RadioActive Chief

A number of good observations in this column . I particular liked this bit:

Lt. Col. Jim Stockmoe, chief intelligence officer for the First Infantry Division, roared with laughter as he recalled the increasing missteps of the resistance in Iraq in an interview earlier this month with British journalist Toby Harnden, writing for The Spectator.

"There were three brothers down in Baghdad who had a mortar tube and were firing into the Green Zone," Stockmoe said. "They were storing the mortar rounds in the car engine compartment and the rounds got overheated. Two of these clowns dropped them in the tube and they exploded, blowing their legs off."

The surviving brother sought refuge in a nearby house, but the occupants "beat the crap out of him and turned him over to the Iraqi police," Stockmoe told Harnden, "It was like the movie 'Dumb and Dumber.' "

Stockmoe has heard so many similar stories that he created an Iraqi version of the "Darwin Awards." Created in 1993 by a student at Stanford University, the Darwin awards commemorate those who "contribute to our gene pool by removing themselves from it in a really stupid way."

"Just think of it as evolution in action" - Larry Niven in Oath of Fealty

Global Warming Theories Again Beset by those Pesky Facts!

There is really a LOT of this kind of stuff out there, but of course it'll never be found reported in the MSM, since it goes against the prevailing junk-scientific orthodoxy.

There's some even more contrarian phenomena described farther down in this article. Worth a look - good stuff to use to drive the envirowackos crazy!

This is a crying disgrace! Why hasn't this exercise in legalistic political correctness stopped before it goes any farther? And who is the pea-sized-mushy-brained IDIOTARIAN who pushed this thing A FULL YEAR LATER? Nuts!

Where's the President to stop this nonsense? Where's Rumsfeld? Where's anybody in the upper chain of command?

To harken back to theo old "Pogo" comic strip - "We have met the enemy and he is us!"

YOU DON'T PUT TROOPS IN HARM'S WAY IN A WAR, AND EXPECT THEM TO FOLLOW NYPD RULES OF ENGAGEMENT! If this had been done in WWII we all would be speaking German or Japanese today!

THIS is something worthy of a John Dean scream! Sheesh!

This has been reported on several places. As a H.S. teacher I have thought about some of these points for some time. myself.

For your edification, a fellow teacher in Texas made some observations worth considering, which I pass on unedited: "Gates' ideas are all well and good but....they won't be implemented until some shackles are taken off our legs. Here are a few that come to mind..... 1. Lawyers, 2. trying to make all kids college prep, 3. parents who have a disregard for discipline at home and at school and still want their kid to get an education."

The Chief has to concur with his comment!

A bill (SB190) negatively commented by Jon Schaff over at SDP:

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to prohibit the issuance of certain hunting and fishing licenses using the internet.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
Section 1. That chapter 41-6 be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as follows: The Department of Game, Fish and Parks may not use the internet to issue any type of hunting or fishing license that is available for issuance by a licensing agent appointed pursuant to § 41-2-33.

On this one I think I might have some disagreement with Jon. It shouldn't be any inconvenience to get a general hunting or fishing license via retailers, since it seems like almost every other C-store, gas station, drug store, hardware store, etc. in the state is selling them. Also, licenses NOT available for retail sale aren't covered by the bill. That would seem to allow continued internet application for the deer tags, etc., which are NOT available for direct retail sale. Based on that, I guess I don't see much to object to on this one.

I wish Jon all the best in his annual quest for Bambi, and I plan on doing the same myself, in the appropriate season thereof.

Nuremburg Precedents to be Overturned in Florida Courts?

The case of Terri Schiavo continues to astound, both in its circumstances, and in some people's reaction to it.

While there has been a lot of concern expressed about the attempt to kill (via denial of water and food) a disabled patient, there are also a lot of people who think that this is all OK. The Chief finds the whole case not all that complicated IF common sense is applied to the objective circumstances.

Florida law defines the type of circumstance that comprises a "persistant vegetative state"
which legally justifies removing all life support, including food and water. Florida statute 765.101 states: "a persistent vegetative state," is "a permanent and irreversible condition of unconsciousness in which there is: (a) The absence of voluntary action or cognitive behavior of any kind. (b) An inability to communicate or interact purposefully with the environment."

I have seen televised videotapes of Terri Schiavo exhibiting voluntary action, cognitive behavior, and at least some attempt to communicate and respond to specific communication. BASED ON THIS ALONE, THE ATTEMPT TO KILL TERRI SCHIAVO HAS NO LEGAL JUSTIFICATION!!!

I won;t even bother to go into the whole deal on her "husband" being in line to receive the remaining cash settlement granted in Terri's behalf - after she is gone. Also, might a reasonable person think that the fact that he is living with another woman, and has two children by her just MIGHT give him some additional motivation to get rid of Terri as an inconvenient encumbrance to his new life? Just MAYBE? Just maybe, it's time to call a spade a spade here for a change.

Finally, ther was a precedent where disabled and handicapped people were judicially and legally ordered killed by the state, based on (a) their lack of social utility, and (b) their inferior quality of life. Of course the state that did this was Nazi Germany, and after the war the perpetrators of these policies and actions were held accountable for their acts. Is this really the precedent we want to establish as the law of OUR land? God help us if we do, for we will be on the slide downward further into what Pope John Paul has so aptly described as "the culture of death". (note: I am Mormon, NOT Catholic - but truth is truth - from whatever source it comes!)

There must be a good comment on this one, but I'm just not sure what it is!

Score this one as a skirmish win in the culture wars.

Hmmm. I think I qualify at 100%!

Sioux Falls has some problems.

There seems to be a need for more water than was previously expected, and they are trolling for extra water from the Lewis & Clark Project, at the same time some of the other communities, like Harrisburg, also are looking at that water to meet THEIR needs.

In addition, there is the need for major maintenance on the sewer system - which has been highlighted by the difficulties with the lines running under the Great Plains Zoo having some problems which require some costly repairs.

Finally, there seems to be a push from some of the "community leadership" to build both a new multi-million dollar event center, and a new community recreation center.

Looking at this all from the perspective of the Chief's VRWC bunker in Moody County, it makes an interesting pattern. All of this stuff costs money. To do it all at the same time costs a lot of money.

If Sioux Falls doesn't get ALL the excess capacity of the L & C water project (thus freezing out the other area communities, then an expensive something else will have to be done to get the water. I mean, you have to drink! This, as nature takes it's course - (think about it) inevitably leads to the sewer system situation. This has to be taken care of too, or there are problems at least as immediately noticeable as the lack of water would be. Just ask those who had the backups into their basements due to heavy rains last year.

Meanwhile, it is apparently OH SO IMPORTANT to keep up with Sioux City and Fargo, and build a brand new, shiny event center, and at the same time put it downtown where the traffic access is the stuff migraines are made of. (Now that makes it an attraction to me for sure - NOT!)

So, what's the problem? If the city ties up its disposible income on the events center, which will most likely also require an annual supporting subsidy, where will it turn for money for water? Maybe running to Washington and Pierre for help to meet this VITAL and ESSENTIAL need for the state's largest city? (Now why would I get THAT idea?) Very possibly the money would be found there too. Hence the header on this post: Sioux Falls' continued growth will end up being paid for by the rest of the taxpayers of the state (or elsewhere) while the city spends its own funds on the nice but essentially non-essential event center. (The rec center, as best I can tell is, or should be, another issue altogether.)

If this didn't happen, then I feel sorry for the taxpayers of Sioux Falls who would then have to foot the bill themselves, which ultimately would be only fitting. There is another alternative, but based on observed precedent this one is not to be expected: PRIORITIZATION! Spend money on what is NEEDED. Wait until later to get the civic bells and whistles. This would be better for Sioux Falls ultimately, and better for the rest of us too.

Just a sign on the MSM's inability to come to grips with Condi. She is so far out of the stereotypic roles, that they actually have to THINK about her - and they don't know how to do it very well.

