Reason versus the Hysteria of Big Government Sycophants

Recently I read a list of things that leftists whisper among themselves when no one else is within earshot. One of them was: "How did we manage to get Shepard Smith hired as a prime time anchor on the Fox News Channel"?

Unlikely Allies? Not so Fast

As a former resident of Humboldt County in Northern California the video (@ 3' 45") below caught the eye of this blogger who has a propensity toward the laconic e.g. "one reason video avoids several thousand spartan keystrokes".


ht: the OTHER Allen

Giveaway!

M.D. Creekmore at The Survivalist Blog – a survival blog dedicated to helping others prepare for and survive disaster – with articles on bug out bag contents, survival knife choices and a wealth of other survival information is giving away a 1,000 round case of 9mm – 124 Grain FMJ (a $200 value – donated by LuckyGunner)! To enter, you just have to post about it on your blog. This is my entry. Visit The Survivalist Blog for the details.

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!!

Public Enemies?

The truth of a quotation attributed to Harry Truman: "If you want a friend in Washington DC, get a dog." can seldom be more clearly illustrated than the recent and ongoing demonization of British Petroleum (BP) by the political leeches in Congress and the Obamunist Administration. Until recently, the company logo, intended to evoke visions of an enviro friendly corporation along with the slogan "beyond petroleum" were presented ad nauseam in video advertising. This public relations campaign was also accompanied by an aggressive rent seeking effort:

[T]he Kerry-BP alliance for an energy bill that included a cap-and-trade scheme for greenhouse gases pokes a hole in a favorite claim of President Obama and his allies in the media — that BP’s lobbyists have fought fiercely to be left alone. Lobbying records show that BP is no free-market crusader, but instead a close friend of big government whenever it serves the company’s bottom line.

While BP has resisted some government interventions, it has lobbied for tax hikes, greenhouse gas restraints, the stimulus bill, the Wall Street bailout, and subsidies for oil pipelines, solar panels, natural gas and biofuels.

Now that BP’s oil rig has caused the biggest environmental disaster in American history, the Left is pulling the same bogus trick it did with Enron and AIG: Whenever a company earns universal ire, declare it the poster boy for the free market.

As Democrats fight to advance climate change policies, they are resorting to the misleading tactics they used in their health care and finance efforts: posing as the scourges of the special interests and tarring “reform” opponents as the stooges of big business.

Expect BP to be public enemy No. 1 in the climate debate.

Of course, in the current political climate few will note the parallels with the rent seeking  relationships of I.G. Farben and Friedrich Krupp AG with the German National Socialist government 1933 1945. Nevertheless, rent seekers are leading candidates for scapegoats by collectivist politicians as Mr. Hayworth has discovered to his dismay.

I would submit to you, dear reader, that the real public enemies in this tragic train of events are the environazis and the politicians at whose behest BP is forced into drilling in 5000' of ocean depth while petroleum reserves on dry land and shallow water are placed off limits.

The Blame Game

Gentle readers,

I don't know about yourselves (both of you know who you are) but I, for one, am about up to my eyeballs with the round-the-clock "news" coverage (including the finger pointing) of the crude oil being deposited into the Gulf of Mexico. Is there nothing else of note occurring in the world?

 It's as if a committee of political hacks meeting under Roberts Rules of Order could end the 53 day long crisis by issuing press releases blaming all the hapless producers of a product that fuels our global society instead of the actual authors of the tragedy.

Full disclosure time: This humble scribbler is the spawn of a family who earned its bread in what is known as the "oil patch". Indeed he entered employment in the "patch" at age 14 until being driven out by government regulations 20 years later. That first career included two major oil companies, (Texaco and Conoco) as well as drilling and oil well service companies in southern California both off shore and land side. During that interesting experience he witnessed two "blowouts" which are uncontrolled escapes of pressurized natural gas and crude oil as well as sand and other objectionable material. Make no mistake gentle reader, this event in the Gulf of Mexico is NOT a "spill". A spill is the escape of a previously contained material from a storage or transportation facility such as a pipe line or tank.

