Month: December 2011

Under Newt Gingrich There Will be No Court of Appeals, Only the Court of Newt

Newt Gingrich has decided that the president is the law:

During an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Gingrich suggested the president could send federal law enforcement authorities to arrest judges who make controversial rulings in order to compel them to justify their decisions before congressional hearings.

When asked by host Bob Schieffer how he would force federal judges to comply with congressional subpoenas, Gingrich said he would send the U.S. Capitol Police or U.S. Marshals to arrest the judges and force them to testify.

So if Newt gets elected he will become the supreme judge in the United States. Tremble he who hath rule against the wishes of Newt for he will be collected and forced to answer for his actions. If Newt’s position doesn’t scream dictator I’m not sure what does.

The idea of having three branches of government was to prevent any one branch of obtaining supreme power. Obviously that has failed but to this day the courts have remained somewhat autonomous. Judge’s rulings are seldom the final word as decisions can be appealed to higher courts. Ultimately a case can make its way to the Supreme Court where a final decision will be made but a judge is never supposed to be under threat of violence for ruling “the wrong way.”

This action is no different than threatening jury members with punishment for ruling in a way opposed to the views of the state. At such a point the entire idea behind a jury trial is lost because juries no longer base their decision on whether or not they feel a crime has been committed but on whether or not they will be punished for the decision. If judges can be rounded up and force to justify their decisions then they to will make their decisions based upon whether or not it will lead to their punishment instead of whether or not they believe a crime has been committed.

In the end this is one of the most dangerous ideas a presidential wannabe could conjure up. It’s obvious if Newt became the president he would work fast to remove the few remaining constraints that prevent the Office of the President from being Supreme Dictator.

The Wisdom of Dune

Dune is one of the most well known science fiction series in existence. There is good reason for this, the series is incredibly complex and covers numerous ideas including ecology, philosophy, and the dangers of leadership:

How did it evolve? I conceived of a long novel, the whole trilogy as one book about the messianic convulsions that periodically overtake us. Demagogues, fanatics, con-game artists, the innocent and the not-so-innocent bystanders-all were to have a part in the drama. This grows from my theory that superheroes are disastrous for humankind. Even if we find a real hero (whatever-or whoever-that may be), eventually fallible mortals take over the power structure that always comes into being around such a leader.

Personal observation has convinced me that in the power area of politics/economics and in their logical consequence, war, people tend to give over every decision-making capacity to any leader who can wrap himself in the myth fabric of the society. Hitler did it. Churchill did it. Franklin Roosevelt did it. Stalin did it. Mussolini did it.

I would be very interested in reading any political theory paper put out by Frank Herbert (if such papers exist). He really hit the nail on the head with this statement. Our history seems litered with untold examples of powerful leaders reigning death and destruction down upon their subjects. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

One of the main threads running through libertarian philosophy is the idea of self-rulers. That is to say the idea that you are the only person who can rightfully rule yourself. Nobody else has any right to force you into actions you do not wish to follow and nobody else can possibly known what is best for you. Often we forget this fact and rely on others to make decisions for us or demand others force our beliefs onto others.

The Dune series does a great job of demonstrating the evils of power. While Muad’Dib frees the planet of Arrakis from the tyrannical control of House Harkonnen he only manages to replace it with the tyrannical rule of religion. Through control of the spice Maad’Dib is able to take control over the entirety of the Landsraad and is eventually succeeded by his son who ends up being even worse. I think the Dune series can be summarized as a vicious power cycle played out through the ages.

I very much like the conclusion of the article:

Of course there are other themes and fugal interplays in Dune and throughout the trilogy. Dune Messiah performs a classic inversion of the theme. Children of Dune expands the number of themes interplaying. I refuse, however, to provide further answers to this complex mixture. That fits the pattern of the fugue. You find your own solutions. Don’t look to me as your leader.

Caution is indeed indicated, but not the terror that prevents all movement. Hang loose. And when someone asks whether you’re starting a new cult, do what I do: Run like hell.

Power corrupts so it is best to run from people trying to hand you power. Sadly not enough people believe this and instead seek power to wield over fellow humans, often in the name of “the greater good.” Ends do not justify means and the greater good generally isn’t great or good. We all need to step back and realize forcing our beliefs and ideas onto others is a terrible thing.

