Another victory for the left, for pedophiles and against the victims of these barbaric crimes. In a 5-4 decision, the liberal contingent of the SCOTUS have jerked the power away from the states to decide who gets the needle, and who gets to spend life on the taxpayer dime:

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion that “evolving standards of decency” in the United States forbid capital punishment for any crime other than murder.

“We conclude that, in determining whether the death penalty is excessive, there is a distinction between intentional first-degree murder on the one hand and nonhomicide crimes against individual persons, even including child rape, on the other,” wrote Anthony Kennedy, who is of no relation to the convicted rapist.

Execution of Patrick Kennedy, the justice also wrote, would be unconstitutional on the grounds of the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

Evolving standards of decency? What the hell does that mean? Decency certainly isn’t growing stronger in this country. Does that mean the as decency evolves, meaning degrades, child rape won’t be seen as that outrageous an offense?

Compare this ruling with the video I played on yesterday’s podcast. The video is of Rep. James Fagan (D-MA), a state legislator, vowing to take a six year old rape victim and “rip her apart” on the witness stand.

Do the left only care about the criminal here? Do they not care about the life of the victim? The lives of other victims? It’s disgusting.

And look at this pile of legal crap:

after a review of the “history of the death penalty for this and other nonhomicide crimes, current state statutes and new enactments, and the number of executions since 1964, we conclude there is a national consensus against capital punishment for the crime of child rape,” Anthony Kennedy wrote.

Now, I’m no lawyer, but even I know that Constitutional law shouldn’t be decided on public opinion. What does the Constitution say, you moron?! Don’t tell me what people in Beverly Hills think! Tell me what the Constitution allows! If the people want to keep filthy child rapists from getting executed, they will pass a bill to prevent it. That’s how the system works.

And now capital punishment is reserved only for murder? What about treason? What about espionage?

The Constitutionalists on the court, the same four that dissented when the court gave enemy combatants rights to the American legal system, felt the liberals on the court were wrong:

In his dissent, Alito wrote that the majority ruled against the death penalty “no matter how young the child, no matter how many times the child is raped, no matter how many children the perpetrator rapes, no matter how sadistic the crime, no matter how much physical or psychological trauma is inflicted and no matter how heinous the perpetrator’s criminal record may be.”

Another power grab but the SCOTUS. For me, this is more important than terrorism when it comes to my vote. I’m not worried about a terrorist take-over of America. But these liberal ruling coming down from on high makes me think that a vote for McCain, who will have Fred Thompson vetting his justice nominations, is worth holding my nose for.

RIP George.

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Political News

• Obama tacks away from his left-wing base
• McCain bucks Bush on climate change
• Democrat Steps Back From Call to ‘Socialize’ Oil Refineries
• Iraqi military to take control of Anbar province

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What would Sir William Wallace do?

Thousands of primary pupils were prevented from making Father’s Day cards at school for fear of embarrassing classmates who live with single mothers and lesbians.

The politically correct policy was quietly adopted at schools “in the interests of sensitivity” over the growing number of lone-parent and same-sex households.

It only emerged after a large number of fathers failed to receive their traditional cards and handmade gifts.

Family rights campaigners last night condemned the policy as “absurd” and argued that it is marginalising fathers, but local authorities said teachers need to react to “the changing pattern of family life”.

There are alternatives to banning Father’s Day. Perhaps the teachers could have reached out to fathers and asked them to be male mentors to those children without fathers. They could have had them make father’s day cards to their fathers anyway, regardless of if they were dead or absent. They could have had them write another card for their mother to show they appreciate them more than once a year.

There are alternatives to this, they just weren’t explored.

A spokesman for East Renfrewshire Council said: “Increasingly, it is the case that there are children who haven’t got fathers or haven’t got fathers living with them and teachers are having to be sensitive about this.

“Teachers have always had to deal with some pupils not having fathers or mothers, but with marital breakdown it is accelerating.”

Ok, so the last thing you want to do is to have the boys with fathers show them how important they are to the family. The last thing you want to do is tell fathers who are there that their children love them. Let’s not reinforce the idea of family and fathers being important. That would be insensitive.

Sir William Wallace wouldn’t stand for this. Imagine that Parent-Teacher conference for a second.

Last night’s guest on the podcast has a new article out at Mises titled, “The Oil Follies.” In it, he discredits the efforts of our Congress to “fix” the current cost of oil and gasoline. One of my favorite quotes from the article is:

Anyone familiar with modern politics knows that Republicans and Democrats regularly vie with each other to see who can be more economically illiterate, but it seems that with this proposed legislation, Democrats are determined to take the lead and cripple the US oil industry permanently.