Interestingly enough, blowouts are usually controlled in a matter of hours or at most days, often by the application of heavy mud and/or cement deployed by the equipment of that EEEvil corporation, Halliburton.

As any sentient voter with two or more functioning brain cells is aware, the federal government as well as various state governments have placed off limits virtually all of the not inconsiderable proven petroleum reserves on government land as well as decreeing oppressive regulations discouraging production from private leases. These restrictions are the result of a decades long vilification program by well funded "environmentalist" groups such as the Tides Foundation, the Sierra Club and others.

Consequently, the enormous demand for sources of petroleum has driven the industry further and further off shore. We now have oil companies forced to drill in 5000+ feet of water. Although the technology for such drilling exists, no one has been able to figure out how to economically deliver a functioning Halliburton cement wagon to the ocean floor at those depths.

As this disaster unfolds, few if any in the media are pointing a finger at the two chief culprits: the government and the environazis. On the up side, the bumbling incompetence of the huge bureaucracies of the government and the grandstanding politicians are being revealed for what they are: a black hole sucking away our wealth and liberties.

Update: 6/12/10 2147 EDT

Another Country Heard from

A recent post by the Curmudgeon Emeritus on the subject of Israel's ongoing struggle for its very survival speaks truths that sadly most of humanity is unaware of. The enemies of western culture have, by their seizure of the media and academia succeeded beyond even their own wildest expectations. As evidence of this postulate I herewith present the translation of a comment published on a popular (rated in the top 10) Swedish blog .
The commenter addresses his comment to "Zionistlover" an apparent reference to the blog poster. In this instance Mrs. ΛΕΟΝΙΔΑΣ.

Zionistlover ...

Helen Thomas,  the journalist, is correct in saying:
"Jews out of Palestine".
It was a BIG mistake to create the Zionist state, this killer band that is thought to be above the law.

The increasing Islamisation of Europe is a problem, yes, but that is  partly a consequence of the world's having given the Zionists too much leeway.
I am sorry to say,  they do not play by the rules, for example, disclosing their nuclear weapons, and because of that there is unfortunately  only one solution. Just as in Iraq,  Israel should be invaded and Netanyahu as well as other Zionists brought to justice, destroying all Israeli weapons of mass destruction, appropriating their money and paying it back  to the people in Gaza, Jordan and Syria as their homes were expropierade without any compensation.
An international force should be organized in the same way as in Yugoslavia to keep the parties separated, with the right to shoot Zionists and others who do not respect the new division.

Port workers in Sweden are quite right, just as against apartheid in South Africa in it's time, a boycott is a possibility. Therefore, we must hope the rest of the world will follow and  ban zionist products and demand  special Zionist visa, it may well be a yellow star, on the document.

Proud anti-Semite, Peder Jensen.
PS. No Jews should not be eradicated, they only have to behave properly, it means they are not above any law.

Gentle reader, Peder Jensen expresses the views of a not inconsiderable segment of the European electorate. He appears to have little to no concept of the Anglo Saxon common law philosophy or for that matter natural law.  Tragically, his position is what is increasingly recognized as politically correct in today's academia.

The Considerable "Cheek" of Felipe Calderón

Just when one believes he has seen and heard it "all", along comes the reality of post modern political hackery to resurrect with all seriousness the ancient practice of betraying the gates of the city to the besieging enemy for the fleeting advantage of political gain.

On 20 May just passed, the president of Mexico addressed the US Congress.  The purpose of his speech appears to have been that of creating momentum for passage of "comprehensive" reform of US immigration law. Not content with the non enforcement of existing law, the operatives of the "lying" party  are complicit in the recruitment of lying heads of foreign states to assist them in augmenting the ranks of collectivist voters.