MARRIAGE AMENDMENT FACES SENATE COMMITTEE
This is HJR 1001, and is designed to pass the buck to the voters on a defense of marriage amendment to the SD constitution. It has passed the house, and is now grinding its way through the senate, where there's a lot of waffling going on. Some sponsoring senators like Flandreau's Dan Sutton (D, of course!) are getting cold feet for some reason about allowing constituents the chance to voice their opinion on this issue. Perhaps the party elders are "weighing in" pointing out the inconsistancy of such an amendment with the direction of the John Deaniac Dems. Time to hold the senators' feet to the fire on this one if you're concerned with some protection against potential run-away judicial activism.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch:
FRY BREAD APPROVED - Bill signed by the Gov. making this the "official SD bread". Reassuring to know that the major issues of the day are being dealt with decisively in some cases at least.

In other actions, it's not a good day for prairie dogs (but potentially a windfall for ammo dealers!). Yeah, so they're cute, but they can totally denude grasslands - tough if you happen to be trying to raise some cattle, sheep, etc.

Legislature reacts to court verdict on phone tax:
This is a bit of administrative manipulation, to share the loot from taxing cell phones between the state (60%) and counties (40%). Kind of like the Sopranos, divvying up the take, no debate of collecting the boodle, just discussion on who gets what share.

"Sparsity" bill dies
Finally, there is no sympathy, so far at least for the West River schools funding is concerned. They are dealing with miles and miles of miles and miles, and not even anyone else in the neighborhood to consolidate with even if you had to. This is a problem that needs to be dealt with for sure. The question is, does Minnehaha, Lincoln, Brown, etc. counties E. river care enough to handle the problem, if it takes a few bucks away from their pot. (See the above paragraph on divvying up the take.)

GO NAVY!

The Chief, being USNR retired, always is cheered by Naval successes!

I noteiced last week when there was a test failure of a land-based ABM system it was rather prominently reported by the MSM.

Now comes the Navy with another success in a long series of mostly successful testing, and the reportage is notable by its absence.

It is indeed curious, given all the concern of the libDems paying lip-service to "security" in all it's forms (resulting in such things as the drive for padding and helmets to ride a bicycle, etc. OSHA excesses, ya-da, ya-da), that there is such a rabid opposition to the concept of designing systems to DEFEND against attack!

Go figure. Of course, why expect reason in this from the left, when it is so much lacking by them in other areas also.

A Touch of Sanity Compared to LibDem Conspiracy Theories?

ABC Primetime 2 hour special on UFO'S, Alien Abductions, Roswell, etc.? Featuring late-night radio talker Art Bell? Will wonders never cease?

A LOT of people spend a lot of time on this sort of stuff. There is obviously some appeal at least to the SciFi community, but it goes a long way beyond that.

After seeing this program, the Chief has to conclude that a lot of this makes better sense and has more evidence than a lot of the latest libDem conspiracy theories that are swirling through the internet these days about the Bush administration.

Competition Comes to Budding Space Travel Industry!

This is all just too cool!

After Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne won the Ansari-X Prize for repeated suborbital spaceflight, a deal with Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Group companies) was announced to build similar craft for a new operation christened Virgin Galactic, which would offer regular availability of passenger spaceflight.

Now comes Rocketplane Ltd. of Oklahoma, who is building a suborbital space plane based on a Learjet fuselage, with different wings, added rocket drive, etc. to do the same type of thing. It is particularly neat to be utilizing pre-existing off-the-shelf technology this way.

Let the new space race begin (and continue)!

It seems a decision has been hanging fire as to whether the great white north would participate in the implementation of a North American missile defense system. The practical result is that the hosers up there will be leeching on the US going ahead and taking care of this business on it's own. It's hard to imagine how defense of say, Seattle, Detroit, Buffalo, etc. against incoming missiles wouldn't ALSO (unfortunately?) protect places like Vancouver, Windsor, Toronto, Montreal, etc.

Looks like they have caught a BAD case of genuine Euro-style anti-Americanism, to go along with their social decadance and decay. Too bad. They had some real backbone in WW I and II.

Perhaps you also noticed that most news coverage of the acquisition of custody and charging of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali with terrorism offenses, including plotting presidential assassination pointed out that the perp was described as "valedictorian of his high school class" evoking images of football games on crisp autumn nights, and all the rest of most Americans' high school experiences.

The reports of his status was true enough, but like a Paul Harvey report, the real interest comes from "the rest of the story". THIS news report from Philly has the rest of the story - in short, that his "high school" is a Saudi financed madrassah school in the D.C. area. Surprise, surprise, surprise! Maybe his hooking up with al Qaida isn't so outlandish after all.

Along with this, Fox News has a report that the DoJ has categorically refuted Abu Ali's lawyers claims that the poor child had been tortured by his peace-loving Islamic brethren while he was in custody in Saudi Arabia. Personally, one would not think that the US would bother to bring him back to run the legal gauntlet of the whiny leftist lawyers that will crawl out of the woodwork, unless they had the case nailed down solid. Otherwise, just leave him to rot in a desert dungeon over there forever, and good riddance for sure.

Interesting article from the dreaded Glenn himself!

Now, if we take the type of computerized biological "command and control" systems noted by Glenn, and put it with the direct neural output link to control external devices, there are truly all the basic elements present for the creation of real, SciFi type cyborgs. As others would say..."Indeed!"

Remains of 1,161 WTC victims will go unnamed

This is a sad reminder about those who view us as just so many infidels to wipe off the face of the planet.

Despite new technology, Border Patrol overwhelmed

Another illustration of the apparent lack of any serious intent to secure our borders.

We can improve the efficiency of our intelligence. We can start a new cabinet agency dedicated to "Homeland Security" with a whole bunch of new bureaucrats. We can set up a system to insure that Grandma isn't carrying a Kalashnikov onto an airliner to hijack the plane (but don't dare search Abdul or Tarik - that would be "profiling".

Whether or not any of this really helps or not can be debated - but if we don't control our own borders, and who crosses them, it's all sort of like straightening deck chairs on the Titanic.

Know your enemy!

Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis
by Bat Ye'Or,
VERY interesting book, reviewed here.

The review is worth a read, and based on what's going on these days, the premises and analyses of the author certainly look alarmingly convincing to me. Aspects of this were previously noted here, among other places in this blog archive.

This is one that WILL be read by the Chief - looks to be deeply informative, and besides, it should drive CAIR (Council for American-Islamic Relations: the Islamofascist equivalent of the old German-American Bund of the Nazis in the 30's) crazy if a lot of folks buy this book, so give them a shot!

Powerline has a terrific post for the occasion of George Washington's birthday. It is well worth a look, and read.

WND report taken from Jack Wheeler's To the Point.

Hmmm. This could give a good foundation for an '08 Condi vs. Hillary contest.

"Being a sitting vice president places Condi in an impregnable position for the GOP nomination in 2008 and sucks every breath of wind from Hillary's sails. Historically, it's hard for a party to keep the White House after they've had it for eight years. This is George Bush and Dick Cheney's way to buck history – and make it."

I like it! YES!

Effort to Implement Orwell on the Net?

The Chief's first observation is to look who's pushing this - China, Syria, Egypt, Vietnam, and South Africa. Any more questions on what the agenda is here, and what this would mean?

This will only happen in their dreams - and in our nightmares!

This is interesting for several reasons. As stated, the applications for prosthetic devices are obvious. Not so obvious, are some other equally doable applications - IF somebody decides to do them; direct human-machine linkages of all sorts, major vehicles, weapons systems, etc. - no limits.

One could even say that this opens the door to cyborgs. The cat's out of the bag - where it goes now is anybody's guess.

Sheesh. What a family relationship: a "religious" blessing from his father to assassinate the President!?

It sort of reminds me of the fictional Aref family on the series "24" where the father was out to kill his wife and son on the possibility that they could compromise terrorist operations.

Like the Clancy novel where the 747 was crashed into the Capitol building, it looks like reality again catches up to fiction.

Comes this post from LGF reporting on a case where mail collected in schools, and mailed to "support" the troops contained anti-war scrawlings - allegedly written spontaneously by kids, collected by the teacher, and sent off WITHOUT ANY REVIEW by the teacher.

Yeah, right! As a professional educator, I can't conceive of this happening like that, unless the teacher was a total dolt. Hmmmm, this may just be possible at that, with some of the inanity I have observed in fellow "educational professionals" on occasion (but that's another story). Suppose that may be covered by the "dolt" refereence above though, so never mind.

