Don't seal the border

Many are calling for a halt to cross border traffic. But immigration is a sacred American institution. So is the military. Many of those who are currently serving are immigrants. Immigrants and foreignersas as a group are not responsible for the actions of Ramzi Yousef and Mohammed Atta just as servicemen and veterans are not responsible for the actions of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

The economy of Allen County is dependant on cross-border traffic. Everyday, trucks with Ontario plates come down I-69 carrying parts to the GM plant. What needs to be done is to increase the number of green cards given out. Those who travel to the US with criminal intentions will still continue to sneak across the border even if the Rio Grande is replaced with a moat. You can still take a rubber raft from Cuba to Florida, from Siberia to Alaska, or from Baja California to the People's Republic of California. Our homeland defence efforts should be geared towards defending high profile targets within the country. It takes less money and manpower to secure key buildings than it does to do the same with thousands of mile of border and coastline.

A former Canadian Minister of Defence is worried about provoking an intergalatic war

I think that this man's concerns are unfounded. Really, if aliens are visiting Earth, then they are doing their very best to keep it a secret. Which probably means one of two possibilities:

1. They are planning a suprise invasion, and our attempt to shoot down UFO's are justified.
2. They are peaceful aliens who are complying with a noninterference directive, and therefore will not attack us no matter what we do.

Really, you would think that they would expect to be attacked whenever they overfly the US and fail to follow a flight plan. It should be evident even from space that there are hundreds of competing nation-states that hate and fear each other. What are they expecting when they land? Milk and cookies?

How to accept Federal Campaign Funds with a clear conscience

Historically Libertarian candidates have declined federal campaign matching funds even and especially when they qualified to receive them. The money is consider stolen taxpayer money. We can attend public schools and drive on street paved by the state, but we draw the line at receiving an outright grant.

Likewise, I never check off the box on my tax form that asks if I want $3 to go to the Presidential Campaign Fund, since I know that nobody that I plan on voting for will accept it. But I then thought that no matter what I do, they are never going to give me that particular $3 back. So why don't I politely ask them to use that money towards a cause that I support, namely to go towards electing a Libertarian?

Let's hypothetically say that 2008 will be a tight 3 way race between Hillary Clinton, Condi Rice, and Trey Parker. (No, that's not an endorsement and I don't think he's running. I put that there for comic effect.) This is how it will work. The national LP website www.lp.org could ask members and supporters who still pay taxes if they plan on checking off the PCF box when they fill out their tax form in 2009. Let's say that 4,000 people say that they will. Trey Parker would then only accept $12,000 in campaign matching funds. He would only be accepting the $12,000 that taxpayers voluntarily said should go to him. This would not be stealing taxpayer money. It would be asking for it back.

"AXIS AND ALLIES" NIGHT!

Robert Uecker and I will square off in a game of "Axis and Allies" at the Top Shelf Games store in Georgetown Plaza in Ft Wayne on 12/1/2005. The "Battle of the Bobs" will get underway somewhere around 6ish or 7ish pm. Anyone is welcome to show up to play or spectate.

Misty, 1988-2005

"Look at me/I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree"

When I first saw Misty, he was a small kitten hiding under the couch. Our friends, the Morrises had already named him before they gave him to us. The name had stuck even after the vet told us that he was a male cat. The Morrises and other since often referred to Misty using feminine pronouns.

Misty had quickly developed a fondness for catnip and chasing plastic Easter eggs shells across the linoleum floor. Throughout his life he loved attacking inanimate objects.

One day we found him straining to urinate in the flower bed. The vet said that bladder stones had clogged up his urinary tract. For the rest of his life we had to feed him special food.

This past year he had suffered dramatic weight loss. On Saturday he meowed in a way that sounded distressing. He wasn't moving much and he was cool to the touch. The vet tried to take his temperature and it wouldn't register. I had him hosptalized even though the vet said there wasn't much hope. I decided even if he died anyway the expence would bring me the peace of mind that I did everything I could.

Sunday morning the vet called and said that he had passed away.

....I get misty the moment you're near

Lyrics are taken from the song "Misty" by Johnny Mathis

Hectic week

My sister got married, my cat died, and I had a flag footbal game and the LPAC meeting fall on the same day. And I still have Thanksgiving to look foward too. I expect to be posting regularly again after Saturday. I'm sure that all five of my readers can't wait.

Someone asked in an anononymous comment if there was a group that specifically advocated for the right not to wear seatbelts. If the person was only concerned with the single issue then they should like the above link. Enjoy. You of course are also welcome to visit the national Libertarian Party website. The right to do without a seatbelt stems from the right to do as you wish with your own body, and the LP is the only major party that consistently supports that right.

Colt Stadium Funding

Now that the Colts have an unbeaten record this late in the season, it does not seem very politically expendient for the LPIN to oppose the use of tax increases to pay for a new stadium for the Colts. The irony of it is, the more success the Colts have, the less they need the government handout but the more likely they are to get it.

