Kowabunga

Socialism Poll - Few Surprises

According to a recent Gallup Poll, 53% of Democrats have a positive view of socialism. Why is anyone surprised at this? Seriously, look at who the Democratic voters have sent to Washington in recent years: Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Al Franken, Amy Klobuchar, Dennis Kucinich, Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid, just to name a few of the star players. The only thing I find surprising about this statistic is that it was only 53% of Democrats that think socialism is great. Surprisingly, there are some 17% of people identifying themselves as Republican (or leaning) that think socialism is cool. 36% of Americans overall have a positive view of socialism.

A couple of questions I would have are: What do they think socialism is? Do they understand that for socialism to work, the people must give up their rights to government and let government tell them how to live? How much value do they put on their Liberty? How did we, as a People, drift so far away from the American Ideals set forth by the Founding Fathers?

I think I know the answer to that last question: Zip!

There are three different main forms of Socialism, all of they have elements that are directly opposed to Liberty and the individual rights of the People. Communism is the one furthest to the Left. Fascism is to the political right of Communism, which is why Liberals/Progressives frequently (and WRONGLY) associate it with Conservatism. Conservatism and Libertarianism are in direct opposition of any and all forms of Socialism. Somewhere in between Communism and Fascism lies State Socialism.

I know for a fact that many Liberals/Progressives don’t understand these basic concepts when they describe Fascism as being a system where corporations control how government operates. I’ve actually had one of these lovers of socialism tell me that, and used that view in order to assert her claim that Conservatives/Republicans are Fascists. (This particular person also called me a Fascist to my face.) She refused to accept the fact that what she described was exactly the opposite of Fascism, and was closer to being that of a Plutocracy.

There are a lot of people I know who don’t understand what socialism is, or other political systems. They go to the polls and blindly pull the lever for the candidate promising to do the most to take care of them, to be their mommy and daddy, to provide them with their basic needs rather than take responsibility for their lives and endeavor to excel and exceed. And that is a truly sad commentary on American society.

Tags: Poll, Socialism

Posted in American Politics | No Comments »

Not So Pure Meghan McCain

Generally I don’t pay attention to Meghan McCain. Currently she is about as relevant as Cindy Sheehan. Well, maybe she is not as relevant as Cindy Sheehan. Today, however, Meghan kinda stuck her foot into it with her responses to a Republican “purity” test. I don’t put much stock into these things, but her responses, and what she thinks enables her to claim to be a “pure” Republican are, well, entertaining.

Meghan claims that she is pure Republican on 8 out of 10 points by claiming that one “hell no” and two “half nos” equals a total of two nos. First off, there is no such thing as half-a-no. It is either “yes, I agree” or “no, I don’t agree”. Further, on one question, regarding Universal Healthcare, she claims to answer yes, she opposes such, but then goes on to add an exception of “until we figure out how are we going to pay for it”, making it a no, because what she just stated means that if there is a way to pay for it, then “hell yeah, I support it!” Actual tally, six yeses and four nos. If there is any validity to this “purity” test, then Meghan, fails to be a “pure” Republican.

For the record, about the only one I disagree with is the one concerning how to deal with Iran and North Korea. I don’t think containment is going to do the job, especially since North Korea now has nukes (thank you very much, Clinton Administration) and Iran will soon be able to provide weapons grade radioactives to terrorists (thank you very much, Carter Administration). Containment, under these circumstances, isn’t going to cut it. It may be all we have to work with right now, but once we see mushroom clouds over New York City or Tokyo, maybe people in power will figure out that containment of a hostile nations isn’t feasible.

Tags: Meghan McCain, Purity Test, Republican

Posted in American Politics | No Comments »

Senator-elect Brown

Looks like Brown is set to win the day in Massachusetts and break the Dems choke-hold on the Senate. Currently ahead by 5 points.

Posted in American Politics | No Comments »

Glover Moonbats Haiti EarhtQuake is Global Warming

Okay, there are Moonbat Moments and there are moonbat moments. But this one has got to qualify as a MOONBAT MOMENT. Danny Glover said this in response to the 7.0 quake that rocked Haiti, killing tens of thousands of people.

from the Daily Telegraph:

“When we see what we did at the climate summit in Copenhagen, this is the response, this is what happens, you know what I’m sayin’?”

Watch the video; his comment is near the end of the clip.