I can recall several science fiction settings where a society decided to restrict access to teaching history and government to veterans - with the view that without having made a personal contribution to the maintenance of the state, one would not have an adequate appreciation for what it meant to live in and fully respect a free constitutional government. I'm not sure this is too far off the beam. P.C.? No, of course not!

S.D.P.'s and Sibby's recent posts are worth taking a look at. A lot of good stuff there but not to be commented on here at this time, due to sleep demands.

'nuff said for now, except to hearken back to the Chief's shipboard days: "Taps, taps, lights out, maintain silence about the decks. Now taps."

Some intro blurbs from a couple of newly discovered (by the Chief) blogs worth taking a look at if you're interested in the background nuts and bolts of WW-IV against Islamofascism.

Dhimmi Watch - Why Dhimmi Watch?

Dhimmitude is the status that Islamic law, the Sharia, mandates for non-Muslims, primarily Jews and Christians. Dhimmis, "protected people," are free to practice their religion in a Sharia regime, but are made subject to a number of humiliating regulations designed to enforce the Qur'an's command that they "feel themselves subdued" (Sura 9:29). This denial of equality of rights and dignity remains part of the Sharia, and, as such, are part of the law that global jihadists are laboring to impose everywhere, ultimately on the entire human race.

The dhimmi attitude of chastened subservience has entered into Western academic study of Islam, and from there into journalism, textbooks, and the popular discourse. One must not point out the depredations of jihad and dhimmitude; to do so would offend the multiculturalist ethos that prevails everywhere today.

But in this era of global terrorism this silence and distortion has become deadly. Therefore Dhimmi Watch seeks to bring public attention to the plight of the dhimmis, and by doing so, to bring them justice.

A sort of parent site to this is the Jihad Watch -Why Jihad Watch?

Because the West is facing a concerted effort by Islamic jihadists, the motives and goals of whom are largely ignored by the Western media, to destroy the West and bring it forcibly into the Islamic world. That effort goes under the general rubric of jihad.

Jihad is a central duty of every Muslim. Modern Muslim theologians have spoken of many things as jihads: defending the faith from critics, supporting its growth and defense financially, even migrating to non-Muslim lands for the purpose of spreading Islam. But violent jihad is a constant of Islamic history. Many passages of the Qur'an and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad are used by jihad warriors today to justify their actions and gain new recruits. No major Muslim group has ever repudiated the doctrines of armed jihad. The theology of jihad, which denies unbelievers equality of human rights and dignity, is available today for anyone with the will and means to bring it to life.

Jihad Watch is dedicated to bringing public attention to the role that jihad theology and ideology plays in the modern world, and to correcting popular misconceptions about the role of jihad and religion in modern-day conflicts. We hope to alert people of good will to the true nature of the present global conflict.

Check it out, you'll probably learn something.

Remember this one? The case where a Coptic Christian Egyptian family was assassinated by a party or parties unknown, but the background suggested a strong possibility of Islamofascist vengeance against Christian proslelytizing in the community.

This had virtually dropped off the radar screen for a while - apparently due to an excess of P.C. in the FBI, et al.

It now seems from this report that the investigation is moving again, after lots of public pressure. Sometimes apparently someone still listens....Now, about that border enforcement problem....?

"Sound of Silence"?

Sort of reminds one of the lyrics from the old Simon & Garfunkel tune:
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

Too true to be funny, unfortunately.

The Chief shudders to think what the hysterical rant on something like this would be by the MSM if it had been a libDem who had been secretly recorded without authorization.

Interesting timing on this, on the eve of a major trip to meet with Euro leaders on their own turf. This has to have an erosive effect on the possibilities of something positive coming out of that.

If there is a privacy violation, Wead needs to be given the opportunity to report on prison interpersonal recreational interactions - from a real insider's point of view!

THIS situation bears close watching, to see which side of the President comes out: the inaugural speech side, or something considerably more internationalist.

As we contemplate our own domestic globalists of whatever political ilk, it is evident to me that this Brit OpEd nails the situation down quite accurately. While doing so, he shows more respect and understanding of the US Constitution than a lot of Americans (including much of the Supreme Court) do. He notes that
"It is natural for Americans to like the sound of the word "constitution". They have the best one ever written in a single document. It consists, in the copy I have before me, of 12 pages, 11 if you exclude the list of the men who signed it. There are also amendments added over the past two centuries: they amount to another nine pages."

He then goes on to contrast this with :
"the European Constitution...is 511 pages long....all 2 lb 8 oz of it..."

...and a further telling comparison:
"I would draw attention to the opening words of the two documents. The US Constitution begins, famously, "We the People…". The European Constitution begins, "His Majesty the King of the Belgians…". That gives you a fair idea of the different spirit of each document."

Once again I must say, indeed it does!

P.S. This kind of stuff is why I keep going back to the Telegraph .

Here's a cute little report from across the pond, where Britain is continuing to morph into Airstrip One. This of course has been a long standing trend, so this should shock no one, at least as long as the Labor (EngSoc) government is running things.

What is of more concern to me, is this bit, which, from the Chief's perspective in the classroom, applies as much to the US as it does to the UK:
"It is hard to see how this scheme will help anyone. The two most commonly heard complaints about our schools are "too much paperwork" and "not enough discipline". The Ofsted proposal will exacerbate both problems. Not only does it tilt the balance from teacher to pupil; it also tilts the balance from teacher to state. It is doubtless well intentioned: even in these post-Woodhead days, the inspectors know that scrutiny helps keep teachers on their toes. And there is no question that some teachers are not up to their jobs; all of us know this, since we have all been to school. But there is something peculiarly modern about wanting to address the problem through more bureaucracy and more central control - and all in the name of "valuing our kids", which makes criticism seem mean-spirited."

It's also very interesting to me that this commentator talks about a limits to the effectiveness of (natiional) government programs. Viewing from within the belly of the beast, when well-intentioned acadamecians and bureaucrats come up with so-called accountability, their programs inevitably impose such a mess, that the educational process takes a real hit.

A serious change is also proposed by this commentator, which has been tried here, but so far only implemented on a small scale.
"Governments always try to raise school standards through Whitehall schemes: the national curriculum, admissions policies, literacy hours, examinations. All have failed, because no secretary of state, however pure her motives, can thrust her hand into every classroom in the land. The one thing that has not been tried is giving parents the wherewithal to pay for their children's education, and letting the schools compete for custom. Teachers would then be judged, not by their pupils, nor by an inspectorate, but by their prospective clients. Bureaucracy would fall away, good schools would expand and standards would rise. It has worked in every other field. Surely it's worth a try."

Indeed it is!

By way of modestly reinforcing the end of my previous post, I submit this link to a South Dakota Politics note. Like I said before about Sen. Thune....all the way!?

Oh man, is this the understatement of the year, or what?!

The Chief has had a number of discussions, and done a lot of soul-searching about this one. The dilemma of course is whether to keep working within the GOP as the better of the two main parties, or to bolt for the Constitution Party, or Libertarians, or ... ?

So far, the comfort level is not achieved by either of the two alternatives noted above, but on the other hand the idiotarian elements of the GOP & its policies and sometimes enough to drive one to distraction - stuff like the lack of meaningful border control for example, or the seemingly constant search noted on the state level (at least in SD by the overwhelming Republican majority up at Pierre) to increase the power and intrusion of the state into ever more detailed aspects of our lives.

The biggest problem with the two alternatives is their ideological blind spot on national security. In the interest of philosophical purity, they seem unable or unwilling to bite the bullet, and accept that the extraordinary threat of Islamofascism requires unprecedented methods and policies to be dealt with successfully.

After all, this finds us on the leading edge of the kind of civilization clash that the west hasn't had to confront since the last time Vienna was besieged by the Ottomans in the 1600's - a historical window completely outside the experience of the American republic. Representative democratic action certainly MUST include the right of said representative democracies to act in a manner that enables their survival - regardless of issues of philosophical purity.

THAT is the imperative of primary importance! If the security issue is not addressed successfully in this context, all the other social, economic, and political issues become moot, as the agenda will be set by the new Caliphate that would surely result from the failure of the west. The west will not survive as is, without the military and political hegemony (in the original Greek meaning) of the US - and this is the prime policy failure of both the Constitutionals and the Libertarians.

