(The following is a press release from the Libertarian Party at www.lp.org ): Libertarian Party Condemns the Supreme Court Decision Against the use of Medical Marijuana (Washington, D.C.) In a 6-3 ruling by the United States Supreme Court, the federal government will continue to arrest and prosecute sick and terminally ill Americans who use marijuana for medical purposes. The decision supersedes state laws and the votes of citizens that allo...
I notice a tendency on the internet for individuals to describe themselves as "moderate" when they cannot neatly fit into the box of left or right. The assumption seems to be that if you aren't left, and aren't right, moderate must be the only choice. What's funny, though, is that as I evaluate my position on various issues, I couldn't describe myself as a "moderate" anything. On most individual issues, I go to extremes. This is where I sit. On some issues, my stance may be perceived as "extr...
Although I am finding more and more individuals consider it to be irrelevant, the US Constitution is STILL supposed to be the supreme law of our land, and until it is declared null and void, it should be respected. Some of the agencies that consistently and wantonly violate the US Constitution are the CPS agencies of various states. How? Well, let me detail it further here than in previous article responses. Let's start with the fifth amendment: Article V. No person shall be held t...
Those Morgan Stanley commercials are starting to creep me out. First there was the couple on the beach where the man talks to the woman about building their dream house and she asks her husband, who has been out of sight all this time, what he thinks. Then there's the business where the Morgan Stanley guy is made to look like the CEO at a ribbon cutting ceremony. Third is the one where the Morgan Stanley guy is talking about a recent graduate's personal stories from childhood as if he were the f...
One of the fundamental rights we have as American citizens is the right to face our accusers. This is the case in criminal trials, but it is a right that is not allowed in Child Protective Services cases. The reason for this is CPS' anonymous reporting system. If a person hates you, they can phone in an anonymous call to Child Protective Services and make knowingly false or misleading statements with no fear of prosecution. This is routinely done by ex spouses in child custody cases, by grand...
Thirty dollars a month. Most of us pay more for each of our utilities, for cable, for our cell phones. It should be regarded as a small price to pay for liberty. And that is why I am issuing my "Liberty challenge", both here and on my sister blog (linked on sidebar). If every individual that voted for the Libertarian ticket of Michael Badnarik and Richard Campagna would set aside thirty bucks a month between now and the 2008 presidential election, that would mean a "war chest" of nearly $4...
Here's another one from my CPS files. A local family who had their children removed, not only hasn't gotten them back after more than a year and a half, but now they are ordered to pay $500 in child support per month for their three children. These children, mond you, were removed because their parents lived without utilities in their home. Basically, they were removed because of the poverty of the parents. Since the children were removed, the father has been working for a year now, and ...
I'm a member of a group whose most vocal elements disturb me. As a conservative Christian, I can quickly scan talk shows decrying the "removal of our rights as Christians" in a public arena. But my beliefs also run fairly consistent with those of Henry David Thoreau, whose essay on civil disobedience should be read by all Americans. If (and that's a huge "IF") prayer in public schools mattered to me, I'd be in there praying. I would teach my children to go in there praying. Compulsory att...
Congratulations, Howard Dean, for proving yet again that there is no room for moderates and people of faith within the Democratic Party. You've pretty much guaranteed yourself at least an honorable mention for my June "Meathead of the Month" award...and it's only the 8th. You see, by characterizing the GOP as a "white, Christian" party, you made the implicit statement that the Democratic Party is NOT. And, since you are white, and a self described "Christian", one would have to question why y...
Imagine the following scenario, if you will. You're a young family with six children and completely broke, with no prospects. How you got into that situation is immaterial to this hypothetical example. You have been trying to find work, but for whatever reason it has eluded you. Upon speaking with several people about your predicament, you are approached by a lawyer and offered $50,000 each for two of your children by the wealthiest couple in the community. Being good parents, you go to the l...
Sunday evening, the local Baptist church started its Vacation Bible School program. We took the kids and registered them, and sat their for their opening devotional bit. After a prayer, they had the kids say the pledge of allegiance. No huge problem there; I've already taught my kids our stance on it (they stand and cover their heart, but they don't say it). This is an issue I won't debate; it's how we feel, and if you feel differently, I am OK with that; but we make the decisions we f...
A recent article addressed the issue of the missing 18 year old in Aruba putting the blame squarely on the parents. While it is not certain whether the child is living or dead, the fact remains that the parents are going through a great deal of trauma, and that blaming them, even if it may be "technically" correct, is not the answer. The fact was, and is, that the young lady is 18. In the United States, that translates into "legal adult". She did not need her parents' permission to go, and we...
In response to another blog clamoring for us to eliminate the debt of third world nations, I repeated a longstanding challenge for the same individuals to focus on a privately funded charity to achieve those goals. My stipulations were that the privately based charity make aid conditional on human rights compliance and equitable distribution, as well as allocating no more than 10% of their resources to administration. My contention was, and still is, that the position of the celebrities cha...
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States made a decision giving the federal government the ability to override state law in prosecuting a certain class of hardened criminals. Who are these criminals, that the government should get tough on them? Are they murderers? rapists? Identity thieves? No, these dangerous criminals are those sick and dying who have committed the unconscionable crime of turning to medical marijuana to alleviate their symptoms. In yet another blow to the states' ...
When I was a kid, I got in trouble. A lot. The simple fact is, there were a number of rules for which I truthfully did not see the purpose. Sure, there were many rules against theft, or bodily harm to others, or even not cutting in the cafeteria line, whose purpose was the orderly function of the community. But there were just as many rules that served no greater community good and were put in place by the prejudices of the school administration. In that category, I would put rules such as th...