Think about it. Glover is blaming this on the fact that there are people who don’t buy the crock of Man-caused global warming. He is blaming America and those who support REAL science (A foreign concept to Lefties like Glover and the Boracle) as opposed to those who worship at the altar of Global Warming. What a sick and twisted is a comment to make while the people of Haiti suffer in the aftermath of an earthquake that ruined their country and their lives? How sick and twisted is it to lay the blame such a disaster on it at the feet of those who do the most to help those in need?

Good God, Glover, pull you head out of your pompous rear-end and get a brain. This sick and twisted comment has earned Danny Glover the coveted Moonbat Award. Congratulations. Now go get a brain.

My thoughts and prayers goes out to all those who are suffering and lost loved ones in the disaster in Haiti.

Technorati Tags:

Haiti Earhtquake Moonbat Moonbat Award Glover Global Warming

Tags: Global Warming, Glover, Haiti, Moonbat, Moonbat Award

Posted in Current Events, Global Warming, Moonbat Award | No Comments »

ObamaCare on the Rocks

There is some good news coming out of the Capitol. The Health Care Takeover (ObamaCare) is hanging on by a thread. I like what the Hill reported:

“We’ve got to get a bill that’s more compatible to the House,” Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday. “Forget all the other questions. Two-hundred-eighteen [votes] is the most important issue we are dealing with… We have serious problems on both sides of the Capitol. Serious problems.”

Rangel succeeds in showing what this takeover is all about: power. When someone claims that the most important issue is getting the votes to pass a lousy (and I do mean lousy) piece of legislation, that person should not be allowed to hold office. Sounds like Rangel, the man who wants to draft kids again, is displaying his Congressional Moonbat credentials again.

Pelosi goes on to assert that a millionaire surtax is the best way to pay for it all. There has never been a tax designed for “just the rich will pay” that didn’t eventually trickle down to all working Americans. Remember, the income tax was supposed to only apply to the wealthy. Reality check: As soon as the Dems figure out that the so-called Millionaire Surtax is insufficient for paying the bills, they will lower the bar of who pays this additional tax.

Fear is also mounting amongst the power-hungry Democrats that next week’s special election in Massachusetts may send a Republican to the Senate, breaking the super-majority that the Left now wields in the Senate and effectively killing the best shot at taking over our health care. I hope that these fears bear fruit and we finally break the hold the Dems have on Congress so that the minority party will have a voice. Then we may see some bi-partisanship going on. Until that happens, the Dems idea of bi-partisanship will continue to be “our way or the highway”.

Tags: Obamacare, Rangel

Posted in American Politics, Obamacare | No Comments »

People Going Nutters For Avatar

Okay, I admit it. I don’t have a lot of patience for nutters who live in their parents basements blaming mankind for all that is bad in the world and wanting a utopia, then go into suicidal depression when they realize that fantasy utopias like we see in the movie Avatar do not, in fact exist.

I have not seen the movie, Avatar, so I don’t know a lot about it. I hope to find time to see it in the near future. But the fact that people come out of it thinking that Man is the greatest evil, and that capitalism is the next greatest evil, in the universe, tells me something is wrong in the universe.

From CNN news:

James Cameron’s completely immersive spectacle “Avatar” may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.

On the fan forum site “Avatar Forums,” a topic thread entitled “Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible,” has received more than 1,000 posts from people experiencing depression and fans trying to help them cope.

Need help coping with post-Avatar depression? I can help you with three words: Get a life! (This can be further shortened to two words: Grow up!) That means, go out and get a job, a better education, learn new skills, take up interesting hobbies (but if you are depressed from watching Avatar, please stay away from anything that involves any kind of weapon, and stay out of politics), make a few real-time friends (you know, not the people you post updates to on Facebook all day long, but people you go out for pizza and beer and have a face-to-face conversation).

Avatar is a work of fiction. Based on my limited knowledge, he certainly sounds anti-Western culture, much like Dances With Wolves and The Last Samurai were anti-Western (and I don’t mean Western genre). It communicates that Corporations, Captialism, and Marines are greedy, evil and bad.

Reality Check - Corporations and Capitalism are not greedy, evil, or bad. There are individuals who are greedy (former Congressman William Jefferson with his freezer full of bribe money, and most dictators, and many U.N officials, evil (Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Osama bin Ladin, and a host of others), and/or bad (most members of Congress, convicts, and the people involved in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal are some good examples). Corporations are inanimate objects used by people to make profits. Some of these people could be described as bad and/or greedy. Capitalism is an ideology and is incapable of being greedy/evil/bad. Marines, as a whole, as well as other members of our Armed Forces, and those of our allies, are forces of good and examples of self-sacrifice (exact opposite of greed) and courage.