The Chief's ideal combination would be the domestic policies of the Constitutional Party, the foreign policy of the Bush GOP, the Kennedy-Reagan tax cut policy, and the immigration policy of radio talker Michael Savage! (Borders, language, culture!)

So, in words from this article:
What we need now is for a politically viable person to come along, someone with charisma, but who also has wisdom, a loud voice, a transparent soul, and faith in a clear vision of the road back to sanity. This person must touch enough minds and hearts to create a market for his or her ideas, at which point he or she will automatically acquire that "special something," that pheromone that attracts the attention and pocketbooks of the financiers who will allow him or her to be heard and seen on a national scale.

Dare one suggest that this COULD be Sen. John Thune? Why not!

A great TCS article on a technology that could become extremely important. THE PBMR (Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor) has the potential to GREATLY reduce the cost and danger from the use of nuclear power to generate electricity.

This could easily provide us with an energy "bridge", to get us from our hydrocarbon-based energy economy today, to the eventual development of fusion power. The biggest question here is if the bureaucratic (corporate AND governmental) friction and inertia can be overcome so this can get going.

It must be noted, that production of an abundant supply of cheap, clean, (no CO2 or pollutants!) electricity also can enable us to shift to a hydrogen based energy economy, since hydrogen can be produced from water by using electrical energy.

Alos of significance here, is that in spite of our apparent reluctance to develop this technology, the CHinese are actively pursuing it. One can NEVER sell the Chinese short on determination, talent, and on taking the long-term view of things. We can either continue to develop our own technological base (in this case the PBMR) in our own interest, or inevitably slip into 2nd or 3rd tier status. There is no other set of alternative outcomes possible.

A cheery report with comments from the Emperor Darth Misha at Anti-idiotarian Rottweiler concerning the recent attempt of Greenpeace types to observe the official start of the Kyoto Accord by disrupting the oil trading market in London town.

They got disrupted instead, in a most heart-warming incident. For the record, the Chief concurs with the Emperor's cogent and thoughtful analysis of this case.

Britain is better as a country of few laws (US would be too!)
The Chief has been following this issue for some time in the UK press (mostly the Telegraph online). For those not familiar with it, the UK has railroaded a ban on fox-hunting that is effective this month. (You know, the English bit with horses, packs of foxhounds, riding boots, those outfits with the red coats, etc.)

There seem to be two main drivers behind this. Firstly, the hunting is viewed by the urban proletariat as being an activity reserved for "toffs" - upper class gentry types, etc., so opposing it is striking a blow in the socialists' continual class warfare...whatever! The other impetus comes from the animal rights whackos (who got started in UK before PETA ever was dreamed of here).

The final upshot here is that this activity, which harms no people, and which generates a not inconsiderable quantity of economic activity, is being banned because some people are upset at what other people are doing.

If this is to be the standard, there is no reason why many other activities should be exempt from this sort of process, also. While the US supposedly has Constitutional limits on the role of the state, this has lately proven to be noted more in it's breach than in it's observance due to the free-wheeling nature of current judicial interpretation. Historically, governments have tended to try to constantly increase their power. "We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, to begin to exercise unrightous dominion" (Joseph Smith, 1st President of LDS Church).

The same sort of process is occurring right now in the current South Dakota legislative session regarding the so-called Open Fields issue. The idea that game belongs to the state, and that therefore it, in the person of the Conservation Officers, has an over-riding interest that trumps private property rights. Since the "people of the state" own the game, then the officers of the state should have the right to go anywhere, anytime to check up on the critters.

On the other side, there is (was, apparently) some presumption that property owners had some rights by virtue of their ownership. Privacy, and limitation of access by tresspassers, etc. have been a part of the basic fabric of the country.

By failing to restrict to Open Fields access by CO's to cases of probable cause (which is no more than what is required for traffic and other law enforcement), the SD legislature is moving us closer to the UK model. In reality, as the current regs. stand, the CO's can in effect come strolling through your back yard (if you happen to live in the country) just to see what you may or may not be up to. (Big brother is watching you.)

DISCLOSURE NOTICE: The Chief lives on a small farm which has been in the (wife's) family for about a hundred years or so now, and also has been known to avidly pursue the acquisition of fresh venison in the appropriate season, and with observance of the relevant laws, etc. As a hunter, there is nothing but respect for the legitimate job that the CO's perform, and no intent to circumvent the game laws and regulations. On the other hand, it DOES generate some level of resentment to have no expectation to privacy, just because one lives out on the land.

Another interesting thing to the Chief is that the UK interventionists, and now the SD Game Fish, and Parks Dept. are curiously enough allied in maintaining what were the prerogatives of a feudal society, where the game, woods, etc. belong to exclusive use at the pleasure and permission of the king, duke, earl, baron, or whoever (now apparently including Republocratic Legislooters?). Viewed in this light, the supposedly anti-aristo EngSocs are re-assserting the same type of unbridled power that they claim to despise in their history, and the SD legislature apparently agrees.

Who would have ever thunk it! EngSoc lite Tony Blair's Labor government is allowing full competition for the delivery of letters.

Amazing that the Brits are doing this, given the normally socialistic tendencies of the Laborites. Predictably, their unions are alarmed.

Maybe this is an idea that is ripe for the US also. Does anyone seriously question whether UPS, or FedEx, or someone else couldn't come up with a workable scheme to do this also? Might this be an improvement over constantly escalating postal rates, and the need for continuing subsidies to keep the USPO running (after it's own fashion, at least)?

Heard a radio news report concerning the Negroponte appointment while driving tonight. I don't recall whose feed it was, but it included a sound bite from Stansfield Turner, who was expressing concern about whether Negroponte was the most appropriate choice for this job.

I found this rather reassuring concerning this appointment. If formaer Carter protege Turner is concerned, then Negroponte is probably going to be pretty good.

The Blog! This nightmare of the libDem/MSM axis of evil. in the form of a good send-up of the Golden (er - maybe Zinc) Age of 50's SciFi movies. Every now and then IowaHawk outdoes himself. This one is a hoot, bringing to mind several of the aforementioned cinematic presentations.

GOOD GRIEF! Is there defective ventilation in the SD Senate Chamber? Is the water system contaminated? Too much time after hours in Ft. Pierre bars? Why can't these guys get ANYTHING straight without a lot of chop-logic hair splitting going on.

What don't these characters understand about marriage and the family (i.e. parents, kids, relatives) as the foundational underpinning of any civilized society. This is not exactly a secret, at least to the overwhelming majority of South Dakotans who have been polled as supporting this. I mean, they are not being elected from Berkeley, CA the last time I looked.

ALSO, this is NOT to amend the constitution - it is just to allow the voters the chance to amend the constitution. What a shocking idea! This is virtually the same situation as the libDems in the Senate refusing to allow an up-or down-vote on judicial appointments. By the way, it's the state of the judiciary, and their fast and loose application of creative interpretation of the Constitution that makes AMENDMENTS like this a necessity.

Perhaps they need to contemplate this Proclamation on the Family from the LDS church to perhaps get at least something figured out about this that they have apparently overlooked or forgotten.

Here's a shocker! Johnson Disagrees with Thune concerning judicial appointments!

Message to Senator Johnson: filibusterer-in-chief Dascle LOST the last election. Word to the wise should be sufficient, but it appears that minor details like constituent opinions shouldn't be allowed to intrude on the functioning of Those Who Know What's Best For Us.

There is a proper response to Johnson, his new f-in-c, "Dusty Harry" Reid: if they filibuster, use the (dread, shudder, sounds of Darth Vader's march, etc.) so-called nuclear option, change the rules, and ram the appointments down their throats sideways without giving them a chance to take a breath. Sometime the Chief may unwind and say what he REALLY thinks!

This seems to be a theme today - everywhere more lib hypocrisy & double standards. At risk of sounding repitious, here's some more!

UN forces – just a bunch of thugs?

In this OpEd from across the big pond, in the course of commenting on severe abuses by Euro UN peacekeepers (or dare one say piece-keepers?) the Telegraph's Mark Steyne takes note of a severe case of double standard in the MSM.