So I had an idea for an alternative method of funding. Put donation boxes in every gas station in the state. Put some in Tennesee too, so that Peyton Manning fans can contribute. Just put a small white plastic jug with a slot on top and a blue horseshoe logo on the side and Colts fans can raise the cash for their team. You can put a sign next to each box that says "Help these poor desititute millioniares" or "Just a dollar a day gives Peyton a place to play!" Or bake little white cupcakes with the logo on them and sell those door to door. Sell doughnuts in the counties around Indy with the slogan "Doughnut Counties Support The Colts!"

Bears fans like me, Bengals fans, Browns fans, and that Lions fan who is rumored to have been sighted in LaGrange County should not have to contribute.

There is an obscure Ayn Rand quote that applies to this very well, but I probably won't find it until after the playoffs. But it points out that when a town's home team does well, only those who actually play on the team really have anything to be proud of. I disagree with that statement just a little. Those who VOLUTARILY help finance the team, and those who attend game to show their support and help player morale have a lot to be proud of as well.

Neighborhood Renewal

Two homes on my block have been torn down. This has been going on for a couple weeks, mostly during the day when I'm trying to sleep. I have had moderate success sleeping in spite of the noise. There is quite a bit of industrial noise in this part of town in this part of town, with a weilding place and train tracks only two blocks away. I rather like the noise because it keeps my rent low and it keeps the kind of people who grip about neighborhood asthetics away.

The newly vacant lots on this block will probably stay that way since I don't think anyone wants to build a new house around here. Personally I'd rather live next door to a pile of debris than a little old lady who likes to call code enforcement.

The newspaper often has stories about people who don't like living next door to a junkyard or who are upset about the noise from the interstate. This town need interstates and junkyards though. It doesn't need people who are worried more about peeling paint than all the other problems that this town has. I think when I do buy a house, I want to live next door to maybe a foundry or an abandoned warehouse. That should keep the riffraff away.

Seniors falling for scams

The weekend edition of the News Sentinel contained a article about an elderly man who paid $5,000 as a "claim fee" when he was told that he had won a contest. His statements attributed to him in the article lead me to believe that he is at least of average intellegence, maybe even smarter than that. I don't think that Alzheimier's is the cause of senior citizens who fall for sweepstakes scams. I think these cases of pathological gulibilty are unique to the Greatest Generation.

They lived in a time when you could pick up a hitchhiker and not worry about ending up in the trunk of their own car with their own intestines wrapped around their neck. And a time when every war the goverment got involved in was noble, just, and winnable. And the government would take care of them for the rest of their lives.

It explains a lot that this demographic group is the most reliable voting block. Politicians can make any promise to them and never have to keep it.

Just one more post on the recent elections: Hypothetical questions for candidates

The GOP candidate for governor of Virginia, Jerry Kilgore, lost to the Democrat Tim Kaine. The highlight of that race was a Kilgore campaign ad which claimed that according to Kaine, Hitler did not qualify for the death penalty.

Hitler does not qualify for the death penalty in Virginia for the following reasons:
1. None of his heinious crimes were commited in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
2. He has been dead for 60 years.

Kaine responded by insisting that as governor he would apply the death penalty as perscribed by law. Kilgore's ad backfired, making him look like a nut.

Can a response to a hypothetical question cost a person an election?

In 1988 Michael Dukakis was asked if he would support the death penalty if his own wife was murdered. He said no, and it would have cost him the election had not a dozen other factors costed him the election. There is no way to properly answer that question during a televised debate. Either he answers no and it seems that he doesn't love his wife or he answers yes and looks like a hypocrite.

Hypothetical questions are only fair in a political if they involve situations that are likely to happen in the real world, like would Candidate A use nuclear weapons to retaliate against a nuke attack on the US. The murderer of a First Lady would be tried in a state court and thus not subject to presidential pardon. Death sentences are handed down by judges and juries, not widows and widowers.

Tuesday's elections

2008 is still a long ways away, and voters have a short memory. Clinton had a low approval rating after trying to introduce NAFTA and universal healthcare. His party got spanked in the 1994 election. But he turned it around in time to live up to his nickname as the "Comeback Kid".

Nevertheless, I am personally one of the vultures circling the wounded GOP elephant. I want fiscal conservatives to defect to the Libertarian Party. Will those wounds heal in time for November? People who think Hillary will be the nominee in '08 are like those who predicted the Patriots would win Superbowl XL back in March. It really is too early to tell, and there is too much that can happen between now and then.

French Riots Are Winding Down

The French Riots are running out of momentum after a government crackdown. No doubt conservatives will blame this on immigration, and liberals will say it is because the West does not respect Islamic culture. A lot of people use disasters to shamelessly promote their political agendas. So do I.

This wouldn't have happened if French citizens had the right to bear arms.