So, if you are suffering post-Avatar depression, you really need to spend some serious time re-evaluating your priorities in life.

Meanwhile, I may make a daring attempt to see Avatar before it comes out on video. It is not James Cameron’s or the movie’s fault that there are people out there who can’t get a grip on reality. Next thing you know they’ll be seeking help in response to not being admited to Hogwarts.

Update:

Ran across this piece on Big Hollywood. With anti-American rhetoric in the script, maybe it is Cameron’s fault that there are nutters out there who are being suicidally depressed by the movie. Maybe I’ll wait until I can rent it on DVD.

Tags: Avatar

Posted in Movies | No Comments »

It Could Be Laughable

James Carville, speaking on the Tony Kornheiser Show, had this to say (from The Hill):

“Let me buy a [security] card, then go and measure my penis, and let me get on the airplane,” he said.

This explains the “No Laughing” signs posted in front of the scanner screens.

Tags: Carville

Posted in American Politics | No Comments »

Review: The Young Duke

Too anyone who knows me, it will come as no surprise that I am a big (and I do mean BIG!) John Wayne fan. My in-laws are no exception to this. Indeed, they delighted me the last couple of holidays with some delightful John Wayne related gifts, and this year was a big surprise in that they gave me a copy of The Young Duke: The Early Life of John Wayne by Chris Enss and Howard Kazanjian for Christmas (among other fun things!). I breezed through the book, preempting the novel I had just started.

This is a new biography on the Duke, and contains reprints of several articles and interviews written during John Wayne’s life, as well as numerous photographs. That alone makes this book worth picking up.

Any John Wayne fan knows a lot of his life during his film career, and even a bit about his growing up and how he got into film in the first place. Enss and Kazanjian give more depth to the fractured family life that Duke Wayne grew up with and dealt with during his adult life.

What I found most interesting in this new biography is how the list of “supporting” people in Duke’s life impacted his personal life and his career, from his early mentorship with John Ford and his many years of work with the great Yakima Canutt, and how Wayne and Canutt developed new stunt techniques for choreographing fight scenes during their stint in ’30s B-westerns. There are anecdotes about many other film legends, such as Harry Carey, Tom Fix, and many others. Plus a look at Wayn’e marriages, including his tragic and stormy union to Chata Baur.

There is one major error in the book, and that is when it covers the House Un-American Activities Committee. Enss and Kanajian incorrectly assert that Harry Carey, when he testified before the HUAC, he did so before Joseph McCarthy, and stated he headed the committee. Harry Carey died in 1947, several months after McCarthy was elected to the U.S. Senate. Prior to 1947, McCarthy served as a circuit court judge in Wisconsin. As a U.S. Senator, he would have no direct involvement with the HUAC as that was a committee of the House of Representatives. Add to that the fact the McCarthy was relatively unknown until 1950 when he made the Wheeling Speech concerning the communist infiltration of our government.

Aside from that serious factual error, and some poor proofing (which is a nitpick), Enss and Kazanjian have produced a very fine biography of Duke Wayne and The Young Duke well worth reading.

Technorati Tags

John Wayne The Duke The Young Duke Enss Kazanjian

Tags: Book Review, John Wayne, The Duke

Posted in Books | No Comments »

Cheers, Norm

You better watch out
You better not pout
You better not cry
I’m telling you why
ObamaCare is coming to town.

The disastrous takeover of our health insurance system by government is impending, complete with closed-door backroom deals and no bi-partisanship or GOP input. The slow creep to serfdom is going into hyperdrive as Obama and House/Senate leaders bypass the normal joint committees to resolve differences in House and Senate versions of the Health Care “Reform” bill as a means to short-circuit Republican input and rush the process so as to ram it down the throats of the American people before we know which way is up. Ya can’t blame Bush for this disaster.

But I do have someone to blame.

Norm Coleman, former Republican Senator from Minnesota.

Why do I blame Coleman? Simple. He surrendered his seat in the recount proceedings is a maneuver that would make Jean-Luc Piccard proud.

Reason: Going into the recount, Coleman had a narrow (razor thin) lead. When determining how his team would handle the recount, he played a gentlemanly game of softball, ignoring the lesson learned in Washington two years before. Al Franken, on the other hand, took the Washington lesson and applied it in Minnesota, playing hardball and going straight for the jugular. End result, official recount showed Franken with a narrow (razor thin) lead by using loosy-goosy standards on ballots from Ramsey and Hennepin counties while applying tight standards to ballots from pretty much everywhere else. When the process went to the courts, Coleman continued to play softball while Franken beat Coleman’s team like bongo drums.

