The Lone Libertarian

I know I’m way late on this one, but I had to stay away from politics for a few weeks, blood pressure problems and all.  I have got to say, Joe Biden as Obama’s nomination for Vice President may be the nail in the coffin of his campaign.

All that hope, change, and challenging the “establishment” is really eclipsed by the fact that Biden, a 30-yearer in the hallowed halls, IS the establishment.  This guy worked in the public sector for 4 years after graduating college and then was elected Senator of Delaware at the tender age of 29, and has sat in that seat until the present.

Lets take a look at some of the gems of Biden’s career, shall we?

You cannot go to a 7-11 or Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian Accent.

Ah yes, all the tolerance you’d expect from a liberal, in a crusty, white-haired package.

I think I have a much higher IQ than you do.

And folks said Obama had an elitist attitude.  By the way, whats up with VPs seeming to have short-man’s syndrome, ever since the Clinton era?

The McCain campaign is running with this gem.

I think he can be ready, but right now I don’t believe he is.  The Presidency is not something that lends itself to on the job training.

I would be honored to run with or against John McCain.

I guess it also doesn’t help that Biden is a liar.

Hope.

Change.

Rubbish.

Everyone seems to still be abuzz about the computer simulated fireworks display (that was admitted to by the networks, while it was happening), much ado about nothing if you ask me.

I think the Blue Screen Of Death that occured during the opening ceremony is more newsworthy.

And the chairman in control of the IT setup during the games said Vista was too unstable to use, so they picked XP instead.

Try as you may, you cannot escape the BSOD!!!  Heh.

Here’s a story developing this afternoon from Memphis.

It would appear that occupants of two vehicles on Summer Avenue near Hudson were shooting at one another causing a three car crash.

It seems that a home and business were struck with bullets as well as a vehicle.

The Commerical Appeal writer describes a gun and a “clip” of ammunition being left at the scene.  Who wants to bet that it was actually a “magazine” with ammunition in it?

Neighbors said gunshots on the small stretch of street are common.

The rule in the neighborhood is if you hear gunshots, “hit the flo’ and get low.”

Journalism at its finest.

On Wednesday, Zogby released the results of a telephone poll that I find quite interesting.  Being from the south, I always find discussions surrounding secession fascinating.  The phone poll suggests that 22% of Americans believe that states have the right to peacefully secede from the union.  They made sure to mention that the south comprised the highest percentage of those whom agreed at 26%.

Of that number, hispanics overwhelmingly agreed at 43%, followed by blacks at 40%, and whites at 17%.  That’s a pretty darn interesting dynamic.  Kinda throws the whole “racist southern whites trying to revive the Confederacy” argument.

The poll states that 18% of those queried would support a sucessionist effort in their state.

For a cherry on top, 44% of Americans feel the US government is broken and cannot be fixed by the two-party system.

Who’s ready to see small independent republics in the US in our lifetime?

First and foremost, I find it highly curious and offensive that Obama was campaigning in Germany yesterday.  Unless Germany is going to become the 51st state, I see his visit as a threat to the soverignty of our nation.

Let me explain.  Ever since the Iraq war started, liberal-minded people have started to use “America’s image” as a reason to vote for Democrats.  To “restore the image” of the republic, in my opinion is an assinine objective, however many Americans have taken this issue to heart.

Obama’s visit to Berlin was clearly to display “world support” for him as a candidate for office.  I for one don’t want someone representing others opinions and values representing me.  I think this is a dangerous push into a globalized governing body, or at least a flirtation with the notion.  I’d rather not look to the Germans for support for a leader they cannot elect.

How quaint it was to see him give his speech in front of the Victory Column, a tribute to war.  It should also be known that the Victory Column was the inspiration for “sieg heil”, translation “hail victory.”  The Nazi salute of raising the arm and pointing upward is a salute to Lady Victory, whom sits atop the structure.

So the “anti-war” candidate gives a speech in front of a monument that was built to mock Europeans in the 1860’s and 1870’s when the Prussians decimated the Danish, Austrians, and the French.  The wars were nothing more than overglorified land grabs and expansionism.

Is this an omen?