Apparently Romney Doesn’t Know About the United States Embassy in Iraq

Since the presidential campaign is next year everybody is on the war path. In the case of Republican presidential hopefuls there is a strong desire to blame anything and everything on Barack Obama. Romney is not happy with the United States “withdrawal” from Iraq:

He called the withdrawal “precipitous” and said the president should have left some US forces behind.

Apparently Romney is unaware of our Vatican City sized embassy in Iraq, you know, the one that houses some 15,000 personell. The place is a fortress and qualifies as a military base unto itself. There is no way to claim the United States has entirely withdrawn from Iraq unless you take into consideration the technicality that the embassy counts as United States sovereign soil.

I’m just brining it up because it’s a rather large thing to note.

Kim Jong-Il is Dead

Mark this day because it’s one of the few times you’ll see me happy that a man is dead. The tyrannical butcher who ruled North Korea, Kim Jong-Il, is now a corpse:

Mr Kim, who has led the communist nation since the death of his father in 1994, died on a train while visiting an area outside the capital, the announcement said.

He suffered a stroke in 2008 and was absent from public view for months.

His designated successor is believed to be his third son, Kim Jong-un, who is thought to be in his late 20s.

He died, she said, of a heart attack brought on by mental and physical fatigue. Kim Jong-il had battled serious health problems for many years but his death has come more quickly than many expected.

His apparent heir, his son Kim Jong-un, has been groomed as the successor of the nuclear armed state for little more than a year.

The question now is whether he has the power and authority to fill his father’s shoes.

North Korea’s state-run news agency, KCNA, urged people to unite behind the younger Kim.

“All party members, military men and the public should faithfully follow the leadership of comrade Kim Jong-un and protect and further strengthen the unified front of the party, military and the public,” the news agency said.

On a related side note, North Korea’s state-run new agency has also put out a touching video commemorating the life of Kim Jong-Il:

I just hope somebody remembers to drive a stake through his heart before burying him.

Monday Metal: We Drink Your Blood by Powerwolf

I’ve been on one hell of a power metal kick lately and in my search for new lead me to Powerwolf. The thing I noticed instantly was the fact the band members wear corpse paint, which is rare for a power metal band but is a nice touch. Musically there really isn’t anything I dislike about this band but to my ears the vocals really shine. Their vocalist, Karsten Brill, (who appears to use the stage name Attila Dorn) studied classical opera and it really shows in his singing. Even though I’m not a fan of opera (perhaps I’d enjoyed the opera equivalent of an action film, who knows) I generally find operatic male vocals very enjoyable.

Needless to say combining a male opera singer with a power metal band and an organ thrown in for good measure (I love the sound of organs) is just fucking awesome. Don’t take my word for it have a list yourself, just note that if your religiously sensitive this song is probably not for you (in fact the entire Monday Metal series is probably not for you considering the content):

The Last Ranger Rolls Off of the Assembly Line Today

Today marks the end of the Ford Ranger:

A century of auto manufacturing in Minnesota ends Friday as the last Ford Ranger rolls off the line in St. Paul. Nearly six years after announcing its intentions, Ford Motor Co. is finally shutting down its Twin Cities Assembly Plant as part of a long-term corporate restructuring.

While this is sad news indeed the only person to blame is the federal government. Thanks assholes for forcing Ford to destroy the one truck I truly love.

A Real American Badass

More people should be like this man:

A 77-year-old Minneapolis man was determined to fight off four armed robbers recently. He was so determined that he fended off the criminals with a sledgehammer.

[…]

“I grabbed this sledge but he didn’t know I grabbed it because I acted like I was going into my pocket. I slipped it over I turned it around and I knocked the gun out of his hand,” Krier said.

He said he used his combat training from 1958 to fend off the attackers. Krier said the sledge hammer hit the robber in the hand.

“The gun went in the alley and the guy hollered,” said Krier.

Krier then chased the men.

“Then I grabbed another sledge and I went out the door and they ran out the alley,” Krier said.

One 77 year-old man fending off four men with a sledge hammer is nothing but pure badass. I’m proud of the fact that men like this live in my state.