You can’t when a gun fight when you show up with a pocket knife.

Had Coleman played by the same rules that Franken used in the recount, there is a high probability that Coleman would still be a U.S. Senator and ObamaCare would have been stopped dead in the Senate.

Thanks a lot, Norm.

Tags: Al Franken, Norm Coleman, Obamacare

Posted in American Politics, Obamacare | No Comments »

Limbaugh in Hospital

News of Rush Limbaugh’s being hospitalized with chest pains reached my monitor this morning. It’s a crummy way for 2009 to end for him. I wish him well and a speedy recovery. Unlike some bozos around the blogosphere.

Recently, Limbaugh has been an ardent critic of ObamaCare and the government takeover of our healthcare system. One thing that Ann Althouse pointed is:

Rush Limbaugh has said on his show many times that once the government runs health care, there is a threat that life-or-death decisions will be made based on politics, and people will worry that if they criticize the government or espouse the wrong opinions decisions will go against them.

A darn good point that had not previously occurred to me. I don’t listen to Limbaugh’s show or follow his website, I am not a ditto-head or fan of his, even though I agree with most of his positions.

This is a chilling notion, the thought that government could decide who should receive what treatments or medications based on their political ideology; that government should be able to determine who lives and who dies based on whether or not they agree with the people in power. Scary stuff. Amd potentially real, especially if the Left realizes their end-game of full-on socialized health care system (single-payer).

Get well, Mr. Limbaugh. America needs you voice, now more than ever.

Tags: Rush Limbaugh

Posted in Current Events | No Comments »

Underwear Bomber Scores Tactical Victory For Al Qaeda

Yeah, that’s right, even though the bomb failed to detonate, our side failed to stop him from getting into position where he could set it off to begin with.

Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the blown attack. Janet Napolitano at first claimed our anti-terrorist system worked, then backtracked and admitted it failed. This is a critical point.

There are reports out that the terrorist, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab was aided in boarding the Detroit bound flight in Amsterdam without a passport by an unidentified man who asserted Mutallab was escaping from Sudan and needed to get to the U.S., and that it is routine to slip Sudanese refugees on flights despite not having a passport.

Mutallab, now known internationally as the underwear bomber, successful boarded the flight while carrying his explosive charge in his underwear. When Mutallab failed to set it off, due to some malfunction, he then tried to set it off by setting it on fire. He was foiled when passengers and crew subdued him.

This is a reminder of what we are up against. When it comes to terrorist attacks, we have to be lucky every single time to stop attacks before they occur. We cannot afford a failure. The terrorists only have to get lucky once. And this time they did. Only the Big Guy upstairs prevented this from going off the way al Qaeda wanted it to.

Our system of protecting people from terrorist attacks failed. The underwear bomber scored a tactical victory for the terrorists. Why was it a tactical victory for the enemy? They penetrated defenses and succeeded in getting the bomb in position. This despite our receiving warnings from Mutallab’s father that his son was up to something with al Qaeda. Despite Mutallab being on terrorist watch lists and known to be cavorting with various extremist terrorist groups. That’s reason one this was a tactical victory for the terrorists.

Reason 2 that it was a victory for evil is that air travel will now have even more restrictions placed on it. Here comes the full body scans and Lord knows what else. Requirements to stay in your seat for the last hour of the flight, with your hands in plain sight. Talk about treating people like a pack of Kindergartners. Air travel is restrictive and inconvenient enough. Now it will become even more so. No thanks, I’ll drive from now on.

Al Qaeda has also stated that more attacks are on the way, and that they practice tactics for penetrating security so as to carry out attacks. They found a big hole in Amsterdam by getting the Underwear Bomber on board without a passport. That means there is one rule that definitely needs to be implemented and that’s where international flights are concerned, no passport, no boarding, absolutely no exceptions.

We got lucky this time in that the bomb was a dud. Our being lucky this time had nothing to do with our security measures that are in place BECAUSE THOSE SECURITY MEASURES FAILED! Had they worked as planned, Mutallab should never have made it aboard that flight to Detroit, but been detained in Amsterdam.

Message to Obama and Napolitano: don’t fail us again!