Notes on the first quarter of Monday Night Football

Note: I'm coming done with insomnia, and I'm just writing this crap to get it out of my system. Since its typed up, I might as well post this shit. I promise my next post will be good.

For the first time in my life I hope the Colts win a game. I have a date with a Colts fan on Wednesday, and it will go better if she’s in a good mood. Studies have actually shown that people’s emotions are dependant to a degree on the success or failure of their favorite sports teams.
The commercial that showed GMC vehicles being produced on an assembly line makes me think of my job guarding a warehouse that stores parts for the GM plant, where the trucks in that commercial were likely made.
Peyton’s first play was a long bomb pass designed to demoralize the home crowd as much as to gain yardage. I think he’s playing a psychological game. He’s just proved that he can score quickly. Brady has proven he can score slowly.
The Pats are going for it on 4th and 2. I like to go for it on 4th and short when playing Madden. Fucking “Fair Play” settings online don’t let me do that even if I’m in the redzone.
Ford keeps making futile attempts to get morons to keep buying SUV’s. I think the economy is suffering from a lack of rich idiots.
I’ll look it up in the morning, but I think Mike Sylvester has already made a blog entry on this game. Why the fuck did the spell checker put a red line under “redzone” and “blog”?
Al Michaels and John Madden keep re-emphasing that the Patriots are Peyton's weak spot. This is the biggest game of the regular season and I have to take a nap now. Good luck to Naptown tonight.

Riots in Argentina and France

What can we learn from the violence? Not a damn thing. Supposedly the French riots are taking place because two morons who ran from the police tried to hide inside a powerstation and were electricuted. When you run from the police, you are responsible for your own safety. At least Americans find more plausible reasons for race riots. As much as I and everyone else like to make fun of the French, my sympathies are with them on this one.
Although I think the "no religious symbols" policy in French public schools is one that is guarenteed to increase tensions. That law should be repealed on the grounds that it is causing the exact problems that it is supposed to remedy.

Now for the Argentina riots. These riots are smaller scale than that the ones that took place in Canada in 2001. There will always be riots at trade talks so as long as a vocal and quarrelsome minority mistakely believes that free trade is not in their best interests. Everyone who does know what their economic interests are do not have time to stage counter protests because they all have full time jobs.

Will blogs be subject to campaign finance laws?

The Online Freedom of Speech Act has failed to pass the House of Representatives. The bill would have exempted websites and blogs such as this one from the Federal Election Campaign Finance Act of 1971.

The purpose and spirit of FECFA was to prevent wealthy people and corporations from excessesively influencing federal elections. The House Democrats that voted against this bill were worried that OFSA would allow a massive loophole in FECFA.

However, as the law currently stands, FECFA could be used as a legal club against anyone with a political website or blog. Would they really come after me for speaking my mind online?

Let's find out. I hearby announce that I have no intention of making an effort to comply with the Federal Election Campaign Finance Act of 1971 when it comes to posts and comments made on my personal blog. I shall repeat this announcement next year, an election year in which that law will become relevant. Come and arrest me. I could use the publicity.

How Seat Belt Laws Kill

Sometimes when I'm lying awake in bed, I wonder if laws intended to promote safety are in fact a means of getting the die-off rate to increase among rebellious types. I'm not just talking about respectable Libertarian types like me but everybody who is oriented toward disestablishmentarianism. This makes these laws antidisestablishmentarianist measures. (Hah! I finally used that word in a sentence.)

Lets say a hippie finds out that his state has adopted seatbelt laws. So he decides to stick it to the Man by driving his Volkwagen van around without a seltbelt. When he falls asleep at the wheel after too many joints, the van veers into a median, and he is ejected from the vehicle into oncoming traffic. Whereas if that seat belt law had not been passed, he would have worn his seatbelt and survived the crash.

Airbags save more lives than they kill, but making them manditory in all new cars means that people will want to dissconnect them. Laws against minors consuming liquor or tobacco make teenagers want to smoke and drink.

In fact, those anti-smoking ads that say how cool it is not to smoke make me want to light one up. And I don't smoke. Since when are propanganda writers the authority on what's cool? They are trying to get me to develop an unhealthy and expensive habit by telling me not to do it!

Anyway, the point is that just because there is a law requiring you to do it doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it. Drive safely, there might be a hippie lying in the middle of the interstate.

Scooter Libby

I'm not going to pretend to know whether or not this man is guilty. A reporter did go to jail to protect him, and as fishy as that sounds it cannot be admitted as evidence to determine guilt or innocence.
Its usually Democrats and liberals who are calling for the Rove to be fired and Bush to be impeached. Conservatives and Republicans say that it is no big deal. We are now living in a country in which a politician's guilt or innocence is determined more by ideology than by whether or not he committed the deed.
If it were Bush who had slept with an intern, would we be hearing how he took advantage of a young woman, lied to his wife, and lied to us?
People are going to vote their preference regardless of scandal. Nixon got relected in a landslide even after the Watergate story broke.