Ken's Weblog

People should not fear their governments; governments should fear their people.

Month: July 2006

  • Pork Barrel Terrorism

    Indiana Has Most “Terrorist” Targets in U.S..

    It’s a good thing that the “war on terror” is bogus, or we’d all be dead due to the constant and thoroughgoing incompetence of the government, specifically the Department of Homeland Stupidity. In the National Asset Database, Indiana has about 30 percent more listed potential targets than New York (5,687) and nearly twice as many as California (3,212), which puts Indiana atop the nation’s list of potential “terrorism” targets. What’s even more ridiculous, the number of potential Indiana targets rose from 322 in 2004 to 8,303 in 2005. The list of potential “terror” targets includes 77,069 U.S. sites where “terrorists” might strike — including a flea market, a petting zoo, ice cream parlors, several Wal-Marts and a tackle shop.–Indianapolis Star [Police State USA]

    I think it’s safe to say that the “National Asset Database” is more likely a “National Pork Recipient Database.”

  • Washington Post Omits Usual Bias

    Washington Post Attacks Ron Paul. The house organ of the federal government is astonished and embittered at a man of principle. Writes Libby Copeland: “Republican Ron Paul missed out on the 19th century, but he admires it from afar. He speaks lovingly of the good… [LewRockwell.com Blog]

    Despite Lew Rockwell’s characterization of the article as an “attack,” it’s actually quite fair. Of course that in itself is an example of bias–Dr. Paul’s opinions and beliefs are clearly described as such, whereas the mainstream media normally treats anything the government says as if it were the direct word of their god (which, given the media’s attitude toward government, is actually pretty much the case).

    Mostly this isn’t too intrusive, although there are exceptions, such as this example: “He’d get rid of the Department of Education and leave the business of schooling to local governments, because he believes that’s what the Constitution intended.”

    It’s glaringly obvious to anyone who’s actually read the Constitution that Dr. Paul is right about that. I realize it’s unlikely that anyone who worked on this article has ever read it, but it’s not exactly hard to find a copy on the Internet.

  • Federal Baby Incinerators Still Promoting Terrorism

    FBI Informant Urged Miami “Patsies” to Target Buildings.

    Acting as an agent provocateur, an FBI informant urged seven terror suspects in Miami to target FBI offices throughout the country – including one in New York – and even helped the men scout the buildings.

    Last December, the FBI arranged for an undercover informant posing as an Al Qaeda terrorist to meet with alleged ringleader Narseal Batiste, who authorities say had already recruited six men to help bring down the landmark 110-story Chicago office tower.

    But in March, in an effort to solidify his “terrorist credentials,” the informant suggested the men widen their aims to attack FBI offices in Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington and New York, a law enforcement source said.

    …The terror suspects never performed reconnaissance on the Sears Tower or any other FBI office, including the one in lower Manhattan that was also targeted in a 1993 plot to blow up New York landmarks. They also never acquired any of the explosives to carry out their attacks, authorities said.–New York Daily News Strike The Root 

    During the Clinton administration, domestic militias were the government bogeyman of choice. The saying within the militias was that you could tell who the FBI guy was because he was the one who always wanted to blow things up. These pathetic guys in Miami probably would never have gotten past the big talk stage without the FBI informant. From what I can tell from news reports, everything they did which could be construed as illegal was instigated by the FBI.

    [Police State USA]

    I’m glad someone else has noticed the similarity to past bogus militia cases. There’s also the recent case in Canada, where several people were arrested after a Canadian government spy supplied them with fertilizer that they didn’t use to make explosives.

  • The Party of No Principles

    The Portland Purge. Few in the LRC community are probably wrapped up in Libertarian Party politics, but it is nevertheless notable how far the party has slid away from principle in recent years. This last weekend, the party at the national convention axed the majority of its platform. My last LRC article hit on such concerns coincidentally — I had no idea the coup took place when I wrote it. I might write more on this soon, but for now I am reproducing an article by Lawrence Samuels, a great hard-core libertarian whose activism in the party was one of the last reasons I thought it at least had some hope as an educational organization.

    Without strong moral guidelines, the Libertarian Party might as well as change its name to the Conservative Party or the Reform Party. If the Libertarian Party wishes to remain the “Party of Principle,” it must have some.