Due to the plea to the DMV by a 60 year old “technology teacher”, who was enlightened by her grandchildren, North Carolina has placed a recall on all license plates with the letters “WTF” on them.  This waste of money will cause the state to reissue close to 10,000 plates.

Way to go “Team Waste Taxpayer Money!”

Geez, they may as well run down the other Internet acronymns while they are at it.

There are two conservative radio personalities in Memphis I am directing this post at, Mike Fleming and Ben Ferguson.  I know they probably wont answer in kind, but maybe a conservative that thinks like them can explain.

Yesterday, they both exploded over the “nationalization of oil” talk being espoused by House and Senate Democrats.  The talk show hosts went down the long list of reasons why nationalizing the domestic oil industry would introduce inefficiencies, price increases, and supply shortages.  Kudos to them for this, as I agree, government control over anything usually produces a sub-par product that is sometimes lower than even the least common denominator.

However, neither host was able to satisfactorily explain why the city of Memphis should not sell Memphis Light Gas and Water (the local public utility) to private industry.  Why say that one energy industry shouldn’t be nationalized, when you are fighting for a different energy company to stay public?  Kudos to the several liberal and ultra conservatives that called in, exposing this hypocrisy.  Listening to the respective hosts, they both floundered around and mostly let callers duke it out.  Some callers cited areas where public utilities went private and rates went up.  It was all a bunch of he-said, she-said.

I know that the sale of MLGW has been a pet project of Mayor Willie Herenton since he took office, and rears its head at least once a term, but what is so conservative about a government run power company, and not about a government run oil company?  For a Democrat, Mayor Herenton is pretty darn conservative on this issue.

MLGW has been in the news many times over the past several years due to public mishandling, scandal, and unqualified board members.  It would seem to me that removing politics from running a utility company would probably save people money on their energy bills starting on day one.

Someone please explain this “have your cake and eat it too”, unprincipled philosophy.

WMC TV 5 has exclusive video that show a Memphis Police officer beating a transsexual prostitute in the booking area at 201 Poplar.  The incident happened on February 12th of this year.  Duanna Johnson was beaten because she did not want to respond to the word “faggot” when being addressed by the officer.

I wonder if we will see a rise in intolerance and incidents such as this, since applicants to become MPD officers are no longer required to have at least 2 years of college under their belt.

Disgusting.

Last Thursday night, vandals destroyed the marble idol of Madonna and Child that sits in front of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Germantown, TN.

The 5-foot statue was 1,000 pounds, made of Italian marble, and was decapitated.  The speculation is that someone used an automobile and a tow-cable to topple the statue.

Catholic, Jew, Protestant, Athiest, no matter what you are, you have to agree that this isn’t right.

I always used to gaze at the serenity of that statue as I passed the church on Poplar Avenue.

What a shame.

This is what some Massachusans are hearing lately, as 5% of the state’s population will be fined for not having health insurance.

You read that right, if you live in Massachusetts you are required by law , signed by former Governor Mitt Romney in 2006, to have health coverage, or pay a penalty.

I wonder what private insurance funds lobbied for this mess, and have had huge windfall profits?

So, an Associated Press report came out yesterday detailing that almost 100,000 citizens within the state did not comply with the law, and will be penalized, potentially to the tune of $912 a person .  What happens to these penalties, you ask?

A total of $9.7 million in fines was deposited into a trust fund to help cover the cost of the law. Monthly penalties for those who can afford health care but refuse will jump and could total as much as $912 for individuals by December.

The penalties are used to cover the cost of the law???  Is this a sick joke?

Furthermore bureaucrats set what deems whether a person can afford to pay for health insurance or not.

In a statement explaining the penalties, the revenue department said, "These penalties apply only to adults who are deemed able to afford health insurance."

Residents who cannot afford insurance, based on state standards, won’t be penalized. Residents who face penalties can appeal.

This is just amazing to me.  What happens if I made just enough money to "qualify" for the requirement of being able to "afford" health insurance, but have a ton of unexpected expenses, and actually cannot afford it?

What if I have a preexisting condition, and cannot get insured, or can for an extremely exorbitant amount that I could never afford?  Do I have to pay a penalty?

I guess I pay for a ton of services that I don’t want to pay for now through my taxes, why would this be different?

My only question is, when are we going to be mandated to have telescreens in our homes?