Tags: Napolitano, security, Terrorism

Posted in Current Events, GWOT | No Comments »

Watts Case Goes to Circuit Court

The Peter Watts arrest saga continues with the following report from the Times Herald in Port Huron:

A Canadian science fiction writer was bound over to circuit court today on charges of assault and resisting arrest from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron.

A preliminary examination for Peter Watts of Toronto was held today in front of District Judge John Monaghan.

Basically what this means is that the District Court determined that the prosecution had all their proverbial duck s in a row for moving this case ahead to trial. It is not an indication of guilt/innocence, just a finding that “yep, looks like you can proceed to trial”.

Doesn’t look like the video has been released yet.

Something I have failed to point out in regards to this incident is that Watts was stopped as part of a random, and routine, border inspection. Quite frankly, I don’t like random stops like this. However, that isn’t justification for being a jerk towards people just trying to do thier jobs and protect their country.

Technorati Tags:

Peter Watts Arrest Rifters SF Fandom

Tags: Peter Watts, Rifters, SF Fandom

Posted in SF Fandom | No Comments »

Obama Political Failure #30

And now a message from the Obama Administration Peanut Gallery:

“In the long run we can’t continue to spend as if deficits don’t have consequences, as if waste doesn’t matter, as if the hard earned tax dollars of the American people can be treated like monopoly money, that’s what we’ve seen time and time again, Washington has become more concerned about the next election than the next generation.”

Yet that is exactly what Obama and the Democrats are doing; treating OUR hard earned money as though it is monopoly money and as if there are no consequences in doing so. Republicans were never this unrestrained in spending during the Bush years, although many are also guilty of treating our money as if it is THIERS to do with as they please.

Video

Obama also states in the video that the deficit in January (2009) stood at $1.3 trillion, which is a LIE. It was at roughly $450 billion (not trillion), a third of what Obama claims in this video.

Technorati Tags

Obama Obama Political Failures Obama Lies Monopoly Money

Tags: Obama, Obama Political Failures

Posted in American Politics, Obama, Obama Political Failures | No Comments »

Double Moonbat Award

It seems to me that there is a lot of Moonbattiness this week, and it’s only Monday. We’re going to do a double-hitter on the Moonbat award.

The first is going to, of all people, a member of the clergy, specifically Father Tim Jones of St. Lawrence Church in York, U.K. for his advising his congregation to shoplift during these trying times. His reasoning: hey, God loves the poor more than he loves the rich.

From the Daily Mail:

Father Tim Jones, 41, broke off from his traditional annual sermon yesterday to tell his flock that stealing from large chains is sometimes the best option for vulnerable people.

It is far better for people desperate during the recession to shoplift than turn to ‘prostitution, mugging or burglary’, he said.

Okay, yeah, shoplifting may be better than prostitution, and it isn’t violent like mugging, but it is STILL STEALING and a violation of the commandment “thou shall not steal.”

Jones goes on to say that people should not steal from small, family businesses, as it hurts them more than the big chains. That’s big of him.

Stealing is stealing. Period. end of Statement. Congratualtions, Pastor Jones, you are a recipient of a Moonbat Award.

Next up is one of America’s own, Senator Whitehouse (D as in Dumb@ass- RI) has this to say about those who oppose ObamaCare:

Breitbart Video

“They are desperate to break this president. They have ardent supporters who are nearly hysterical at the very election of President Barack Obama. The birthers, the fanatics, the people running around in right-wing militias and Aryan support groups, it is unbearable to them that President Barack Obama should exist. That is one powerful reason. It is not the only one.”

In other words, those who oppose it are a bunch of racists. Wow.

A few facts - yeah, there are some nuts on both sides of the political divide. On the right there are a (dwindling) number of birthers who still believe that Obama was born in Kenya, despite the overwhelming evidence that he was in fact born in Hawaii. Yeah, I get riled at birtherism as well, and defend Obama on that score. But to accuse those who oppose Obama as being members of militias (the new Leftist code-word for terrorist) or Aryan groups (which is to say, they’re Nazis) and that we find it unbearable that Obama exists is pure loony Moonbattiiness. This guy is NUTS!

A few facts: most of us who oppose Obama’s agenda are not “birthers”, do not belong to militias, or associate with Aryan groups. I don’t think anyone on the right find it unbearable that Obama exists. We don’t like Obama’s policies. But, hey, the Left hated Bush’s policies and they did find it unbearable that George W. Bush existed (not to mention Ronald Reagan), but that’s another story.

So congratulations to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse; you are a real, major league Moonbat. Enjoy your Moonbat award.

Why to people keep voting for idiots like this, anyway?