In his speech, Sr. Calderón refers to Mexico's "loss" due to the emigration from his country of the "brightest and hardest working" members of Mexican society. Apropos the subject, your humble corespondent has just returned from his most recent transcontinental road trip. During that trip he was regaled with considerable anecdotal evidence to the contrary. One member of Leonidas' extended family has been employed for several years as an on call emergency room nurse at a Phoenix area hospital. During those years her income has approached $250,000.00 per year as she is a highly trained and experienced professional called upon to work many hours per week. Since enactment and actual enforcement of the Arizona law which incidentally mirrors the wording of long existing federal legislation, she is only occasionally called to assist in the treatment of true traumas as opposed to the formerly routine incidents of sniffles, sore throats and bruises attributed to the minor domestic squabbles of the "bandilito" (wetback) population in the Phoenix area. Word has apparently spread through the bandilito community that after their "free" treatment at the local trauma center a bus ride to the Nogales port of entry awaits them.

Sr. Calderón's assertion that his government is seeking ways to retain the "brightest and best" members of his society is risible to anyone such as this blogster who has resided in Mexico and experienced the pervasive corruption at all levels of government.  On one occasion, Leonidas was required to not only perform the detective work for the local police in Acapulco to recover his property stolen by a local shopkeeper, but to supply cash to "purchase fuel" for the police vehicle that was used in the investigation. This is reported with all due respect to Fred Reed  who happens to be a LEGAL gringo resident of Mexico.

Interestingly enough, Leonidas' recent road trip included a fuel stop in Hollister, California. The entire visible population of that city appeared to consist of bandilitos. The only non bandilitos in evidence were SOME of the motorists entering and exiting the city. The clerk at the fuel stop spoke no understandable English and was so flustered by an obvious gringo addressing him in proper Spanish that he was rendered virtually speechless. This incident only lends credence to the aphorism that most of the bandilito population are "illiterate in two languages".

A Border Solution?

Where to begin?

The recent brouhaha over Arizona's enactment of legislation attempting to address the serious negative impacts of the porous border with Mexico continue, in the opinion of this humble writer to overlook some important factors.

The caterwauling raised by those feigning concern over the civil rights of the "bandalitos" (illegal aliens) is especially amusing and arises from either ignorance or cynical political motives. If any of those activists/politicians, from the obamunists to Marco Rubio, who states that: "I think aspects of the law, especially that dealing with ‘reasonable suspicion,’ are going to put our law enforcement officers in an incredibly difficult position." can cite a single police power conferred by the Arizona statutes that exceeds those assigned to federal officers, I for one am prepared to eat a crow sandwich.

Probably the most effective way to address the immigration portion of the border problem would include rigidly enforcing the following:
    1) All undocumented foreigners within the borders to be declared felons
    2) Foreign residents must prove they are not a burden on society
    3) Immigration authorities must have a record of each foreign visitor
    4) Visitors must not violate their visa status
    5) A ban on interfering with internal politics i.e. public protests and marches
    6) Imprisonment or deportation of those entering under false pretenses
    7) Those aiding illegal immigration shall be imprisoned
    8) Public transport companies that import undocumented foreigners will be fined
    9) Marrying a foreigner for the sole purpose of legalizing residence is prohibited

Such "draconian" measures would doubtless elicit a cacophony of protestations from not only apparatchiks of the  Democratic party but "civil rights" activists and the ACLU, not to mention president Calderón of México.

Oh, by the way; did I neglect to mention that the above 9 items and others were extracted and translated from México's  Ley General de Población? These sections are strictly enforced. Simply ask those citizens of Guatemala, El Salvador and NIcaragua who have run afoul of México's immigration law.

Additionally, a reconsideration of the US "War" on drugs would also go a long way in ameliorating the border difficulties.        

Test

Another "Undeclared" War

The following is an email that originated in southern Arizona.  I have been unable to determine its veracity via either Snopes or TruthOrFiction.com. It does however, have the ring of legitimacy from my own perspective in law enforcement as well as the current practice of the main stream media suppressing stories embarrassing to our current political regime.

