Discretion

Thursday 5 September 2013 - Filed under Uncategorized

When your discretion dictates that you need a SWAT team that is half the size of a small mining town in rural Alaska in order to check for supposed water violations, you’re doing it wrong.

Miners from the Chicken area — a gold mining town of just 17 full-time residents and dozens of seasonal miners off the Taylor Highway, between Tok and the Canadian border — said that during the third week of August they were surprised by groups of four to eight armed officers, who swarmed onto their mining claims with little or no warning.

The officers were armed and wearing body armor. They were part of the Alaska Environmental Crimes Task Force and were there to check for violations of section 404 of the Clean Water Act, according to several miners who were contacted by the group. Section 404 governs water discharges into rivers, streams, lakes and oceans.

The use of SWAT teams to perform regulatory checks (and virtually everything else they do) needs to be stopped.

Comments Off on Discretion  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2013-09-05  ::  madlibertarianguy

Can We Stop Pretending?

Thursday 5 September 2013 - Filed under Uncategorized

Can we stop pretending that Democrats are somehow inherently anti-war?

The Obama administration’s efforts to get Congress to pass an authorization for military force against Syria are going badly in policy terms, but they are looking up in political terms. Even as the administration’s arguments become more strained, the political imperative that Democrats must support their president or risk having him “crippled” for the next 40 months is being drilled into them.

Team BLUE is just fine with killing people when their guy is in charge.

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Yes, They Are

Thursday 5 September 2013 - Filed under Uncategorized

Peter Gray at Salon on the utter baseness of the modern school system:

Compulsory schooling has been a fixture of our culture now for several generations. It’s hard today for most people to even imagine how children would learn what they must for success in our culture without it. President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are so enamored with schooling that they want even longer school days and school years. Most people assume that the basic design of schools, as we know them today, emerged from scientific evidence about how children learn best. But, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

Schools as we know them today are a product of history, not of research into how children learn. The blueprint still used for today’s schools was developed during the Protestant Reformation, when schools were created to teach children to read the Bible, to believe scripture without questioning it, and to obey authority figures without questioning them. The early founders of schools were quite clear about this in their writings. The idea that schools might be places for nurturing critical thought, creativity, self-initiative or ability to learn on one’s own — the kinds of skills most needed for success in today’s economy — was the furthest thing from their minds. To them, willfulness was sinfulness, to be drilled or beaten out of children, not encouraged.

[. . .]

I have spent much of my research career studying how children learn. Children come into the world beautifully designed to direct their own education. They are endowed by nature with powerful educative instincts, including curiosity, playfulness, sociability, attentiveness to the activities around them, desire to grow up and desire to do what older children and adults can do.

The evidence for all this as it applies to little children lies before the eyes of anyone who has watched a child grow from birth up to school age. Through their own efforts, children learn to walk, run, jump and climb. They learn from scratch their native language, and with that, they learn to assert their will, argue, amuse, annoy, befriend, charm and ask questions. Through questioning and exploring, they acquire an enormous amount of knowledge about the physical and social world around them, and in their play, they practice skills that promote their physical, intellectual, social and emotional development. They do all this before anyone, in any systematic way, tries to teach them anything.

This amazing drive and capacity to learn does not turn itself off when children turn 5 or 6. We turn it off with our coercive system of schooling. The biggest, most enduring lesson of our system of schooling is that learning is work, to be avoided when possible.

That’s exactly right. It’s time for a new model; compulsory education is a joke.

Comments Off on Yes, They Are  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2013-09-05  ::  madlibertarianguy

Q & A with Senator Obama

Wednesday 28 August 2013 - Filed under Uncategorized

Some fun answers by Senator Obama:

[Q:] In what circumstances, if any, would the president have constitutional authority to bomb Iran without seeking a use-of-force authorization from Congress? (Specifically, what about the strategic bombing of suspected nuclear sites — a situation that does not involve stopping an IMMINENT threat?)

[A:] The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.

As Commander-in-Chief, the President does have a duty to protect and defend the United States. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent. History has shown us time and again, however, that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the Legislative branch. It is always preferable to have the informed consent of Congress prior to any military action.