In this case the MSM makes mere passing mention (if that) is made concerning stuff like pedophilia rings, exploitation of child prostitutes, and similarly unsavory activities on the part of some (mostly Eurotrash) members of UN forces. The contrast is with the weeks long, front-page-above-the fold coverage of the underwearheadgate troubles at Abu Ghraib by a few admittedly out of line US troops.

Just another example of the inconsistancy and anti-US biases of the MSM, but by now, who expects any better?

Lately the Chief has been contemplating cutting lose with an extended rant concerning the hyperbolic and vitriolic rhetoric spewing forth from the libDem left, both locally (SD-wise) and on the broader scene.

Then, after checking Sibby today, it is noted that he has masterfully done this already. To avoid the very appearance of plagiarism, and in the interest of bandwidth conservation, you are urged to go check it out for yourself. WARNING: Some of the libDem blogs his commentary has links to can cause serious indigestion, especially if you are not prepared for their high acid level - so consider yourself warned!

Very interesting wonkish sort of post on New Sisyphus - comparing and contrasting the left vs. right view of Cold War policies, and the controlled experimental verification of validity that the end of said Cold War makes possible.

Not a snippet, but well worth the read if you have an interest in the development and interaction of policies and ideologies as contemporary history unfolds.

Michelle Malkin's Monday column describes some MSM reactions to Jordan's resignation that could be described as foaming at the mouth. It seems that the self-appointed aristocracy of the so-called 4th estate are coming unglued at the prospect of participatory democracy in the form of blogging interfering with their exalted status as sole purveyors of the truth as liberal leftist party cant. It gives me a warm glow to realize that we must be actually hitting these journalistic aristos where it hurts.

An example of the cited rabid ad-hominem attacks: "Jordan has just been tire-necklaced by a bloodthirsty group of utopian, bible-thumping knuckledraggers that believe themselves to be bloggers but are really just a street gang."

Time to call the WAAAAAAAAmbulance! (WAA-WAA, WAA-WAA, WAA-WAA!)

1st Amendment Again Under Attack

Well, they're at it again! Yet another attempt inspired from the Republocratic establisment to squash the possibility that effective political speech might actually rock the boat of their incumbancy.

There is an accout of Thomas Jefferson being visited by the famed naturalist Alexander von Humboldt. Humboldt noted a rabidly anti-Jefferson newspaper in the White House, that violently excoriated Jefferson as being virtually the devil incarnate. He commented to Jefferson that such attacks on the head of state would be unheard of in Europe, and asked Jefferson what he would do about. Jefferson noted that speech was protected by the 1st amandment, and gave the newspaper to von Humboldt as an example of the difference between the American republic and the old world order.

Jefferson must be turning over in his grave at stuff like McCain-Feingold, and this latest consideration by the FEC.

Sibby has a very concise and informative post about this issue. Contrary to some of the coverage last week, fortunately this one isn't ready to get the fork stuck in it yet.

The described role of Gov. Rounds in this one is somewhat disturbing to the Chief.

Overall: the kernal of the issue is summarized very succinctly by Sibby: "When the public’s property rights override the individual’s property rights, without just compensation, the cost is our freedom."

And the point of this is....?

OK, then there should NOT be a problem with one being accountable for their utterances? If not, then it must hold that it is acceptable for anyone to say anything about whatever, with no consequences. The only thing that blogs do is publicize previously invisible idiotarianism. The light of truth hurts, and if it isn't true, some other blogger will nail you to the wall yourself.

To avoid this problem, remember the old saw about "Be sure brain is engaged before putting mouth in gear". What a concept - personal responsibility!

If this be hegemony, let us make the best of it & avoid the verbal adulteration of the de-constructive academicians like Chomsky, et al.

WOW! To quote Isaac Asimov - "Such folly smacks of genius, a lesser mind would be incaple of it."

The total idiotarianism of this is amazing. Some comments and suggestions: Firstly, Ms Zuniga, do your part to conserve according to what you say, and go back to using corn husks (which are currently an undertutilized potential resource) and eschew the use of T.P. in your own life.

Next - I haven't heard of any Sequoia trees being harvested for pulpwood. Huge amounts of pulpwood are produced from forest areas where trees are used, then replanted, then used later, etc. The concept is like growing wheat - you harvest the crop, then plant another crop for next year - the only difference is that the growing "season" is more than a single seasonal cycle.

Also, I have heard of the animal rights wackos protesting slaughter of animals, but complaining about "slaughter" of trees? Phew!

Further down in the article one finds more junk science discussed by this Hollywood legend in her own mind concerning mercury pollution. With a blithe denial of mere scientific research on the topic, she asserts that the US is the culprit with "a large percentage of the pollution". One wonders what she would make of the Chinese industrialism, which doesn't believe is wasting money on non-productive pollution abatement, and which runs with coal to an extent that is literelly breath-taking at times.

The Chief would like to encourage Ms. Zuniga to return to the mud hut lifestyle of her ancestors somewhere to the south, and to be sure not to forget to recycle the corn husks.

The Chief finds it encouraging that there are apparently still some in Washington that pay more than lip-service to Constitutional principles.

In spite of what the Men In Black said, the McCain-Fiengold was, and is, a patently unconstitutional erosion of what were supposed to be sacrosanct 1st amendment protectins for political speech. This was SD Sen. John Thune's biggest flub during his House tenure. Hopefully it won't continue to be so if this can make it into the Senate.

Some people must be living on a diet of some really bad acid, or something to have come up with this. Talk about tacky!

I wonder what this particular Kennedy and other of his ilk would do if given the chance - define political oppositin to them like the Soviets did and then lock up the opposition in psych wards for forced brainwashing?

That doesn't even address the merits, or more accurately the lack thereof, of more gun laws, when we demonstrably haven't been bothering to enforce the ones already on the books.

The Chief's concept of gun control consists of being able to hit the target.

The Chief has commented on this a few times before. Once again, this issue can be a real land mine for the GOP next time out. I still thing that the Republicans could well find themselves outflanked to the RIGHT by Hillary if they don't watch out. As close as the last couple of elections have been, this could swing enough to make a serious difference.

I notice the article also notes Rush Limbaugh starting to comment on this issue. Hmmm. On this at least, in talk radio he's somewhat a Johnny-come-lately, lagging FAR behind Michael Savage's long-running mantra of BORDERS, LANGUAGE, CULTURE.

Several things to note about this. Firstly, if the guy was shooting an AK47, he must have been totally incompetent as a marksman to wound only one person. Secondly, who is this guy? Early radio reports said he was black, but this report, along with all others now extant on the net (that I have been able to find) have dropped this. I guess we MUST be politically correct & not offend minorities by identifying minority perps. Finally - I notice a dearth of much coverage of this at all, even on line. Is this being downplayed because of some motivational base that, again for P.C. reasons. I guess eventually it'll come out in the wash, but the coverage has certainly been curious on this one.

"...there's a thunder 'cross the land, and a fire in the sky."

The achievement of private repeatable spaceflight last fall won the $10M Ansari X-prize for aerospace designer Burt Rutan's Spaceship One last year. Looking ahead, Sir Richard Branson (no fool he!) has reservations on the books for Virgin Galactic's Rutan-built commercial space travel service. Plans procede for further enterprises to harness the resources of the moon, and the UNLIMITED energy supply that exists in orbit.

The only cloud on the horizon is the dead hand of government - in whatevert form it may take. This start-up of viable and sustained commercial space activity could be subjected to a partial-birth abortion by the imposition of government regulations. Rutan & company demonstrated that a lean, mean, performance-based approach can use an astronomically (pun not intended,m but hey, it fits!) less expensive approach to successful spaceflight than the organizationally archaic and overly bureaucratic morass that NASA has become.

Well, where do we go from here? The Chief hopes onward and upward. Let NASA's own motto become reality through private venture Ad astra per aspera - "To the stars through work". Or, in the words of a really neat song:
Now the rest is up to us, and there's a future to be won.
We must turn our faces outward, we will do what must be done,
for no cradle lasts forever, every bird must learn to fly:
We are going to the stars, see our fire in the sky.
(Prometheus Music)

Good riddance! After asserting with absolutely NO evidence that US troops were targeting reporters for assasination in Iraq, this sorry excuse of a MSM honcho decided to quit after his remarks generated a huge backlash, which he apparently just can't understand.