With all their socialist programs and ideas, how can you come to any other conclusion? As Anderson notes: “it seems that the political classes in this country have decided that supply and demand really don’t matter at all, and that all commodity prices are simply arbitrarily administered by people who are impervious to the desires of consumers.”

The rest of the article takes the failed bill apart, piece by piece, and shows how destructive it would have been to the American, regardless if you drive or take mass transit. For example, when it comes to Barack Obama’s “windfall profits tax” (which I wrote about here), Anderson says:

If executives are not investing many of their profits into exploration and new equipment, then it means that they do not have confidence in the future. This would not be because oil suddenly will be unprofitable, but rather because oil executives have no confidence in the political classes.

Indeed, the prospect of a huge tax on profits — a tax that would be levied specifically at one industry on top of other taxes the oil industry pays — means that if oil companies are successful at their endeavors, Congress will single them out for special punishment. Congress wants to do what dictators have always done: steal the property of people who cannot defend themselves against the encroachment of the state. Thus, by threatening to confiscate the oil profits, Congress is encouraging the industry not to invest in new capital and not to increase oil supplies.

This is no idle threat.

Great analysis on the left’s attempt to fix the mess they helped create. As usual, the government isn’t the solution, it’s the problem.

Don Imus says he was making a point about how police arrest dark-skinned Americans more than white folks. So, for his effort in defending the arrest of “Pacman” Jones, he gets accused once again as a racist:

The latest comments by Imus to come under scrutiny were aired on Monday’s broadcast. During a conversation about Jones’ run-ins with the law, Imus asked, “What color is he?” Sports announcer Warner Wolf said Jones — formerly known as Pacman — is “African-American.” Imus responded: “There you go. Now we know.”

That was on Monday. I suppose if you just hear that, you would believe he is saying that an African-American gets arrested more because they commit more crimes. But then, as always, there is more to the story:

Imus resurrected his radio career six months ago with a pledge to mend the wounds caused by a racist and sexist comment he made about a women’s basketball team.

On Tuesday he said he was following the spirit of that promise by calling attention to the unfair treatment of blacks — in this case the arrests of suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones.

“What people should be outraged about is that they arrest blacks for no reason,” Imus said Tuesday. “I mean, there’s no reason to arrest this kid six times. Maybe he did something once, but everyone does something once.”

Pacman Jones says he’s going to pray for Imus. Meanwhile, I’ll be praying for America.

I was always worried about one thing when we pulled into port, especially when we were overseas like, oh, I don’t know…Hong Kong:

About 100 American sailors were left behind in Hong Kong after a Navy aircraft carrier departed early because of weather concerns, an official said Tuesday.

The USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group left a day early Sunday as Typhoon Fengshen headed toward the territory, said Dale Kreisher, spokesman for the U.S. Consulate General.

The carrier attempted to recall all sailors enjoying shore leave in Hong Kong, but some were left behind.

All things told, these guys are lucky in that the ships departure without them was not their fault. But, if the ship is leaving because of a typhoon, these guys are looking for some shelter in a bad way. Hopefully, they brought some way to get money. Here’s to the ship getting these boys back on board. But I doubt they are complaining about a few extra days in port.

Of course, if Gale here was Captain, he’d just go back for them. “NEVER LEAVE A MAN BEHIND!”:

Should a business owner be allowed to tell an employee that they cannot bring a gun to work? I know that where I work, guns are not allowed on the property, period. I don’t have a problem with someone bringing a gun to work, mainly because I will be given a gun at work and am trained in how to use it.

However, there are some business owners in Florida who are not so keen on the idea of their employees carrying in their car:

A local gun storeowner believes the “guns at work” law will offer needed protection for people who might encounter threatening situations while traveling for their job.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Retail Federation opposes the legislation, which allows Floridians to keep a gun in their locked cars on work premises if they have a concealed weapons permit.

The groups filed suit in federal court in Tallahassee, seeking to block the legislation from taking effect July 1. A hearing for an injunction is scheduled today.

The Florida chamber’s stance is “a business owner should be able to decide if employees can or cannot bring guns on their property,” according to the group’s Web site.

Van Morgan, owner of Morgan’s Archery & Firearms Pro Shop, said employers’ rights and discretion must be balanced with employees’ personal property rights. Morgan said a business is overstepping authority and infringing on the Second Amendment by telling people what they can or cannot keep in their cars. If someone were injured or killed while driving to or from work or somewhere on the job, Morgan said the employer “has some culpability by not allowing you to bear arms.”