As for the specific question about bombing suspected nuclear sites, I recently introduced S.J. Res. 23, which states in part that “any offensive military action taken by the United States against Iran must be explicitly authorized by Congress.” The recent NIE tells us that Iran in 2003 halted its effort to design a nuclear weapon. While this does not mean that Iran is no longer a threat to the United States or its allies, it does give us time to conduct aggressive and principled personal diplomacy aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Tell that to the dead Libyan children you bombed sans congressional authority.

[Q:] Does the Constitution permit a president to detain US citizens without charges as unlawful enemy combatants?

[A:]No. I reject the Bush Administration’s claim that the President has plenary authority under the Constitution to detain U.S. citizens without charges as unlawful enemy combatants.

Then why was it so important that you use auto pen to sign in to law the AUMF re-authorization that declares EXACTLY this power? And I suppose that detaining them isn’t the same as killing them via murder drone, right?

Obama was, and is, a lying piece of shit who deserves impeachment and scorn.

Comments Off on Q & A with Senator Obama  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2013-08-28  ::  madlibertarianguy

Science Over Fear

Wednesday 28 August 2013 - Filed under Uncategorized

If only those who claim to be part of the reality-based community actually valued science over fear mongering.

I’ll start with the bottom line first: despite all word to the contrary, there is no reason for anyone to be concerned that “contaminated” water from the damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station is going to cause them any physical harm, now or in the future. The only way my bottom line statement could possibly be wrong is if some really nutty activists decide to occupy the site and drink directly from the water tanks that have been assumed to be leaking. Those nutty activists would have to be very patient people, because they would have to drink that water for many years before any negative effects might show up.

Fish swimming in the harbor have nothing to worry about; people who eat fish that swam in the harbor have nothing to worry about; people who decide to swim in the harbor would have nothing to worry about. A basic tenant of radiation protection is that the farther from the source you are, the less you have to worry about, but I am not sure how I can state that you have less than nothing to worry about.

Nearly all of the fear mongering stories I have read about the water leaking from the large number of tanks on the site of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station contain few, if any facts that allow an accurate risk assessment. A long time ago, I learned that there were several ways to respond to a report of “contaminated” water. The most effective way was to make a fairly quick determination of the level of contamination so the appropriate resources could be applied to the problem.

[. . .]

According to the scary stories I have read, the reason we are all supposed to be concerned is that bone-seeking strontium-90 has been detected in the contaminated water. The level has been reported as “thirty times” the drinking water standard.

Unfortunately, most “news” sources these days have a very low opinion of their readers and seem to think that using internationally accepted scientific units will confuse them. In my opinion, attempting to avoid using standard units is what confuses people.

[and after a few reasonably simply mathematical calculations that even this medieval literature nerd can understand]

If someone drank two liters per day of the water that we are supposed to be afraid of for an entire year, their committed effective dose would be just 3 mSv; it would slightly more than double their annual background dose. If the entire amount of that water entered the Pacific Ocean, it would contain less than 0.00002 grams (0.02 milligrams) of strontium-90.

It’s simple math, folks. There is no danger of being “contaminated” by radiation from water seeping across the Pacific ocean.

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Lousy

Wednesday 28 August 2013 - Filed under Uncategorized

If you are having your 6 year old arrested, you’re a lousy fucking parent.

Mill Creek parents told KOMU 8 News police arrested the student at the request of his parents because they’re having trouble with him at home. The six year old was in an in-school suspension room, where he allegedly tore and threw items, breaking several things before police arrived.

These parents are worthless pieces of shit. There is no reason to arrest a 6 year old under any circumstances ever, and any parent asking for the arrest of their child needs to suck on a tailpipe.

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Just One More

Wednesday 28 August 2013 - Filed under Uncategorized

Democrats: fighting crime by instituting just one more tax. Perry Chiaramonte on a new bill introduced by 2 Democratic representatives and co-sponsors of one of the biggest pieces of stupid you’ll read all year:

A pair of Democratic lawmakers are proposing steep new taxes on handguns and ammunition, and tying the revenues to programs aimed at preventing gun violence.