Technorati Tags:

Tim Jones Shoplifting Sheldon Whitehouse Obama Obamacare Moonbat Moonbat Award

Posted in Moonbat Award, Obamacare | No Comments »

Nowhere to run

I was reading a column in the Telegraph today on global government and how, when such comes about, “there will be nowhere to run to.” The piece, by Janet Daley, takes a long, hard look at the use of “global” in relation to crisis and solutions, and the results of the Copenhagen climate talks. She’s got some darn good points that should cause concern to every freedom loving person in the world, ’cause when global governance comes into being, there won’t be anyplace to run.

One thing that helps keep tyranny in check is that people can (attempt to) escape it by going to another country. Every year, thousands escape Cuba, China, Vietnam, and other totalitarian regimes, most of them come to the United States. Prior to the fall of the Soviet Union, defections were common, and people would escape from behind the Iron Curtain seeking political asylum.

The talks in Copenhagen were pushing for global governance over climate control; global policing of carbon emissions, all on the backs of free people, and placed their by unelected (and unaccountable) bureaucrats interested only in personal power.

One aspect that concerns me is that there are many people who accept it, even welcome it, and not just those who will gain power over the people of the world. It also fits in with the base theme of my blog. I am referring to Science Fiction Fans and Fandom.

For decades, science fiction has glorified world government, and it is a good theme for an SF story. And not just world government, but star spanning Federations and Galactic Empires, seem to be the norm.

Star Trek - the old other national identities are still there, but not sovereign governments.

Babylon 5, also one world government on Earth, whose influence controls the entire home system and colonial possessions. The Narn have global government, as do the Minbari and the other races. One world, one species, one government.

Dune is a galactic empire with each planet ruled by an aristocratic family. Each world has its ruling government with the Imperial government ruling over all.

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, when you disagree with your government. Unlike the way things are today.

Less than forty years ago pseudo-males fled the U.S. military draft and service in Vietnam by fleeing to Canada. But at least they had the ability to do so. As pointed out above, since the rise of Castro, every year people have been fleeing Cuba for the U.S. in droves.

If the power mongers at the climate conference and the U.N. eventually get their way and get a global climate control “agreement” in place, we will be one step closer to global governance, and if you don’t agree with what they are doing, you will have nowhere to go. We can’t even get off of this rock let alone out of this solar system to new worlds as someone in an SF story would be able to do.

The Brits, by and large, don’t seem particularly thrilled with the EU model they have to deal with. Think about what the world will be like if the EU model is thrust upon us on a global basis. I don’t know about anybody else, but it gives me the hebegebes.

Technorati Tags:

World government Global UN

Tags: Global Government, UN

Posted in World Politics | No Comments »

Peter Watts Arrest Report Released

Peter Watts is going to jail…sounds like a catchy tune, and most likely will come to pass, assuming SF writer Peter Watts actually shows up for his court date on Dec. 22nd.

Stephen Tait at the Times Herald in Port Huron is staying on top of this case with a new piece now that the police report of the incident has been released, even though it took a FoIA request. Tait, to his credit, is working on getting the video released as well, something I, for one, look forward to seeing.

The police report sheds a lot of light on the events of Dec. 8th that are lacking in Watts on profanity laced account. Watts has said that he had used “words” to question why the officers were searching his vehicle, without disclosing what those words are. He does maintain that he said nothing profane, which is hard to believe based on reading his profanity laced blog (and not just entries concerning his arrest).

According to Tait’s article in the Times Herald, sounds as though Watts did exactly what he is accused of doing:

A police report, released Thursday by the police department after a Freedom of Information Act request from the Times Herald, describes Watts as unwilling to listen to demands of the customs officers.

“As officers began searching the vehicle the driver exited the vehicle and became irate with officers,” the report states. “When the subject was ordered back into the car the subject refused.”

Watts, in various news reports, has stated he used “words” to question authorities as to why they were inspecting his vehicle and Watts has also admitted he refused to co-operate with police when ordered back to his vehicle.

The officers then tried to handcuff Watts “for their safety,” but Watts resisted and pulled away. Officer then used several “muscling techniques and (officers) took the subject to the ground.”

Watts continued to struggle with officers and eventually made it back into his vehicle, the police report states.

The customs officer, Andrew Beaudry, then tried to get Watts out of the vehicle, a 2010 Toyota sport utility vehicle owned by Hertz Vehicles of Seattle.