    [LewRockwell.com Blog]

    I vote for candidates who would actually represent me if elected. If there is no such candidate, I won’t vote for the “lesser evil,” I simply won’t vote at all. A vote for a lesser evil is still a vote for evil.

  • Outlaw Fireworks

    Outlaw encouragement on Independence Day. LAST NIGHT I STOOD ON MY DECK AND WATCHED fireworks blooming all over the valley below. Our town doesn’t have an “official” Independence Day display. But last night and Monday, dozens — maybe hundreds — of locals put on an impromptu show. Some booms were nearly as impressive as “real” Fourth of July events. These weren’t the whimpy sparklers and kiddieworks sold locally, but the hot stuff brought illegally from the res.

    I haven’t celebrated this occasion in a few years. Seems there’s not that much left to cheer. But this felt good. Miles and miles of “the [bottle] rockets’ red glare” — every blast set off by a mini Freedom Outlaw. [Wolfesblog]

    There were lots of illegal fireworks in my neighborhood too. The impromptu shows started when it got dark and lasted for around three hours, as various families came out to set them off in the street. It’s always nice to see and hear, especially since the local government in Los Angeles has made fireworks illegal and tries to stop people from setting them off.

    Nearly everyone in my neighborhood is an immigrant, and it’s good to know that new arrivals to this country still have the kind of American spirit that is largely extinct in people born here.

  • Mandatory Lack of Drug Testing

    Even Bush’s Crap a State Secret.

    Wayne Madsen reports that, in true imperial fashion, even President Bush’s crap is considered a national security matter.

    Even Bush’s crap is classified top secret. According to our Austrian sources, Austrian newspapers are currently abuzz with special security details of George W. Bush’s recent trip to Vienna. Although the heavy-handed Gestapo-like security measures meted out to Viennese home owners, business proprietors, and pedestrians by US Secret Service agents and local police before and during Bush’s visit received widespread Austrian media attention, it was White House “toilet security” (”TOILSEC”), which has Austrians talking the most. The White House flew in a special portable toilet to Vienna for Bush’s personal use during his visit. The Bush White House is so concerned about Bush’s security, the veil of secrecy extends over the president’s bodily excretions. The special port-a-john captured Bush’s feces and urine and flew the waste material back to the United States in the event some enterprising foreign intelligence agency conducted a sewage pipe operation designed to trap and examine Bush’s waste material. One can only wonder why the White House is taking such extraordinary security measures for the presidential poop.

    In the past, similar operations were conducted against foreign leaders to determine their medical condition. However, these intelligence operations were directed against dictators in countries where even the medical conditions of the top political leaders were considered “state secrets.” The Israeli Mossad conducted one such operation against Syrian President Hafez Assad when he visited Amman, Jordan in Feb. 1999 for the funeral of King Hussein. The Mossad and its Jordanian counterpart installed a special toilet in Assad’s hotel room that led not to a pipe but to a specimen canister. Assad suffered from diabetes and cancer and the operation was designed to discover the actual medical condition of the ailing leader. During Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s visit to Washington in 1987, the CIA reportedly placed a special trap under a sewage tank to collect the Soviet leader’s bodily waste for analysis. More recently, the CIA was reported to have collected waste samples from Ugandan President-dictator Yoweri Museveni’s toilet when he visited Washington.

    Even Bush’s toilet paper was flown in from the U.S. Air Base at Ramstein, Germany. In addition, Bush’s food was flown in from the United States and tested with special chemicals before he ate it. Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who was shot by a firing squad in 1989, was the last major European leader to constantly use a food tester. The last frequent state visitor to Vienna, who always relied on a food tester, was Adolf Hitler.–Wayne Madsen Report

    When the federal government even treats President Bush’s crap as a state secret, how are the American people supposed to take seriously the government’s admonition to “trust us” that classified information needs to be kept secret? With each passing day, President Bush takes on more and more of the characteristics, such as paranoia, of dictators of the past. He is finding that, in contrast to a democratically elected republican president, “uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

    And by the way: what medical condition is President Bush hiding that was not revealed publicly during his annual physical examination?

    [Police State USA]

    The reason for this seems pretty obvious to me: the Feds don’t want anybody to know about whatever drugs and alcohol might be in Bush’s system.