And they wonder why their ratings are tanking over there compared to Fox News! This link to SDP has, in turn, links to a number of other commentators on this situation. Hey, this is all over the place - The Chief knows he's way late posting on this at all - but there ARE some other really time-intensive things going on going in to the final week on the school's competitive robotics team construction period, but that's another topic.

This is according to Drudge Report.

All the Chief has to say on this is: GOOD! We hope they get good pics!

Drake and Nelson have to be turning over in their graves.

Amazing that a maritime island nation has so badly abdicated responsibility for their own defense.

Hmmm. This looks a bit like the pro-2nd Amendment groups in the US getting organized to knock off the anti-gunners in the red zones. Having mostly British roots, and a fondness for the mother country (greatly heightened after a visit a couple years ago), the Chief can only hope that there is still enough of the fiber of the traditional British yeomanry left to re-assert the "rights of Englishmen" against the creepign collectivism of the laborites. After all, the concept of those rights were the inspiration for our own revolution.

May there always be an England - not just some Orwellian "Airstrip One" dominated by a more or less paternalistic neo-"EngSoc".

New Measurement Undermines Physicists’ Theories for Nature’s Hidden ‘Particle-Force’ Collaboration
Not terribly long ago many physicists were beginning to think that most of the major fundamental problems involved with understanding the universe were, if not totally figured out, at least well on the way to solution. There was even a fairly ballyhooed book written to that effect.

Personally such talk sounded as unlikely to me as similar statements that were made about 100 years ago - before the discovery of subatomic particles, quantum phenomena, etc. There is (was?) something called the "Standard Model" pf physics, which organized all the known subatomic particles of various sorts into a nice, neat cohesive package, with the loose ends neatly trimmed off.

Unfortunately for the theories, pesky discrepant and contradicting discoveries kept popping up, to the point were the orthodox "Standard Model" is starting to look as creaky and problematic as the earth-centered solar system idea did at the time of Copernicus and Galileo.

What's the significance of this to anything else? Only the fact that historically whenever a radically new model of theoretical physics springs forth, there is also an explosion of new technologies that have the effect of changing civilization in ways that were unimaginable (outside of perhaps Sci-Fi!) just a little while before. One need only recall the revolutions in nuclear science, and electronics in the 20th century and compare the state of things now compared to 100 years ago to see what is meant.

What will be the new technological breakthroughs? Applications of gravity generation and control? Teleportation? (Beam me up, Scotty!) A way to build F.T.L. (faster-than-light) propulsion systems? (Warp drive!) Time travel? Zero-point or free energy? Believe it or not, ALL OF THESE ARE POINTED TO BY ASPECTS OF CURRENT BLEEDING-EDGE PHYSICS. (Sheesh - I haven't even mentioned nano-tech and bio-tech yet!)

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to imagine the changes ahead of us if even ONLY ONE of these possibles works out. Hold onto your hat, we're in for an exciting and wild ride!

Spacefaring Civilization Needed Now More Than Ever

This article speaks very well for itself. Being an unashamed "spacehawk", the Chief fully concurs.

We must either continue to progress and grow, or we will regress and start heading for the bottom. If you don't think so, get hold of some good history books. There is really no such thing as a stable civilization. Whenever a state of supposed stability is achieved, the forces of entropy are already mustering their attack.

It takes constant, dedicated effort to maintain a truly progressive civilization. An attitude that regards economics as a "zero-sum" game is incapable of doing this. Therefore, for this reason modern liberalism is ultimately a corrupting and entropy generating force, which acts to destroy the warp and woof of a truly progressive culture and civilization.

This is one reason that liberalism generally opposes the space program. The implicit futuristic optimism of exploration and expansion into space destroys the paradigm of victimization and dependency that is the inevitable product of liberalism.

To stop Hillary, draft Condi

What can be said about this idea?

How about...YES!

Top of Cool blogsite has a pretty fair analysis and commentary of the kernal of the libDem response to the administration's budget proposal.

I like the phrase "conniption fits" - very apropos in this context, evoking the image of a two-year old in WalMart not being allowed to get a candy bar.

PAC limits clear Senate
Well, the SD Legislatures political speech limitation and suppression act, otherwise known as SB172, has passed the SD Senate. The Chief posted on this before, and nothing I have seen about it since changes my mind.

The protected speech at the heart of the first amendment is POLITICAL SPEECH! How these Republocratic Senators can rationalize their ignoring of this is a deep and abiding mystery to the Chief...they don't even have the excuse of having just learned English after immigrating from someplace else.

One hopes that the Governor will veto this turkey, but, as the outcome on last years abortion bill showed, one never knows what might come a-"Round".

Small Blogs Role Largely Unrecognized

T.C.S. (which is a regular must read for the Chief) has another good one here with some very interesting analysis of the role and influence of teh blogosphere - especially the smaller blogs which update daily - equated to a group of approximately 50,000 small independent newspapers!

Very interesting when the numbers are run on what seems to be happening in the blogosphere these days. Committees of Correspondance indeed!

Anti-powerfulism
This TCS article notes a trend that the Chief has pondered in past (pre-blog) days - that the political left has become a collection of fighters for the preservation of a status-quo in the world (i.e. anti-globalist, anti-free trade, anti-democratic). On the other hand, the conservatives are actively pressing and pursuing an agenda of extending the freedoms of western-style political economics to the world, including, as propounded by President Bush, the extension of free, elective governments worldwide.

A very interesting role reversal, that is worthy of close watching as it continues to develop.

How Cool is THIS!

Being a science teacher, as well an aficianado of hard science fiction, there's something electrifiying about being able to actually print and hold a report entitled TELEPORTATION PHYSICS STUDY, prepared by Warp Drive Metrics for the Air Force Research Laboratory. Although some (Hah! MOST) of the math in it gives me a nosebleed from its elevation, it still is incredibly neat just to know that stuff like this actually exists, and that real, serious folks are working on it, even at just a theoretical (for now) level.

This also finally promises a resolution to the long standing problem of how to escape liberal idiotarians: "BEAM ME UP, SCOTTY. No intelligent life forms present!"

The Chief has a Biology degree, and has been teaching for 23 years, but this just goes to show that there's always something new to learn.

This is truly a breathtakingly mind-boggling thought, so much so that the brain can't fully engage the concept of Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as a right-winger.

It is as though one were to comment on the Alexander the Great's pacifism, or Stalin's compassionate respect for human rights.

The Chief is truly left without further comment on this one. Sheesh!

Noted by S.D.P. is an Op-Ed from the Augusta Free Press noting the activity of the Dakota Blog Alliance during the pre-retirement festivities involving Daschle and his publicists at the Argus-Leader, and further noting the start-up of the Old Dominion Blog Alliance in Virginia, taking initial aim at a pseudo-moderate lib-Dem candidate for Governor there.

The Chief can only be encouraged by greater participation in the 21st Century Committees of Correspondence commented on in an earlier post on this site.

Keep on bloggin', and hold their feet to the fire as needed!

The Director of the SD Health Deparment had proposed restricting all access to public records for security reasons. This would have cut off all access by, for instance, genealogical researchers. This is of some interest to the Chief as one who is engaged in genealogical endeavors, although, since my spousal unit is the native South Dakotan it would have affected HER records more than mine.

Anyway, a vary reasonable amendment to the act was made, to allow access to researchers and reporters, but to restrict the granting of legally certified copies - which would be needed for example, to establish a false identity, or to steal a real one.

I recently have been rather sharp in this blog on some occasions when it seemed that some in the legislature were off track - in this case I would offer the opposite. More often than not things work out - but it continues to be a universal principle that the squeaky wheels get the oil - and I reserve the right to lob verbal grenades in the next posting, or tomorrow, or whenever it seems to be needed.

Cybercast News Service (CNS) has a whole series of political stories of the week, that when taken together paint an rather interesting (and to me, mostly heartwarming) snapshot view of the current state of politics, etc. It's not often that so much of interest in in one spot at the same time. For your consideration....

Condie Rice Has Tough Words for Iran
http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=\\ForeignBureaus\\archive\\200502\\FOR20050204d.html
OH NO! How could a SECRETARY OF STATE actually come out and comment on the emperor's new clothes - in this case the fact that the peaceful Islamic Republic of Iran continues to support terrorists, and is also going full-bore to build nuclear weapons. What's one to do? Stay tuned for...