Date: Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 6:28 PM
Subject: FW: Mexican Assassins - Life on the border

-----Forwarded Message-----

Forwarded to me by a friend who recently retired from border patrol.........


As you know, one of the local ranchers was murdered in Douglas two weeks ago. His funeral is tomorrow. I received three messages similar to the one below from different officers within the Rangers and law enforcement.

Yesterday afternoon I talked to another rancher near us who is a friend of ours and whose great grandfather started their ranch here in 1880. These are good people. He told me what really happened out at the Krentz ranch and what you won’t read in the papers. The Border Patrol is afraid of starting a small war between civilians here and the drug cartels in Mexico.

Bob Krentz was checking his water like he does every evening and came upon an illegal who was lying on the ground telling him he was sick. Bob called the Border Patrol and asked for a medical helicopter evac. As he turned to go back to his ATV he was shot in the side. The round came from down and angled up so they know the shooter was on the ground. Bob’s firearm was in the ATV so he had no chance. Wounded he called the Cochise County Sherriff and asked for help. Bleeding in the lungs he called his brother but the line was bad so he called his wife but again the line was bad.

Several ranchers heard the radio call and drove to his location. Bob was dead by this time. The ranchers tracked the shooter 8 miles back towards Mexico and cornered him in a brushy draw. This was all at night. The Sherriff and Border Patrol arrived and told them not to go down and engage the murderer. They went around to the back side and if you can believe it the assassin managed to get by a BP helicopter and a Sherriff’s posse and back to Mexico . So much for professional help when you need it.

One week before the murder Bob and his brother Phil (who I shoot with) hauled a huge quantity of drugs off the ranch that they found in trucks. One week before that a rancher near Naco did the same thing. Two nights later gangs broke into his ranch house and beat him and his wife and told them that if they touched any drugs they found they would come back and kill them. The ranchers here deal with cut fences and haul drug deliveries off their ranches all the time. What ranchers think is that the drug cartels beat the one rancher and shot Bob because they wanted to send a message. Bob always gave food and water to illegals and so they think they sent the assassin to pose as an illegal who was hungry and thirsty knowing it would catch Bob off guard.

What is going on down here is NOT being reported. You need to tell people how bad it is along the border. Texas is worse. Near El Paso it’s in a state of war. 5000 people were killed in Ciudad Juarez last year and it’s over 2000 so far this year. Gun sales down here are through the roof and I get emails from people wanting firearms training.

Something has to be done but I don’t hold out much hope. These gangs have groups in almost every city in the US . Please read below. This is serious business. The Barrio Azteca and their sub gangs are like Mexican Corporations and organized extremely well. If this doesn’t get dealt with down here you guys will deal with it on your streets.

It really is getting worse and worse down there Folks....."starting a small war between civilians here and the drug cartels in Mexico."

HT: Wollf

A Commemoration

Your humble blogster has recently learned that the organization dedicated to the preservation of vintage military aircraft formerly known as the Confederate Air Force has, in the name of political correctness i.e. cultural Marxism been renamed the Commemorative Air Force. We wonder how long the search for a suitable substitute for the word "Confederate" required in order to retain the acronym CAF.

In any event, apropos the subject of "commemorate" we note that today is "Earth Day" and therefore wish to call your attention to a presentation by the late George Carlin on the subject of "saving the planet".

Warning: those concerned with the PG 13 rating of this blog may wish to forgo viewing the video. For the rest of you (both of you know who you are) enjoy. 

Worth 1000 Words

 

A TSA worker pats down a traveler at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Sept. 22, the day the government introduced stricter security measures. 

"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." Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.

We now live in a society where the arrest of 9 "christian militia" nutcases who are most likely the hapless victims of a government agent provocateur garners above the fold front page media coverage while suicide bombers in Moscow who murder scores are relegated to a page 4 report that fails to even hint at their religious affiliation.
 