Ever rent an SUV? Not the cheapest ride around. Hertz is also one of the more expensive car rental companies. This was not a compact cheapo from Budget like normal people rent. And why did Watts get back into the vehicle at this point? What did he think he was going to do, drive across the border?

During the attempt to get Watts out of the vehicle, Watts grabbed Beaudry “by the collar of his uniform and began choking” the officer, the report states.

The officer broke free of Watts and he “did give the subject two elbow strikes to the subject’s chest and chin area and a knee strike and was able to break free from the subject in the vehicle.”

Once the officer separated from Watts, “the subject did come out of the vehicle and still continued to be aggressive towards officers and were (sic) ignoring their commands to go into the arrest positions.”

Please, go out to the Times Herald and read the entire article, it’s got a lot of info in it, and Tait is doing a fine job of being impartial in his reporting.

Watts claims that all of the events after his arrest took place without legal representation and that the police tried to get him to waive his Miranda rights. Guess what? That is sounding like a heap of horse hockey. Watts is not a poor man; his income actually exceeds the income threshold that determines a person’s eligibility for access to a public defender. Who did he call after his arrest, and why did he not hire an attorney as soon as possible?

There is a lot of fishiness about Watts’ claims around the events of Dec. 8th.

What annoys me most is not the fantasy that Watts published on his own blog, but that so many people posting on his blog, and elsewhere, automatically assume that the police are at fault for the events of that day, and some even denigrate law enforcement officers as being a bunch of illiterate people attracted to violence and power who couldn’t make it in any other field. Kind of like how the Moonbats on the Left denigrate those who serve in the military.

As a disclosure, I had not heard of Peter Watts prior to be invited to join the Facebook group supporting him in the arrest incident, even though I read a fair amount of SF, and attend several SF conventions every year. Somehow, based on what I have read about this incident, and what he has written on his blog (and not just about his arrest and brawling with police), I don’t foresee my reading any of his books. Fortunately for him, the next WorldCon is in Australia and not the United States.

Watts is supposed to be some of brilliant scientist and SF writer, but as he fails to realize that when he was read his rights, that part about “anything you say can be held against you in a court of law” seems to be a bit over his head as that also includes anything he publishes on his blog.

And yes, Watts is innocent until proven guilty. He’ll have his day in court, assuming he actually shows up for his trial.

Tags:

Peter Watts Rifters Arrest SF Fandom

Tags: Arrest, Peter Watts, Rifters, SF Fandom

Posted in SF Fandom | No Comments »

Road Warrior Weekend

From the realm of “man, that sounds like fun”, I received a message on the MacDude list about an event called “Road Warrior Weekend”. Costumes, cars and gyrocopters, all in the post-apocalyptic style made popular by the Mad Max movies.

The brainchild of Scarlot Harlot, according to the LA Weekly, she came up with the idea during a night of red wine and Mad Max movies, a combination that can’t go wrong.

“I started thinking you don’t want a bunch of people in a hotel or a convention center, it doesn’t go with the theme of Mad Max,” she explains. “I started thinking, it would be really cool if we could do in the desert with a backdrop similar to the movies.”

Yes, it would be, and looked like it was, a very cool idea to hold this event in the desert rather than a hotel. Almost makes me wish I still lived in California. Almost.

And it looks like they are already planning their next Mad Max Weekend as well. Check it out at Road Warrior Weekend.

Tags: Mad Max, Road Warrior

Posted in SF Fandom | No Comments »

SF Writer Charged With Assaulting Police Officer

It’s rapidly becoming old news that Peter Watts, an SF writer (one I have never heard of before, despite his being nominated for a Hugo Award) was arrested when he became “non-compliant” and aggressive with border patrol officers during an inspection stop.

From the Times Herald:

Port Huron police Capt. Jim Jones would not provide the Times Herald with a copy of a police report about the incident Friday. He did read the police report to a reporter.

After being stopped, Watts exited his vehicle “angrily” and border officers began checking the black sport utility vehicle he was driving, Jones said.

Border officers ordered Watts back into the vehicle, and when he refused, officers attempted to handcuff him, Jones said. At that point, Watts began to resist and pull away from the officers “and became aggressive toward officers,” Jones said.

Jones said a border officer used pepper spray to subdue Watts. Jones said Watts “choked” an officer during the struggle.

Here are links to some articles in the press.

Daily Mail
The Star

I have also gone out to Watts’ blog and his condescending attitude towards police and people who do not support him in his claims leads me to give even more credence to the claims of law enforcement officers who were on the scene of the incident. Good gravy, this guy puts the F-word right on the top of his blog in big, bold letters. I was taught that you can measure a person’s intelligence (or lack thereof) by their use of the F-word; the more they use it, the dumber they are.