Reporter Questions Rice's 'Strong' Words on Iran
http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewPolitics.asp?Page=\\Politics\\archive\\200502\\POL20050204a.html
NBC's Andrea Mitchell, apparently thinks that it's her duty to defend the Iranians against the evil United States who are picking on them through "harsh" statements from Secretary Rice. Once again, the MSM comes through, proving by it's esteemed representatives that they have lost what vestages of patriotisms that they may have once had, sometime in the 1950's. perhaps.

Bush Promotes 'Freedom's Advance' in Middle East
http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=\\ForeignBureaus\\archive\\200502\\FOR20050203f.html
Not only is the Secretary of State gettin' uppity, the President himself is showing the unforgivable bad taste not only to not back down from the remarks of the Inaugural, but to reaffirm and extend them in the State of the Union. Shocking! No president has been so outspoken since the evil days of the Dark Lord Ronaldus Magnus Reagan...and look what happened then! (Oh, yeah, we won the cold war. Never mind.)

Congresswoman Attempts to Redefine the Phrase 'Occupying Force'
http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewPolitics.asp?Page=\\Politics\\archive\\200502\\POL20050203b.html
How delightful to witness this sort of adept footwork worthy of the heyday of Astaire and Rogers! It's not often that such normally unashamed liberals as (Viet?)Cong. Lee (D-TX) show such a determination to shuffle around what seem to me to be the blatantly seditious statements of Nancy (Bella) Pelosi. Not to fear, SOME libs can still stand tough for the advocacy of Idiotarinism (term adopted from Emperor Darth Misha's blogsite) as proven by fellow Bear Flag Peoples Republic Cong. Maxine Waters.

'Celebrity Backlash' Helped Re-Elect Bush, Actor Says at Capitol Hill
http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewPolitics.asp?Page=\\Politics\\archive\\200502\\POL20050203a.html
Another amazing taste of reality in the world.

General's Remarks Prompt Furor
http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewCulture.asp?Page=\\Culture\\archive\\200502\\CUL20050204a.html
Here's also more coverage of USMC General Mattis, for daring to express the thoughts of a warrior, not a P.C. paper shuffler. Someone in the military who is willing to actually unashamedly kill people and break things in the course of fighting a war? What's next...someone advocating VICTORY? Unheard of!

This has already been commented on by the Chief, but it's still worth reiterating.

Saudis Accused of Spreading 'Hate Propaganda' in US
http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewNation.asp?Page=\\Nation\\archive\\200502\\NAT20050201a.html
Where is the Alien and Sedition Act of 1797 now that we REALLY need it? Perhaps we can go after them for hate crime violations - oh, yeah, that doesn't count against Judeo-Christians. Oh well.

Pro-Family Groups Continue Push to Rein in Media Indecency
http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewCulture.asp?Page=\\Culture\\archive\\200502\\CUL20050203b.html
With major cable carriers announcing that they will now offer hard-core pornography as part of their packages, these groups look more and more like they have a point.

At first hearing the reports of General Mattis' remarks, and their criticism in the reportage of the MSM, my initial reaction was "So? And your point is...?"

My secondary reaction was, "Oh rats! I hope one of our good guys doesn;t get hung out to dry again for calling a spade a spade." I've continued to mull this over. Based on my own military experience of 26 years, which was rather a different sort than the general's (understatement alert!), I could still see just where he was coming from, and frankly, still would say to his critics "And your point is?" Anyway, this TCS article DOES get the REAL point of the whole situation, and like the President's "Dead or alive" remark about Osama, I think (and hope) that most of the American people don;t find a whole lot wrong with it.

A veritable bummer! The Diplomad had become a de rigeur stop on my surveys of the blogosphere.

The skewering of the UN in Tsunamidom was can only be described as having the statistical characteristics of a good rifle: both accurate and precise.

Diplomad will be missed. At least he passed on some other Foggy Bottom sites to use to keep an eye on such things: New Sisyphus and The Daily Demarche. At first look they seem promising and informative.

A recent e-mail exchange stimulated some reflection on getting involved in the blogosphere. It led me to recall a conversation I back in the late 80's with someone, and I proposed to them that what the country really needed was some way to have a modern version of something analogous to the old colonial "Committees of Correspondance", if there was to be a chance to turning some things around in terms of the direction of the state of the country. One thing needed was for there to be some way to do an end run around the MSM (again, before it was called the MSM).

Well, like the old Rolling Stones song says "You don't always get what you want...but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need."

Subsequently, we have added to the mix talk radio, many alternative web sites, and finally the blogosphere which does for personal expression what the Model-T did for personal transportation: made it available to anyone who wants to give it a try.

Personally, I really feel a sense of very interesting things happening these days with the whole alternative media phenomena, blogging, etc., and besides, it's fun!

Due to minor details, like a job, etc., I haven't follwed these debates nearly as well as Mrs. Chief has been (she has been net-streaming the live debates). She has related a lot of crocodile tears on the part of some about the prospect this being allowed to come to a vote.

Of course there's the obligatory P.C. opposition to this, and the usual gay-lesbian acivists, etc. It's said that there's no need for this, since we already have a defense of marriage law on the books. If the law is such a good guarantee, then why would someone worry about an amendment also, Hmmmm. The only time an amendment would be needed was if some judge somewhere ruled the law to be unconstitutional based on some contrived legalism. As often as this has happened in the past, this is NOT an unreasonable concern. The law is good, an amendment is needed, specifically protect against an undesirable judicial activism before it has a chance to happen.

Mrs. Chief also reported that she heard that argument was made in the form of a rebuke from some to their fellow legislators for having the unmitigated gall to ACTUALLY LISTEN TO THE WILL OF THEIR CONSTITUENTS in supporting this amendment! (Shocking, simply shocking!) Imagine, a representative government that actually is trying to represent! The very idea of those pesky voters expecting any such thing to happen! Next thing you know the conservatives might actually gain a stronger role in the government! Oh,......yeah.

Arguments like that make me wonder whether there must be something in the water up at Pierre, or something. Hmmm. Could there be an underground aquifer connecting the Missouri and the Potomac? There's a possible research grant there for an enterprising grad researcher out at the School of Mines!

The Argus (among others) reports the SD Senate decided not to support the so-called Open Fields Law. This happened in spite of support for the act by our fave, Sen. Lee Schoenbeck, who thought it was just fine to keep an unlimited license for the GF&P Wardens to roam at will, to search for possible malefactors, with or without ANY probable cause. At least Sen. Schoenbeck is consistant in his pursuit of a diminution of the private citizen, as government becomes ever more powerful.

Last week, he was pushing a scheme to reduce and limit freedom of political speech by lessening the rights of citizens to exercise their speech in the public arena by spending cash to (shudder, cringe) actually speak out, EVEN IN OPPOSITION to their duly elected leaders, such as Sen. Schoenbeck. Now he comes advocating the right of the state to search anywhere except possibly inside your house, without a warrent, anytime, anyplace. to insure that alles in ordnung! At least the Senate narrowly voted this down.

DISCLAIMER: I hunt. I also own and live on the land. As a sportsman, I want to see the game regs properly enforced, & I feel a sense of betrayal when those laws are flouted. Likewise, I do NOT think that the good Wardens (and any other enforcement officials) should have the kind of carte blanche access this law would have granted. Probable cause is a reasonable standard of protection in this case - it gives the officers scope to act when needed, and still pays respect to the rights of the property owner, which have been eroded far too much in recent years.

I guess we're supposed to have faith in the wisdom of the government - but historically the record indicates that INEVITABLY, as government accumulates more and more power, it tends to become abusive of that power. Go back and read Tom Paine & the Declaration of Independence to see how this can happen.

It makes one wonder what's next. It brings to mind an old quote I read once - I think from Daniel Webster (but I could be wrong): " Now is the time when men bow their heads and work quietly in their fields, and women weep softly over their looms. The legislature is in session, and no man's property is safe!"

DISCLAIMER NOTE: I had some other committments tonight so I missed the live SOTU address by the Pres. So listening to Hannity and Colmes, et al, and reading the blow-by-blow blog reports from SDP, and Powerline , and hearing the usual assortments of sound bite clips was my SOTU experience this time.

