing but hatred and contempt for what our Founding Fathers fought for.

It’s amazing just how much Pres. Bush’s administration resembles McCarthyism. Yesterday’s “Communists” have been replaced by today’s “Al Qaeda,” and the nation in general is just as complacent as it was in the 1950s. And just as with yesterday, we need men like Edward R. Murrow who are willing to stand up to this usurper.

Earlier, the Senator asked, “Upon what meat does this, our Caesar, feed?” Had he looked three lines earlier in Shakespeare’s Caesar, he would have found this line, which is not altogether inappropriate: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”

[...] His primary achievement has been in confusing the public mind, as between the internal and the external threats of Communism. We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men — not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular.

This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy’s methods to keep silent, or for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibilities. As a nation we have come into our full inheritance at a tender age. We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.

The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn’t create this situation of fear; he merely exploited it — and rather successfully. Cassius was right. “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”

Good night, and good luck.

— Edward R. Murrow, from the March 9, 1954 “See It Now” television broadcast on Senator Joe McCarthy.

If this man is not stopped; if this nation is not restored to the Constitutional Republic it began as; I see no reason to believe we will leave the next generation with anything but a Dictatorship… or perhaps an ash heap.

Keep in mind the warrantless wiretaps have been going on since, oh, 2002?

Bush: “Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order…“

(HT: Glenn Greenwald.)

“All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.” — United States Constitution, Art. 1, §1

“Legislative Powers” refers to “the power to create laws” (Dictionary.com, “legislative” entry), so the very first statement of the body of the Constitution is that all law-making power is held by Congress.

Is the Supreme Court a part of Congress? No. The “Congress of the United States… shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”

So it’s simple, really: Roe v. Wade isn’t law. Regardless of whether you think it conforms to law (which is the most a court ruling could ever possibly do, and which I’m convinced this ruling fails to do), only someone entirely ignorant of the Constitution would claim a court decision as law.

Which begs the question: Do we want to be governed by people who are ignorant of the one thing they’re sworn to uphold?

The Administration’s humiliation of Congress

Since the NSA scandal began, one of the most bizarre aspects of the story is that the Administration has been claiming that Congress authorized it to eavesdrop in violation of FISA, but the Congress which is said to have done so had no idea that the Administration was engaged in warrantless eavesdropping and had no idea that it had authorized eavesdropping in violation of FISA. Beyond that fact, the actions of the Congress throughout 2002 make undeniably clear that Congress was not only completely unaware that the Administration was eavesdropping outside of FISA, but also that Congress was deliberately misled by the Administration into believing that FISA continued to govern the Administration’s eavesdropping activities.

I highly recommend bookmarking Glenn’s blog. He’s putting the pieces together…

Black women are three times as likely to have abortions as their white counterparts. Blacks and Hispanics are about 25 percent of the population, yet they account for 57 percent of all abortions. Aside from the fact that abortion is murder, there are two very important reasons why black people should be represented in great numbers at the March for Life rally: [continue @ townhall.com]

On Sunday, John Piper preached a sermon on specifically regarding the unborn as our “neighbors.” To quote Dr. Piper,

“The people who own and operate and work there are real people. Above all, they need Christ. What might God be pleased to do if 4,000 concerned Christians committed ourselves to pray daily that Christ would manifest his saving grace in those places? What divine encounters of compassionate involvement might God create? Let there be no violence from our side. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. If the owners and administrators and employees of these [six] clinics met the living Christ and were saved, would abortion be offered in [Maryland] any longer? There is more that you can do. But this much I ask you to do. Pray regularly that the owners, administrators, and employees of [Planned Parenthood, Gynemed Surgi-Center, Hillcrest Clinic of Baltimore, Baltimore Women's Medical Center, Seneca Women's Health Care, and Femi Care Surgery Center] would be saved.”

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” — Romans 5:6 (ESV)

“we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved–and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” — Ephesians 2:3b-7 (ESV)

In the Gospel, Jesus Christ dies to give life to weak, dead children. In abortion, children are killed to give their parents a “better” life.

In the Gospel, a Holy and Righteous God shows mercy toward the guilty. In abortion, mercy is denied as those who have committed no wrong are murdered.

In the Gospel, our Savior is portrayed as one who dearly loves his Children. In abortion, “inconvenient” children get their brains sucked out with a vacuum cleaner.

Dave is currently running for Harford County (MD) Sheriff… as I’m a Baltimore County resident, it’s not looking like he’ll be able to get a vote from me. I figure maybe if I can at least get his site to show up on Google or something, that’ll make up for it. If not, I guess I’ll just have to move to Harford County in time to update my voter registration…

Good. There’s a reason the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution was put there, and it wasn’t for a President to just ignore whenever he felt like it.