Watts is expected to appear in court on Dec. 22nd. Being a Canadian citizen, he could just stay home and never return to the U.S. If, as he claims, he is just a victim and he did nothing wrong, then he’ll show up for trial, make his plea, his defense, and so on, and have his day in court.

I have not seen the video footage. I don’t know if it is even available as yet. I have searched for it, but no score. But based on what I have read, my money is on law enforcement and not on Peter Watts.

If he is found guilty, or if he chooses to not appear, he better return the money people are giving him for his legal defense. If he is exonerated, then he should consider it money well spent and give those people some display of gratefulness.

Meanwhile, I look forward to seeing the video of the incident.

Tags: Peter Watts

Posted in SF Fandom | 1 Comment »

CArbonhagen Hypocrites

Here’s a good one. The U.N. Climate Summit in Carbonhagen nee Copenhagen, will, during its 12 days, dump more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than is produced by 660,000 Ethiopians in a year.

What’s absolutely laughable is that these same environmental whack jobs that are wanting to put serious curbs on CO2, are producing more than several small countries combined.

Here’s another good one from the Reuters piece:

The researchers assumed that 60 percent of conference participants would catch public transport to and from the conference but Balslev said that was probably optimistic.

I had no idea that 1,200 limos constituted “public transport”.

If these people are so serious about CO2 being the cause of all that is evil in the world, then why are they producing some 46,000 tons of the stuff?

Tags: Carbonhagen, CO2, Global Warming

Posted in Global Warming, World Politics | No Comments »

ObamaCare is Unconstitutional

Why is ObamaCare considered by those on the Right to be unconstitutional? A fair question. There are several reasons why it is unConstitutional.

The number one reason most cited is that it requires every American to purchase health insurance, whether they want to buy it or not, and then prescribes what MUST be in each and every policy as a bare minimum, and includes things that any given individual may not wish to purchase, but by Federal mandate, must purchase. ObamaCare also penalizes those who wish to buy so-called “Cadillac” plans, insurance that provides far superior coverage than the rank and file minimums that must be purchased. Finally, it not only penalizes those who refuse to buy insurance with higher taxes, but also criminalizes them.

These elements of ObamaCare are all contrary to the Ideal of American Liberty that the Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the Declaration of Independence, fought and bled for in the revolution, then adopted our current Constitution.

Of course the common counter-point to the mandate that all Americans must by health insurance the Left makes is that people are required to purchase auto insurance. This counter is easily shot down as it is the individual States that have set requirements on purchasing auto insurance, and it is linked to the ownership of a car. If you don’t own a car, you don’t have to buy auto insurance. Further, in many States, and I am not sure if this is true in all States, you have the alternative of posting a bond for a set amount of cash in lieu of purchasing auto insurance. These are facts that the Left convenient ignore as they know it invalidates their argument. They also ignore the fact that States requiring the purchase of auto insurance under certain circumstances is not a violation of the U.S. Constitution, as it is the States making these rules, and not Congress.

Another point to be made on the unconstitutionality of ObamaCare is its lack of choice given to Americans. It is clear that some government bureaucrats will determine what insurance you must have, and not left to the individual. It seems that the only time the Left is pro-choice is in regards to abortion, and not when it comes to the rights of the people to determine how they wish to live and how they want to purchase health insurance.

Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. constitution defines the powers granted to the Federal Government. Nowhere in the powers listed is there a provision authorizing the Federal Government to require Americans to purchase any product, or give the government the power to criminalize those who fail to comply with mandates to purchase a specific product.

Think about it; if Congress can require Americans to purchase a specific product, whether they want it or not, what else can Congress force Americans to do?

Americans survived hundreds of years without health insurance. They went to a doctor when they needed to and paid for his services directly. There was no government intervention. Why is it that all of a sudden government must step in and ensure that American (except Congress and other people of wealth/power/position) have the same level of health care? Have we drifted so far from the American Ideals of Liberty and Individual Responsibility that we are all now expected to be dependent on government? Is this what the Left wants? To be taken care of from the cradle to the grave by a surrogate mother named Government?

Next time, why ObamaCare will actually increase the cost of health care in America, while decreasing the quality of care for average Americans (that’s us, not the members of Congress or the wealthy elites).

Tags: Obama, Obamacare

Posted in Obama, Obamacare | No Comments »