Outrage anyone?

I thought not. 

Census Protest

The following is a blog posting by Dr. Walter Block lifted from here. Obviously this message needs maximum exposure:

I pass this along [sic] letter on the census for your information, only. I do not counsel anyone to break the law. Of course, I’m not real sure of what the law is. A direct and literal reading of the U.S. Constitution it seems to me, a non lawyer, is clear as to what the law is: people are legally obligated, only, to cooperate in a head count for political representation purposes. But, my fear, my expectation, even, is that present courts will not interpret the law in that way, and may instead punish census rebels who refuse to furnish additional required (requested?) information. In any case, the following will undoubtedly be of interest to all people concerned with liberty; I offer it exactly as it was sent to me:

From: ronpaul-200@meetup.com on behalf of DarkLaw
Sent: Tue 3/9/2010 9:02 PM
To: ronpaul-200@meetup.com
Subject: Re: [ronpaul-200] Ron Paul CNN on Cafferty Files 2/27/10

My response to the Census

I compiled this letter and inserted it into the Census envelope, along with my 2010 census form.
I marked off that ‘02′ people reside at this address….and, well… read the rest!

Use this as a template! This is just another small step in which we can show the Feds we won’t take this nonsense lying down!
______________________

To Whom it May Concern,

Pursuant to Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution, the only information you are empowered to request is the total number of occupants at this address. My “name, sex, age, date of birth, race, ethnicity, telephone number, relationship and housing tenure” have absolutely nothing to do with apportioning direct taxes or determining the number of representatives in the House of Representatives. Therefore, neither Congress nor the Census Bureau have the constitutional authority to make that information request a component of the enumeration outlined in Article I, Section 2, Clause 3. In addition, I cannot be subject to a fine for basing my conduct on the Constitution because that document trumps laws passed by Congress.

Interstate Commerce Commission v. Brimson, 154 U.S. 447, 479 (May 26, 1894)

“Neither branch of the legislative department [House of Representatives or Senate], still less any merely administrative body [such as the Census Bureau], established by congress, possesses, or can be invested with, a general power of making inquiry into the private affairs of the citizen. Kilbourn v. Thompson, 103 U.S. 168, 190. We said in Boyd v. U.S., 116 U. S. 616, 630, 6 Sup. Ct. 524,―and it cannot be too often repeated,―that the principles that embody the essence of constitutional liberty and security forbid all invasions on the part of government and it’s employees of the sanctity of a man’s home and the privacies of his life. As said by Mr. Justice Field in Re Pacific Ry. Commission, 32 Fed. 241, 250, ‘of all the rights of the citizen, few are of greater importance or more essential to his peace and happiness than the right of personal security, and that involves, not merely protection of his person from assault, but exemption of his private affairs, books, and papers from inspection and scrutiny of others. Without the enjoyment of this right, all others would lose half their value.’”

Note: This United States Supreme Court case has never been overturned.

Respectfully,

A Citizen of the United States of America

cross posted at: Eternity Road

Judicial Outrage

Shamelessly stolen from Col B Bunny

A Turnaround?

Duh!

Your humble and semi fearless blogster just yesterday broke one of his most important and long standing self imposed rules. While surfing between the local news broadcast and the weather channel he paused on one of the Sunday "talk shows" and within one minute needed to hastily retreat to the closest water closet and be relieved of his breakfast. The author of the need to visit the vomitorium was a talking head that assured one and all that the latest "polling data" reveals that the American boobioiese is now welcoming  the arrival of Obamacare as blessed relief from "skyrocketing" health insurance premiums.

Oh goody! The Fed has inflated  the "money" supply by over 100% in the last 18 months and "costs" for goods and services including insurance premiums are beginning to rise. Who knew? According to the cretin spouting this "logic", the miraculous turnaround in the acceptance of socialized medical delivery is due to a clamoring for price controls and rationing. Who knew? Welcome to the Zimbabwe/Cuba system of "social progressivism".

