liberty archive at FraudWasteAbuse

Archive for the 'liberty' Category

Mar

Why I fled George Bush’s war

By FraudWasteAbuse 2 Comments

Categories: news, politics, Islam, military, Iraq, War on Terror, terrorism, crime, war, Bush, liberty and fascism

[digg=http://www.digg.com/political_opinion/Why_I_fled_George_Bush_s_war_2]

Joshua Key, 28, was a poor, uneducated Oklahoma country boy who saw the U.S. army and its promised benefits — from free health care to career training — as the ticket to a better life. In 2002, not yet 24 but already married and the father of two , Key enlisted. He says his recruiting officer promised he’d never be deployed abroad, but a year later he was in Iraq. Only 24 hours after arriving, as Key recounts in The Deserter’s Tale (Anansi), he experienced his first doubts about what he and his fellow soldiers were doing there.

I was scared out of my wits that first day in Ramadi. Our own air force had just finished bombing these people, but as soon as we got out of our vehicles we began patrolling their streets, on foot. With nearly 100 lb. of weaponry, equipment and clothing on my back, I was about as mobile as a cow. It was just my platoon, 20 guys, walking single file through streets full of Iraqis. I could not stop thinking that anywhere, at any time, some half-starved sniper on a roof could have taken me out in no time flat. Iraqi kids surrounded me in swarms, hands out, asking for water and food. I kept hearing the last words [my wife] Brandi said to me before I flew out: “Don’t you let those terrorists near you, Josh. Even if they are kids. Get them before they get you.”

I was awakened at 3 a.m. that first night and told to get my ass up quickly because in one hour we were going to raid a house full of terrorists. Capt. Conde and some sergeants showed me and my squad mates a satellite photo of a house and a drawing of the layout of the inside. Our assignment was to blow off the door, burst into the house, raid it fast and raid it good — looking for contraband, caches of weapons, signs of terrorists or terrorist activity, then rounding up the men and getting out damn fast. The longer we stayed in any one location, the longer somebody would have to put us in the sights of a rocket-propelled grenade or lob mortars at us.

Read the rest here.

Mar

Even the Nazis got a trial

By FraudWasteAbuse 2 Comments

Categories: news, politics, Iraq, War on Terror, law, terrorism, government, Republicans, war, Afghanistan, Bill of Rights, drugs, rights, Bush, civil rights, liberty, constitution, fascism, Nazis, Guantanamo, War on Drugs, Guantanamo Bay, Hitler and Nazi

Even the worst of the Nazis got a trial, even though the trial was a sham. The indictments were created ex post facto and were not based on any nation’s law. Even US Supreme Court Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone called the Nuremberg trials a fraud. But I digress.

The top Nazis could get a trial despite plunging Europe into its most destructive war and caused the deaths of tens of millions of people. Yet the detainees in Guantanamo Bay are somehow undeserving of a trial because they’re too barbaric, or happened to be kidnapped and sold to the Americans for a cash reward. Forgive me if I think the Nazis were a bit more dangerous and barbaric than some religious fanatics upset that a foreign military started shooting up their country.

Supporters of detaining alleged terrorists without trial posit that we did the same things with captured Germans and Japanese during World War II. The problem with trying to classify captured terrorists as prisoners of war is that we are not at war. Terrorism is still considered a federal crime, and sending the military to fight the crime of terrorism doesn’t make us any more at war than sending the military to fight drug cartels makes us at war. The government doesn’t consider arrested drug dealers to be POWs, nor does declaring a “War on Drugs ” strip accused drug dealers of their right to a fair trial.

Mar

Atlanta suburb gives citations for unattended idling cars

By FraudWasteAbuse 7 Comments

Categories: news, politics, bureaucracy, cars, insanity, government, crime, rights, civil rights, liberty, police, Atlanta, law enforcement, fascism and citation

In the city of Forest Park, a suburb of Atlanta, people are getting ticketed for leaving their cars unattended as they warm up in the morning. This appears to be another one of those “for-your-protection” laws, where the people who the law is supposedly protecting are the ones who get screwed. [digg=http://www.digg.com/politics/Atlanta_suburb_gives_citations_for_unattended_idling_cars]

Forest Park police are enforcing a Georgia law that makes it illegal for someone to leave a car unattended while it is idling. Its original purpose was to prevent cars from rolling away. Today, however, Forest Park is using the law under the guise of preventing car theft. Except that the potential victim of car theft is the one who gets slapped with a $168 fine. Fourteen people have been find since January. I guess this is what happens when the police don’t have anything important to do. Of course, an infinitely better idea would be to educate citizens rather than going around enforcing more draconian laws.