The Social Security deal is something that really needs doing, the sooner the better.

The war on terror stuff is great (and I consider that Iraq is most assuredly a major part of that effort).

I would have liked to have seen a stronger position on serious tax reform/reorganization. He kind of paid some lip service there, but danced around it with that commission bit. A serious side-step there.

Kind of a (positive) backpeddle on the Marriage Amendment - a few weeks back I thought he said the amendment wasn't really needed at this time - tonight it sounded like a (most welcome) endorsement of the idea. The "culture of life" spiel sounded pretty good. It should drive a lot of lefties crazy.

On the negative - talking about simultaneously controlling borders and allowing de-facto free crossing passes boggles the mind, and undermines the totality of the effort to achieve anything resembling a realistic state of "homeland security" .

Another big negative to me was the implicit (and in some of the recomendations explicit) and automatic underlying assumption that big government is OK, as long as it's big in OUR way, and not the way of those other dastardly guys who oppose us. What's wrong with saying the gov't is just too darned BIG, and we shouldn't be having any expansion of it at all? If that theme in the SOTU sounds familiar again, and like it's somehow been done before, remember it may be only appropriate to the occasion - Groundhog Day, all over again!

A good article from Space.com on the importance of space exploration. If you don't get it after this, then there's no hope for you. It is a UNIVERSAL LAW: something (anything) is in one of two conditions - either progressing and advancing, or regressing and decaying.

This law applies to physical systems, individual organisms, ecosystems, individual human lives, nations, and civilizations (just to name a FEW examples).

In relation to space exploration, it affects several of these at once. Firstly, as a species, the only way we will ever advance, is to keep on movin' out and get some of our eggs (and sperm) into another basket. As a civilization, we require the resources, energy, and the knowledge gained by technological development that are the inevitable outcome of space exploration. As a nation, if we fail to move on this, SOMEBODY else will figure it out and gain the high ground, to our probable harm. The world is full of clever, smart people some of whom will have the knowledge and determination to apply their resources and reap the rich harvest described above.

To quote an old George Harrison song:
"How high will you leap?
Will you make enough for you to reap it?
Only you'll arrive at your own made end,
With no one but yourself to be offended
It's you that decides."

Under the influence of SD Senator Lee Schoenbeck (R - Watertown, SD) SB172 cleared committee on Monday this week as reported by the Rapid City Journal here. This bill imposes a cap of $5000 on donations to state PAC's. Before I go any further with this allow me to quote:

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Amendment I.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It drives me absolutely crazy when Republocratic legislooters like Schoenbeck can casually ignore the clear and what one would expect to be easily understood words of the United States Constitution.

Of all things that the courts have twisted out of shape, admittedly the First Amendment has been transmogrified into silly putty. Both at the Congressional and now at the state level the so-called political pros feel that they can do all manner of legislating to limit what they, from their lofty perspectives consider to be unwarrented interference from private citizens using their own resources to oppose them, or to oppose what they would do. Meanwhile, back on the judicial bench, the "right to free speech" is stretched farther and farther to cover ever more egregious examples of pornography, sedition, and virtual treason as "protected".

The reason that free speech was included in the Bill of Rights was specifically and primarily to protect POLITICAL SPEECH, which to any rational and logically consistant mind MUST include the right to organize, raise funds, and then expend the funds in support of parties, candidates, and issues, WITHOUT PERMISSION, CONTROL, OR APPROVAL FROM THOSE IN THE GOVERNMENT!!!!! Anything less than this is a travesty, and is patently unconstitutional in spite of any legalistic games of twisted deconstruction from some Judge Gumby (the rubber guy).

Back to the issue at Pierre. I have long had the feeling that a lot of the Alleged Republicans in South Dakota are in reality RINOs (Republicans In Name Only), who fly false colors in order to get a boost in their quest for political advancement. This is nothing new. I grew up in south St. Louis (Gephardt's district) - where NO Republicans ever got elected to anything. The only way for Republicans to have a voice in the government there was to vote in the Democrat primary, since the primary winner was inevitably the election winner a few months later. South Dakota isn't THAT strong of a one-party state, not with as much effort as it took to oust the former Senator Daschle, but this sort of thing has to be at work here to some extent at least.

When one considers the overwhelming GOP registration lead, and then looks at the vote totals for Johnson in '02, or Daschle and Herseth this year, it is obvious that a lot of "squishy" Republicans have no compunction about voting for candidates that support many issues that are anathema to traditional Republican principles. Dare one describe such as RINOs? I would certainly dare so! TO ACTIVELY WORK TO SUPPRESS THE MOST BASIC OF OUR POLITICAL FREEDOMS VIA THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH SB172, (just as it happened with the so-called McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform in Congress) and is to betray the very basis of the modern Republican Party. Are you listening Sen. Thune?

As long as I'm on a roll here, I may as well end this post in a totally ballistic mode, and further suggest the heresy that perhaps the state, and the SD Republican Party would be much better off if a big slug of these RINOs would shift their allegiance to the Democratic party, or at LEAST to the "Independent" category. The rest of us who still pursue and respect basic Republican principles would know where we REALLY stand in the state, and bills like SB172 would perhaps be more readily recognized for what they are: a movement towards a creeping loss of the rights that our ancestors fought and died to institute and preserve.

'nuff said for now. ILLIGITIMATI NON CARBORUNDUM!

This story broke earlier today - and I know it's all over the place by now, but it's just so rich I can't resist a blogged LOL about the capture of "GI Cody" by the terrs. Who's going to be the next terrorist victim? Kermit the Frog? Or that ultimate ambassador of the American way of life - Micky Mouse himself!

This was forwarded to me via e-mail. I'm not sure what coverage there has been of this - I noted in passing something about the cartoon in question, but not all the rest of this.

I found a couple of points interesting here. One is that it's very unusual for someone to hold PBS's feet to the fire this way, but it's been long overdue. The other thing is that it is rather unusual for someone this high in the administration to be so frank in their opposition to the proselytizing homosexual factions.

As far as I'm concerned - kudos to Madame Secretary!
Forwarded text follows, F.Y.I. ---

From: American Family Association
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 2:39 PM
To: Deborah Delaney
Subject: Education Secretary takes stand for your family; bombarded by homosexual activists

Education Secretary takes stand for your family; bombarded by homosexual activists
To view Dr. Wildmon's 45-second introductory video, click here. http://www.afa.net/videos/don.wmv

Dear Deborah,

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, in her first day on the job, told Public Broadcasting System officials that a cartoon promoting the homosexual lifestyle should not be broadcast on their tax-supported stations. She said that many parents would not want their children exposed to the homosexual lifestyle.

A spokesman for PBS said that the government-funded network had agreed not to air the cartoon. "Postcards From Buster" shows the title character, an animated bunny, on a trip to Vermont, a state that recognizes homosexual civil unions. The episode included two lesbian couples.

Spellings told PBS (1) that her department's seal or any statement linking the department to the show be removed, (2) that PBS notify its member stations the nature of the show, and (3) that a refund "in the interest of avoiding embroiling the Ready-to-Learn program in a controversy that will only hurt it."

PBS, unlike other non-commercial stations, receives hundreds of millions of tax dollars. Other non-commercial stations depend on their listeners for financial support. PBS's viewing audience is basically affluent and well educated, but give only a small amount to support PBS.

Secretary Spellings has been ridiculed in the media and bombarded by the homosexual community because of her stand. The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest homosexual activist organization, blasted Spellings for criticizing the episode.

HRC's Winnie Stachelberg said, "The secretary's first act in office denies children an education about the diversity of American families. Teaching children about respect for differences promotes tolerance of their fellow human beings."

The homosexual community has long used PBS and public schools to promote their agenda.

Please send a thank you to Secretary Spellings for her bold stand. Homosexuals are using their public attack on Secretary Spellings to keep her from taking similar actions in the future and to scare others from following her lead. We must not let that happen.

CLICK HERE TO SEND YOUR THANK YOU LETTER NOW!
http://www.afa.net/petitions/issuedetail.asp?id=117

Thanks for caring enough to stand up for your children and grandchildren.

Sincerely,
Don

Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association