Called the “Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act,” the bill sponsored by William Pascrell, D-N.J., and Danny Davis, D-Ill., would nearly double the current 11 percent tax on handguns, while raising the levy on bullets and cartridges from 11 percent to 50 percent.

“This bill represents a major investment in the protection of our children and our communities, and reflects the long-term societal costs of gun and ammunition purchases in our country,” Pascrell said.

It’s telling that there are some Democrats that really believe you can fight crime with taxes. These people are seemingly too stupid to breathe without medical assistance, yet here they are making decisions about our nation.

It also seeks to raise fees on ALL transfers from $5 to $20, and more than doubling the NFA Tax from the already absurd $200 to $500. Of course what isn’t acknowledged by those who raise taxes to protect the children is that the vast majority of guns used to commit crimes wouldn’t be affected by this tax at all, as they are procured extra-legally, and NFA weapons accounts for no more than a fraction of a percent of all gun crimes making the tax raise on them punitive only to those who don’t commit crimes.

This is no accident.

Comments Off on Just One More  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2013-08-28  ::  madlibertarianguy

Ding Ding Ding!!!

Monday 26 August 2013 - Filed under Uncategorized

Brian Doherty at Reason magazine reading any kind of intervention in Syria exactly right:

And remember: how we intervene in our Syria crisis of today will merely be prelude to our Syria crisis of tomorrow, until we return the U.S. military to its constitutional mission of defense and not an endless one of using disruptive mechanized violence against overseas strangers and hoping the results are “worth it.”

No intervention at any time should be the default and only position when it comes to using the might of our military. It is not our job to pick winners and losers in anyone’s civil war, especially when one considers that doing so has NEVER netted anything resembling positive results.

Comments Off on Ding Ding Ding!!!  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2013-08-26  ::  madlibertarianguy

Of Course

Monday 26 August 2013 - Filed under Uncategorized

Of course Mayor Bloomberg blames the people in states that are hundreds of miles from New York for New York City’s crime problem.

The mayor’s team blasted the state’s existing laws, saying what is in place makes it easier for criminals to obtain firearms, which are sold illegally in New York City’s black market.

New York Special Narcotics Prosecutor spoke about the “simplicity of business model” and the complete “indifference of gun suppliers” in the consequences of their actions to citizens there.

“It was all about money. It was all about the fact that they could buy guns in a state where restrictions were loose and resell them on the black market in a state at a very high price, because we have such tough gun restrictions in New York State.”

Larry Hyatt, owner of the country’s largest independent gun shop, attributes New York City’s burgeoning sales of illegal guns as an “unintended consequence” to the state’s tough laws.

“It is so lucrative for a criminal to get an illegal gun, by theft or straw purchase, and get it to New York. And they can make good profit, and that’s what they are doing,” said Hyatt.

Hyatt believes New York’s close proximity to the Carolinas, in this case, a bus ride away, has more to do the illegal guns from this state than existing laws.

“They are blaming us but they really don’t have a solution. The solution is for us to give up our gun rights,” he said.

Giving up your rights seems to be the solution to all of Bloomberg’s problems.

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Strategy

Monday 26 August 2013 - Filed under Uncategorized

When you set up a web of lies so vast that there is no possible way to keep up with it, drip leaks are the perfect strategy to destroy credibility.

The administration’s pattern was in full effect Wednesday, when it got lapped by the National Security Agency news cycle. While three senior officials were explaining newly declassified documents that were largely reported by the Washington Post last week, reporters wanted to know details about a fresh Wall Street Journal NSA scoop from the morning.

Basic crisis management dictates that you push out as much information about the story as possible as soon as possible, but the White House’s public relations effort has been complicated by its inability to predict the next wrinkle to the story. It doesn’t know what revelations are coming next — or when.

That makes it difficult for the president to maintain credibility when telling the American people they have nothing to fear about the programs.

It’s also hard to maintain credibility when your massive spy network is engaging in unconscionable amounts of spying on the very citizens said network was designed to protect. Stop spying on Americans, and you won’t have to worry about your spying on Americans becoming public. It’s very simple.

Comments Off on Strategy  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2013-08-26  ::  madlibertarianguy