Our society is moving more and more towards abrogating citizens of all responsibility of everyday decision making. The state believes that you don’t have the capacity or even the right to make choices or risks with your own personal property. And apparently the state doesn’t think people are smart enough to know that there’s a risk to leaving one’s car unattended.

Mar

What will universal healthcare be like? Just look at the VA

By FraudWasteAbuse 6 Comments

Categories: politics, bureaucracy, healthcare, government, Republicans, Democrats, rights, liberty, health care, hospital, constitution, doctor, VA, Veterans Affairs, socialized medicine and universal healthcare

With national elections coming late next year, it is inevitable that the topic of socialized medicine will again rear its ugly head. Much ado is made about the 40,000,000 Americans who do not have health insurance, which makes the fact that there are 260,000,000 Americans that do seem insignificant. Of course the 40,000,000 figure likely includes many young and healthy individuals with low risk of serious illness who don’t believe that health insurance would be cost-effective. But good news doesn’t make for a good emotional talking point.

If one wants to know how a national health care system would operate, one needs to merely look at the systems our government has in place. The most prominent form of socialized medicine in our country is the Department of Veterans Affairs. With 235,000 employees and a budget of more than $60 billion, the VA is the federal government’s second largest department, second only to the Department of Defense. It’s purpose it to provide benefits, disability payments, and health care to military members once they’ve left the service. The medical care provided at most VA facilities is generally considered to be fairly adequate. That is, if you can even get to see a doctor at all.

For those of us who have private health insurance, we can typically see a doctor for any reason within a week or two, depending how busy that doctor’s office is. Not so with VA health care, or any other socialized health system for that matter. Private insurance yields considerable flexibility and a range of choices. If health care is handed to the state, you do it the state’s way on the state’s terms and that’s it. If its one-size-fits-all plan doesn’t suit you, that’s too bad.

The reason for the failure of socialized medicine (aside from the fact that it is run by the government) is the notion that the laws of supply and demand can be ignored. Proponents of socialized medicine desire to create a system that offers unlimited health care to all Americans. Unfortunately, unlimited health care incurs unlimited costs. Since a system that incurs unlimited costs is obviously impossible to operate, rationing of supply is inevitable. Now we have scenarios in which priorities are assigned, and people who have brain tumors that will kill them in a year won’t be treated until the people with brain tumors that will kill them in eleven months are cured.

We can see evidence of this today in the Veterans Affairs health care system. Patients sometimes have to wait months just to see a physician for a non life-threatening condition. In one recent case, a man had to wait four months to get the result of an important medical test. A backlog exists of 400,000 applications and appeals for benefits, most of which are for veterans of previous wars. This problem isn’t limited to the VA. In Canada, wait times to get into hospitals can span weeks or months, including for simple procedures (Compared with the US where wait times are generally dependent on fulfilling medical requirements–such as no eating for a day or two). The average wait time for treatment after seeing a general practitioner is a little over 17 weeks.

Inevitably, you will have people who simply support socialized medicine in general, despite all its failing. They assert that everyone has a right to cheap or free health care no matter how crappy it is. The problem is that health care is not a right in the traditional sense of what a right is. True rights relate to the individual, such as free speech or freedom of religion. To exercise these rights, one does not have to coerce someone else to do something against his or her will. With a socialized medical system, one must coerce complete strangers into funding your actions. You are forcing others to be your slave.

Nationalizing health care, especially in the United States, would be a disaster. The US government has shown an extraordinary propensity for screwing up pretty much ANYTHING it gets involved in. Imagine yourself dealing with the type of people at the IRS or DMV the next time you need stitches.

Mar

Sex offender hysteria

By FraudWasteAbuse 6 Comments

Categories: politics, sex, paranoia, insanity, government, crime, civil rights, liberty, sex offender and sexual predator

Today I came across a story about how lawmakers in Ohio are planning yet another way to punish people for crimes they’ve already been punished for. Not content with forcing sex offenders to register with the sheriff in the county in which they live or barring them from living near a school, now a new law has been proposed that will force sex offenders to get special colored license plates that would allow the public to identify them. [digg=http://www.digg.com/political_opinion/Sex_offender_hysteria]

Does anyone else think our politicians have gone way overboard on this issue? I personally think that they went overboard the moment they required sex offenders to register, even after serving prison time. Here is just a sampling of some of the feel-good-but-useless-and-life-ruining laws that have been passed around the country:

- In Florida, sex offenders are barred from hurricane shelters and must report to the nearest prison if they have nowhere else to go.