I really understand both sides. I understand the business owner saying, “This is my property, and I have a right to say what comes on it.” I understand the employee saying, “I leave your property after dark and youdon’t have security, so I want to be able to protect myself.”

Personally, I say people should be able to bring guns to work, and there is one good reason for that:

Several lawmakers who voted for the bill, including Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, and the bill sponsor, Sen. Durell Peaden, R-Crestview, said they did not know how many companies had policies against guns in vehicles. Patronis, who co-owns Capt. Anderson’s Restaurant, said he understands why some businesses want to prohibit firearms in vehicles, but he believes the final bill balanced customer and employee safety.

“To have the gun in your car, you must have a concealed weapons permit. And getting that permit involves background checks, firearm training, licensure requirements,” said Patronis, also a NRA member.

These are responsible gun owners, and are not going to hurt anyone with their guns. The fact is, unless you are doing metal frisks, a lot of these folks could carry all day long, and no employer would ever notice. The guy who scares these business owners isn’t going to care about his little ban anyway. Why not have a few more firearms nearby to take that guy down?

The United Nations has finally realized that there is something amiss in Zimbabwe. I guess all it took was cutting off the feet and hands of the opposition party’s wife before burning her alive for them to say, “Hey, this isn’t fair.”

In a statement, the 15-member body said a free and fair presidential run-off vote on Friday would be “impossible”.

Opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai said he would leave the Dutch embassy in Harare over the next 48 hours.

The Movement for Democratic Change leader took refuge there on Sunday night after pulling out of the poll saying he did not want more bloodshed.

He told Dutch radio on Tuesday that the Netherlands ambassador had received assurances from the Zimbabwean government about his safety.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said Friday’s election should be delayed, but Zimbabwe’s UN envoy insisted it would go ahead.

The people of Zimbabwe don’t need an election and they don’t need UN peace keepers coming in and raping their children. They need a Second Amendment and a large shipment of weapons. Or at least on really good sniper.

They need a revolution.

I underestimated the Congress critters. Although this might be an accidental rubbing of two braincells together, producing a thought of Constitutionality, I really thought that most were working with only a brain stem on this issue.

When Congress passed the Energy bill last December, one of the items in it was the mandatory purchasing of florescent light bulbs. No longer would free people be allowed to choose how to light their house. That was decided by the collective. Rep. Ted Poe, (R-Texas), woke up yesterday and said, “We did what?”

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, says his objection is very basic – the Constitution doesn’t authorize Congress to do anything remotely like banning a product that has been used safely and efficiently for more than 100 years in favor of Chinese-imported compact fluorescent light bulbs that pose considerable health and safety risks.

Poe cited the dangers associated with CFLs, which carry small amounts of mercury that can enter the environment through breakage and disposal. He also objected to reliance on the CFL alternatives when, currently, all are made in China.

One of the problems Poe mentions in clean up. Have you ever read anything about how to clean up a CFL if you accidentally break one. You might as well call a Haz-Mat team. Via Energy.gov (pdf):

How should I clean up a broken fluorescent bulb?

Because CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal
guidelines:

1. Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room
• Have people and pets leave the room, and don’t let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
• Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
• Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.
2. Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces
• Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass pieces and powder.
• Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
• Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.
3. Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug:
• Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
• Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic
  bag.
4. Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding, etc.:
• If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
• You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
• If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.
5. Disposal of Clean-up Materials
• Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
• Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
• Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.
6. Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming
• The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
• Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

Poe also did something that warmed my heart. He pulled out the Constitution (not the original, that would be stupid), and actually referenced it:

“Madam speaker, I have a Constitution here, like most members of Congress,” Poe said. “I carry it with me, I’ve read it through and through but I don’t see anywhere in the U.S. Constitution where it gives the government the right to control the type of light bulbs used in Dime Box, Texas, or anywhere else in the United States.”

Exactly Congressman. Now, let’s talk about ethanol subsidies (any subsidies for that matter), foreign aid, the Department of Education, Department of Energy, FEMA…this is a pretty extensive list. You might want to sit down.

Hat Tip: Say Anything Blog via Boortz

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Tonight we well be discussing the effects of prices controls on an economy. We will be discussing this with William L. Anderson, Ph.D.