Life Imitates Hollywood

Many of you may remember the 2002 Stephen Spielberg scifi production of Minority Report, portraying a future society in which the government assured its citizens that certain individuals were "about to commit" crimes and therefore justified "preventive" arrests and prosecutions.

Those of us who viewed the film experienced relief that "our" form of government would never engage in such outrageous practices. Think again gentle reader.


In the southern Oregon community of Medford, a furloughed Oregon Dept. of Transportation employee has been taken into "protective custody" for legally purchasing 3 firearms over a period of two days:

In two days, the man bought a Heckler & Koch .45-caliber universal self-loading handgun, a Walther .380-caliber handgun and an AK-47 assault rifle, Medford police Lt. Bob Hansen said. All of those firearms were purchased legally, with required record checks by the Oregon State Police.

Please note that the state mouthpiece media is dully identifying all of these semiautomatic firearms by their politically correct Pelosi/Feinstein nomenclature.


The identity of the person detained in this swat team operation has not been released. He is being held for a 72 hr. "psychiatric evaluation". At the end of the 72 hrs. a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker may have him detained for an additional 90 days. The record of this detention will preclude him from "owning any firearm for the remainder of his life". So much for the protections of the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution.


If any of you yet entertain the fiction that we live under a government who respects the liberties earned during the unpleasantness of 1775-1783, I suggest you reconsider subscribing to such nonsense and proceed accordingly.


ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!


cross posted at: Eternity Road

A Bit of Government "Comedy/Irony?"

Your semi fearless blogster had an amusing encounter this morning on the way to the gym and reasons for levity of  late being sparse he has decided to share it with both of his faithful followers.

Only last week the "first lady" Mrs. Michelle Obama/Soetoro appeared on one or more of the insipid morning boob tube venues to decry childhood "obesity". It is as yet unclear which of the 22 members of her White House staff  broached the idea of such a crusade (perhaps in view of recent trends the term should be jihad). This concept of nanny statism follows closely on the heels of trial balloons being floated over government controls of junk and fast food.

Where was I? Oh, yes; the narrow road near our residence necessitated us coming to a stop in front of a neighbor's residence in order to allow the boarding of a school bus by a rather portly pupil who attends the public elementary level indoctrination center located approximately 900 feet away. As the school bus paused with appropriate flashing red lights and obligatorily deployed octagonal stop sign as well as bumper barrier, the pupil of some 10 years of age huffed and puffed up the slightly inclined driveway and lumbered aboard the bus. Two more stops were required of the bus on its 900 foot journey in order to board pupils who live directly across the street from the school.

It appears that the school district prohibits pupils from arriving and departing its facilities by any means other than motor vehicles even though each and every roadway adjacent to any of the institutions displays flashing yellow lights indicating reduced speed limits often monitored by  revenuers minions of the law replete with electronic detection devices even on "snow days" when the schools are vacant.

Goodness, how times have changed since the old days when we young'uns were forced to trek "2 miles up hill (both ways) in blizzard conditions" to the little red school house. It must be the price we pay for our rulers keeping us safe, healthy and protecting the environment.

"Right" vs "Privilege"

In less than three weeks the US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of McDonald v City of Chicago.  The court will decide if the Second Amendment which states: "...the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." applies to the various states and local governments. In 2008 the court held that the plain language of the Second Amendment applies to the District of Columbia which like Chicago had ordinances effectively prohibiting the possession of firearms in its jurisdiction. The odds are that the Chicago law will be struck down as unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment.

The decision will doubtless impact many restrictive gun laws in multiple states. A case in point is the (idiotic?) law in California (section 12031 (a) (1) of the penal code)  which prohibits the carrying without a concealed carry permit of a loaded firearm in any incorporated city or designated area in the unincorporated area of any county. The law as interpreted by California courts allows the carrying of a concealable firearm in those prohibited areas if it is "unloaded". Of course All schools and public buildings are "gun free" zones.