- In Iowa, sex offenders are banned from living within 2,000 feet of schools and day care centers, which essentially bans sex offenders from living in most cities and towns.

- Georgia law prevents sex offenders from living, working, or loitering within 1,000 feet of a school, church, playground, or school bus stop. In some cases, entire counties are off limits.

- California has put out a piece of legislation which would enforce lifetime monitoring of convicted sexual predators and the creation of “predator free zones”.

We’ve all heard the insane cases where seemingly normal activity can ends up getting some poor schmuck on a sex offender registry. Like the 18 year old boy who gets convicted of having sex with his 17 year old girlfriend, or the man who grabbed the a girl’s arm and scolded her for running in front of his car.

It appears that the only real thing these draconian laws accomplish are ruined lives for non-violent and non-repeating sex offenders, and a false sense of security for the community. If these people are such a danger to the community in which they reside, why are they being released from prison? If they disregarded laws against the molesting of children, why would they follow laws preventing them from loitering near schools and playground?

Much of the hysteria surrounding sex offenders can be blamed on the media. From sensationalizing local stories nationwide for weeks, to shows like “To Catch a Predator”, the media has kept American interest in sex offenders on the front burner. After doing a little research, many of society’s preconceived notions about sex offenders (not surprisingly) are wrong:

The vast majority of minors (94%) are victimized among family or friends. 84% of assaults on children under 12 occur within a residence. These statistics make distance laws (e.g. 1000 feet from a school) uncalled for. Another misconception people have is that sex offenders have a high recidivism rate. Actually, the opposite is true. Recidivism rates for sex offenses are relatively low, typically running in the 3-13% range, and among the lowest of all types of crimes.

I’m not trying to suggest that there aren’t real, dangerous criminals out there. But, the 18 year old guy who gets caught getting oral sex from his 17 year old girlfriend isn’t one of them.

Mar

Teacher accused of having sex with five boys

By FraudWasteAbuse 5 Comments

Categories: school, sex, education, teachers, liberty and teacher

CLINTON, S.C. (AP) — Authorities say a 23-year-old female middle school teacher was arrested Thursday, accused of having sex with five boys in locations including the school, at a motel, in a park and behind a restaurant.

Clinton Public Safety Director John Thomas says some of the 14- and 15-year-old victims were students at Bell Middle School in Laurens School District 56, where Allenna Williams Ward taught. Others went to a different school.

Investigators say there could be more victims.

Somehow I doubt the boys consider themselves “victims.”

Click here for the whole article.

Feb

To whom does the US Constitution apply?

By FraudWasteAbuse 26 Comments

Categories: politics, Islam, Iraq, War on Terror, terrorism, government, war, Bill of Rights, rights, Bush, civil rights, liberty and constitution

There is a great debate in the United States over whether or not terrorists have the same rights as American citizens, or even if terrorists have any rights under the Constitution at all. President Bush has maintained that captured terrorists are enemy combatants, and do not have the rights an privileges guaranteed by the Constitution. Bush is so adamant that terrorists do not have rights under US law that they are imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, where Cuba technically has sovereignty even though the United States has effective legal control.

Another popular claim is that captured terrorists are actually prisoners of war. Prisoners of war do not typically get to challenge their detention and so captured terrorists must be held until hostilities have ceased.

Some even go as far as claiming that not even illegal immigrants have rights under the Constitution, because the Constitution only applies to American citizens.

There are several flaws in these claims. I’ll address the first one in this post and cover the others later. First, let’s evaluate the notion that non-Americans do not have constitutional rights. If one reads through the Constitution it becomes apparent that all references to “citizens” in the Constitution have nothing to do with the rights of the people. Most references are rules as to how one can participate in the political/election process. In fact, the Bill of Rights makes no distinctions between citizens and non-citizens.

Consider this: How can we be sure of our government’s claims that a suspected foreign terrorist is indeed a foreign terrorist until that person has had a fair and impartial trial to determine his status? What is to prevent an American citizen from being arrested, detained, and accused of being a foreign terrorist? That person would have no way to confront his accusers and prove his innocence.