Some of his work:

• How To Create A Shortage
• Backdoor Price Controls
• Oil and the State: How Journalists Get it Wrong
• Socialism and Capital Stock
• Congress and Oil Prices: The Outrage Continues

Political News

• Obama Camp Drops Familiar ‘Presidential Seal’
• Senate poised to approve housing rescue bill

Continue reading →

Eleven years ago, the earth stopped warming. Ever hear that on the news? Neither have I. But the Church of Global Warming isn’t about to let a silly thing like facts get in the way of controlling the world:

In his speech to Congress today, [James Hansen] is expected to target big corporations and members of US Congress who had a poor record of dealing with climate change.

“When you are in that kind of position, as the CEO of one the primary players who have been putting out misinformation even via organisations that affect what gets into school textbooks, then I think that’s a crime,” he said in an interview with the Guardian.

He will tell the House select committee on energy independence and global warming that he is certain that amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is already above safe levels and will call for the new US president to place a moratorium on new coal-fired power stations.

(Source.)

During an energy crunch, he wants to stop the creation of energy plants, because they add a trace amount of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. I wonder if anyone listening to him will ask him about the new carbon filter that removes 90% of CO₂ from smokestack emissions. I hope at least one of our nation’s legislators has been briefed on this development. Apparently, it has yet to reach NASA.

As for that safe level of CO₂, Hansen says that is at 350 ppm, the level reached in 1988. Currently, the concentration of CO₂ sits at 385 ppm, with no increase in temperatures in the last 11 years. In fact, parts of America were reached record low temperatures and were receiving snow as late as June.

Yes, it is the oil companies who should be prosecuted for propaganda.

Germantown, Penn. police say that 26 year old Jesus Ivan Arandaluna committed a dozen burglaries in the area, is an illegal alien and was previously deported:

Arandaluna was identified by an associate, Santos Perez Sibrian, after Sibrian was arrested. Sibrian had tried to sell a $12,000 watch in an area pawn shop for $1,000, arousing the suspicion of the shop keeper, who came to believe it was stolen, police said.

During the execution of a search warrant on the men’s residences, both located in the same trailer park where Arandaluna had lived with his girlfriend, jewelry was found from what police said could be a dozen homes.

This girlfriend mentioned above is the real story here. In 2004, when Arandaluna was 22 remember, he was living with his 14 year old girlfriend. With daddy’s permission!

This is as confusing as anything I have read.

In February 2004, Arandaluna was sentenced to three years of probation for having sex with his then 14-year-old girlfriend, court records show. But before he could be processed by parole, he was deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

So, in February of 2004, he is convicted and deported. But, six months later:

Arandaluna moved into a Germantown trailer park with his girlfriend. Court records say her father allowed it because she threatened to run away with him, as she had for nearly a month that same summer.

And in November 2004, rape charges were pressed against him. I am guessing that the February 2004 date may be a typo, and is supposed to be 2005.

Either way, this child rapist has now victimized twelve homeowners because of our lax border security.

With the Supreme Court about to hand down a decision on the D.C. gun ban, and the Brady Campaign already accepting defeat, the nanny state gun grabbers are already gearing up to infrindge on your Second Amendment rights. They will outlaw handguns, not by banning handguns. They know that will not fly.

But assault weapons…that they could pull off. It’s what they classify as an “assault weapon” that needs review:

The gun control groups recognize that Americans are tired of handgun bans that don’t work, as seen in cities like Chicago and D.C. So instead of fighting to ban ordinary guns like handguns, the gun groups are now trying to get these ordinary guns classified as “assault weapons,” so that it easier to ban them. For example, nobody would think of an ordinary handgun such as the Springfield XD as an “assault weapon,” but the bans on “assault weapons” extend to cover this and many other handguns.

How, you ask? Simple: The bans on so called “assault weapons” define a magazine with the capacity to hold more than 10 rounds as a “high capacity assault weapon feeding device.” Then, ordinary guns such as the Springfield XD, or even the guns that have been around for over 100 years and won the wild west, are suddenly classified as “assault weapons.” Since such a definition defies common sense, most people don’t know that their ordinary handgun, or antique lever action rifle is now an “assault weapon” until they are arrested and jailed.

Well, at least he’s got a real conservative selected for one of the most important jobs. Human Events says:

In a McCain administration, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson would play a dominant role in selecting Supreme Court nominees and other judicial appointments, sources close to the McCain campaign and to Thompson tell us.

McCain can do himself a lot of good by continuing this trend. Actually, it would be better if you did like a commenter at Human Events said and put Fred on the bench, but it’s a start.

Put Tom Tancredo in charge of Homeland Security next, John, and you might even get my vote!