And no, the ends don’t justify the means. This nation is supposed to be one which follows the Lex Rex principle: “The Law is King.” George W. Bush is a servant of the citizens of the United States (not vice-versa), and he is only allowed to serve in the manner defined in the Constitution. Said Constitution clearly states,

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Any president who violates his oath to uphold the Constitution (of which the Fourth Amendment is a part) ought to be removed from office. Period.

While not officially affiliated with the Constitution Party, Michael Peroutka was the CP’s presidential candidate in last year’s election. The “American View” of law and government, as Mr. Peroutka and co-host John Lofton put it, is this:

1. There is a creator God,
2. our rights come from him, and
3. the purpose of government is to protect, secure and defend those God-given rights.

Personally, I like ‘em because they seem to cut through the hogwash of politics with a breath of commonsensical fresh air.

U.S. Homeland Security Shuts Down BitTorrent P2P Site

Ten people suspected of involvement with the EliteTorrents webserver were served warrants by homeland security agents. According to the U.S. government agency, this is the first criminal enforcement action taken against violators of copyright law who use the BitTorrent peer-to-peer (P2P) file swapping software. The operation, codenamed D-elite, targeted administrators and content providers working through the EliteTorrents website.

In a statement released by Acting Assistant Attorney General John Richter, the government’s goal is “to shut down as much of this illegal operation as quickly as possible to stem the serious financial damage to the victims of this high-tech piracy–the people who labor to produce these copyrighted products,” He continued, “Today’s crackdown sends a clear and unmistakable message to anyone involved in the online theft of copyrighted works that they cannot hide behind new technology.”

For the record: I’ve never used BitTorrent, and I do not support software/media piracy. But is this really in the Department of Homeland Security’s jurisdiction?

I’m sorry, but I just don’t see how copyright violation is anything like terrorism. What’s next? Is there anything outside of the DHS’ boundaries?

In reading about various topic in bioethics, I came across this rather ominous sounding bit of Orwellian newspeak: “wrongful birth.” It’s kind of like “wrongful death,” but the exact opposite. It points to a rather elaborate counterfactual analysis of circumstances:

If a mother had known that her fetus [unborn baby] was afflicted with some incurable genetic “disease” (i.e., Down’s syndrome, cystic fibrosis, etc.), then she would never have allowed the pregnancy to continue its course and instead would have aborted [murdered in the womb] the fetus [unborn baby].

“Families” have sued doctors for wrongful birth, claiming that doctors should have provided them with information about certain genetic markers that portend to genetic defects or diseases, so that these “families” then could have chosen abortion [murder] rather than carrying the fetus [unborn baby] to term. I say “families” because can you imagine being in such a family? “Gee honey, we didn’t really want you but we got you anyway, so we’re gonna sue Dr. So-and-So for making us take you.”

Anyway, I’m sure there is some real philosophical argumentation to be done here, but I’m too pissed to do any right now. Maybe later.

And to think, these are the people who like to call fundamentalist Christians “nazis”? Sorry, we don’t tend to encourage mass murder… and last time I checked, “infanticide” and “genocide” bore more of a resemblance to each other than did “genocide” and “intolerance”.

I’m sick of selfish idiots.

[D]oes George W. Bush really expect us to believe that he can send our sons and daughters to all corners of the world fighting “terrorists” but he can’t stop the terrorist act of public execution taking place in Florida? Five years ago, on Easter Sunday Morning, the U.S. Justice Department thought they had the authority to raid a Florida home to steal Elian Gonzales from his mother’s family. So, why can’t they steal Terri Schiavo from those who are killing her?

Could it be that both brothers, while elected to executive positions, realize that it’s the unelected judiciary that advances the internationalist agenda that their father spoke about (the New World Order)? Don’t many of their globalist initiatives depend on the fact that we believe, falsely, that “law” is a changing, dynamic thing, and that judges, as the agents of that change, can “make” law? Could it be that while the Bush brothers and their one-worlder colleagues put up a fight against the United Nations or, in this case, against a state judge, that they really don�t intend to win?

Could it all be a sham, start to finish? Could it be that they just want to look like they care about Terri Schiavo—or you—or me, or the Constitution, or America, but they don’t?

When they have us thoroughly convinced that judges can make up law, even to the extent that they can murder our daughters in front of our eyes, then they can do anything they want. They will have their new order.

Our founders recognized that all law, and liberty and government come from God. They founded our country on the presupposition that Christ is Lord. He still is Lord. He always was and always will be. He is Risen and through His Resurrection we can face tomorrow with hope. He is Sovereign. Amen.

This is murder and the Bush brothers are accomplices.

Somebody has to say it.