One can imagine the confusing situation faced by a non permitted citizen who wishes to exercise his second Amendment "right" under these Byzantine laws, especially when sheriffs and police chiefs routinely refuse the issuance of concealed carry permits to all but a favored class of applicants.

Recently a group of California residents protesting this situation has begun to openly carry their hand guns in various venues such as Starbucks coffee shops in the Bay area. The response of some police personnel to these protests is about what one could expect of members of a class whose monopoly of certain "rights" is threatened as is illustrated by the following exchange discussing a legal instance of open carry on the face book threads of one officer Tauson:

"Haha, we had one guy last week try to do it!"...""He got proned out and reminded where he was at and that turds will jack him for his gun in a heartbeat!..."Sounds like you had someone practicing their 2nd amendment rights last night!" Tuason wrote. "Should've pulled the AR out and prone them all out! And if one of them makes a furtive movement ... 2 weeks off!!!"

The two weeks off (with pay of course) refers to the internal shooting investigation period.

I have a question for those who allege that law abiding citizens have certain "rights" guaranteed by the Constitution: does one need a permit to exercise a right? If you, dear reader, believe that a permit is only required for a privilege you would be in error.

The Supreme Court will hand down its ruling before the June adjournment. We are breathlessly awaiting the determination of at least 5 of our black robed demigods. Any bets on the voting alignment?

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

Bang for the Buck

click to enlarge images

  

 

How to avoid looking like a referee at a tennis match while giving a speech.

ht: Theo Spark

Transportation (Non) Security

In one of his previous lives (the law enforcement one) your humble blogster participated in several "covert" operations. That is the main reason that he finds the saga of the underwear bomber of Christmas day especially intriguing.

As "luck" would have it and much to the chagrin of our political masters, a material witness to the events concerning flight 253 happened to be an individual trained in both logic and evidence evaluation. Unless this witness can be either discredited or intimidated into silence, the entire bureaucratic farce designated "transportation security" and erected by the government will stand revealed for the sham that in fact it is.

The witness, an attorney by the name of Kurt Haskell who was a passenger aboard flight 253 avails himself of his legal training in opening his "case" by posing seven questions :

1. Who is the Man in Orange?


2. Did Mutallab know the Sharp Dressed Man?


3. Was it intended that the bomb explode?


4. Did the U.S. Government know that Mutallab had a bomb when it allowed him to board Flight 253?

5. Why is the U.S. Government seeking a plea deal for Mutallab?

6. Why did a fellow passenger call me to discuss changing my story?

7. Why are the important questions being ignored by the mainstream media?

I hope that you, dear reader, will follow Mr. Haskell's discussion of these seven questions at the link provided above and supply your reactions in the comments at the end of this post.

Public perception of the workings of covert government operations have been severely distorted by the entertainment media. In other words: what one views on the entertaining episodes of "24" is so far from reality as to enter the realm of the absurd. In the real world and almost universally, those charged with supervising these operations have little to no hands on experience working "under cover". The skills required of successful operatives are not necessarily congruent with supervisory abilities. The "bosses" have been promoted/appointed/elected into their supervisory positions on the basis of a variation of the Peter Principal  which rewards those skilled in sycophancy and bureaucratic political maneuvering. The "supervisors" almost invariably experience difficulty in managing the often complicated operations. These difficulties arise chiefly from an inability to resist tendencies toward micro management. Political corruption is also an occasional factor. First hand examples of this theory will doubtless supply subject matter for future posts.

In classic Platonic fashion, Mr. Haskell discusses the implications of the possible answers  to his seven questions and invites us to; (using an overworked cliche) "connect the dots". Suddenly, Ms Napolitano's apparently nonsensical statement that "the system worked" acquires the ring of perverse if partial truth.

In any event, the concept that ultimate transportation security can be achieved if only we surrender more liberty is revealed for the nonsensical fairy tale it has always been.

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