This leads me to my conclusion. In truth, the Constitution does not apply to non-Americans. It doesn’t even apply to American citizens. The Constitution is a contract between the federal government and the states, and thus applies to the federal government. The Constitution itself is a list of rules and powers of the federal government. It is specifically enumerated and if it isn’t listed, the government isn’t allowed to do it. The Bill of Rights is a list of things the federal government may not do. Nowhere does it make an exception for non-citizens, terrorism, etc.

Feb

What’s your real tax rate? How about 40%

By FraudWasteAbuse 2 Comments

Categories: politics, government, taxes, tax, liberty and income

Think you pay a lot in taxes? What if you learned that you probably pay a lot more than you think? According to an article on MSN Money, the state takes about a 40% cut from the average American’s income. The American revolutionaries rebelled over taxes a fraction of that amount.

When we hear most politicians talk about taxes, they usually only refer to the federal income tax. However, most people don’t think to include other taxes such as property taxes, sales taxes, or all the “little” taxes we all pay that add up to a very large portion of our income over time. [digg=http://www.digg.com/politics/What_s_your_real_tax_rate_How_about_40]

I don’t know how others feel, but I hope more than a few are little peeved that the government can claim almost half of our income that it did nothing to earn.

For something a bit more visual, here is a table from the article:

All-in marginal tax rates for couples
Age	$20,000	$30,000	$50,000	$75,000	$100,000	$150,000	$200,000	$300,000	$500,000
30	42.5%	42.3%	24.4%	36.9%	37.0%	45.9%	36.8%	43.9%	44.0%
45	41.7%	41.8%	35.8%	36.1%	36.1%	45.1%	35.9%	40.9%	43.2%
60	32.0%	36.3%	36.5%	45.5%	45.5%	47.7%	43.2%	45.8%	45.0%

So how can we get our politicians more connected with the real world? Maybe it should be required that they do their own taxes every year.

Without a calculator or computer software.

Perhaps that might give them a vested interest in the tax code they write.

Feb

Alabama’s dildo police

By FraudWasteAbuse 4 Comments

Categories: politics, sex, government, Bill of Rights, Alabama, civil rights and liberty

Now I’m no coneisseur of dildos or vibrators, but I’m happy to report that the government of Alabama is using its taxpayers’ dollars well. Instead of focusing on petty issues, such as murder and rape, the public servants of Alabama have vigorously defended its decision to ban the commerical sale sex toys in the state…and won their case in front of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals:

MONTGOMERY — A federal appeals court issued a Valentine’s Day ruling upholding an Alabama law banning the sale of sex toys. But the devices won’t disappear from store shelves, including at one Decatur store, immediately.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Alabama’s sex toy ban is constitutional because “the state’s interest in preserving and promoting public morality provides a rational basis for the challenged statue.”

Hmm. I wonder how the court reasons that the state, an intangible and inanimate entity, can have interests? The truth is that the state does not have “interests”. Only individuals have interests. In reality, claiming that something is in the “state interest” or “national interest” is simply a government employee imposing his or her interests on you.

The lead plaintiff, Sherri Williams, said she was disappointed the 11th Circuit dated its ruling “on the very day this nation celebrates romance.”

Of course, this ruling could not have fallen on a more appropriate date, February 14th — reminding us that we should all look to the state to be the final judge of what kind of sex we can have behind closed doors.

I saved the best (scariest) part for last:

In previous appeals to the 11th Circuit, Williams and her attorneys had argued that the law was an unconstitutional intrusion into bedrooms, but the 11th Circuit held there was no fundamental right to use sexual devices.

That is a pretty bold assertion. If one completely ignores the Ninth Amendment as the 11th Circuit has, such an opinion by the court has far reaching ramifications. If it is the court’s opinion that there is no fundamental right to use sexual devices, then what devices do the people have a right to use? Using this pattern of logic, there is no fundamental right to use anything. The state is in complete control of your life and the legality of anything is at its whim.

Welcome to America. Land of the free.

Feb

You owe nothing to the public

By FraudWasteAbuse 0 Comments

Categories: politics, civil rights and liberty

“[The Individual] owes nothing to the public so long as he does not trespass upon their rights.”
– Hale vs. Hinkel, 201 US 43, 74-75

The implications of this single US Supreme Court ruling are broad and sweeping. If our courts and governments (state and federal) honored this single ruling as they should, there would be considerably less oppressive government intrusions upon our everyday lives as citizens.