We Missed the Government Shutdown Again

So much for luck, our glorious government “leaders” managed to compromise and avoid a federal government shutdown:

The deal averts the possibility of US federal agencies shutting down because of a lack of guaranteed funding.

The House of Representatives and the Senate are both expected to vote on the controversial $1tn (£643bn) spending bill on Friday.

Why is it those guys can only cooperate when it comes to fucking the American populace over?

Ron Paul Hands Michelle Bachmann Her Ass on Foreign Policy

During last night’s debate there was a great argument between Ron Paul and Michelle Bachmann on foreign policy. Dr. Paul totally obliterated the idea that we need to go to war with Iran, something every other candidate is chomping at the bit to do:

Some excellent facts were made by Dr. Paul. The most obvious is the fact the terrorists in the Middle East aren’t coming here because they hate our way of life, if that were the case they would also be striking Switzerland and Sweden. Unlike our country, neither Switzerland or Sweden have a foreign policy built upon imperialism. In fact Switzerland, because of their neutrality, is the only channel of communications that exists between the United States and Iran.

I also love the fact he brings up the drone captured by Iran. While the other candidates were berating Obama for asking Iran to return the drone Ron Paul asked why the drone was even being flown of Iranian airspace to begin with. That is the million dollar question.

Bachmann than falsely claims there are reports stating Iran is only months away from developing a nuclear weapon. Again Dr. Paul explains that this isn’t true and that no evidence exists of Iran being anywhere near developing a nuclear weapon.

Then Dr. Paul brings up the Cuban Misslie Crisis. We didn’t perform a preemptive strike on the Soviet Union when they parked nuclear weapons in Cuba, instead Kennedy called up Kruschev and talked. Through conversation we reached a compromise where the Soviet Union would remove their nuclear weapons from Cuba and we would remove our from Turkey.

I’ve been saying that a nuclear armed Iran is the biggest boogeyman put out by our government. First of all Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon, second if they eventually build one they will still lack a delivery system that can get it from their country to ours, and third we’re so far ahead of the game that our anti-missile defense system (which we’ve also given Israel so don’t worry about them) that it’s practically impossible for Iran to leapfrog ahead of us. We also encourage the Iranians to develop nuclear weapons by constantly threatening invasion. The leaders of Iran aren’t stupid, they realize the only countries that get any form of respect from the United States are nuclear armed countries. They also saw what happened with Libya where we encouraged them to stop development of nuclear weaponry, they listened, and we ended up killing them.

The more we rattle sabres with Iran the more they’re going to want nuclear weaponry. Looking at a map it’s pretty easy to see that Iran is now surrounded by American military bases. Iranians also still remember that little incident in 1953 where we toppled their democratically elected government and replaced it with a brutal puppet dictatorship. After 26 years they finally booted our puppet out and the new regime has been using anti-American sentiment caused by our last action in that country to both cement their own power and prevent an easy overthrow by our forces again. We should all stop and remember that the only reason extremist Islam was able to overtake that country was because we decided it was a good idea to eliminate their democratically elected government in the first place.

The Hypocrisy is Almost Palpable

The hypocrisy of the White House is so thick I fear it may suffocate me. Yesterday the White House’s official Twitter account tweeted the following:

Happy Bill of Rights Day! The US continues to stand with citizens & governments around the world who empower free expression. #FreeToTweet

I don’t know where they get the nerve making a statement like that. While the White House put out tweets celebrating the birthday of the Bill of Rights the legislature was busy debating the Stop Online Piracy Act, a bill that will utterly destroy the First Amendment:

If the bill at issue, SOPA, were to become law, it would create a “blacklist” of websites that infringe on copyrights. Private companies who allege that a site is unlawfully publishing their copyrighted content could, with a judge’s signature, demand that ad networks and companies such as PayPal and Visa stop doing business with such sites. Internet service providers would need to prevent Americans from visiting them.

The Department of Justice is trying to cover up their little false flag operation that was started to further neuter the Second Amendment.

The White House has revoked their threat to veto the National Defense Authorization Act, which has language declaring the United States a battlefield in the war on terror and thus legalizing the indefinite detainment of American citizens without charges. To rub salt into the wound it was also made apparent that they only reason Obama first threatened a veto was because the bill’s language may have restricted his ability to wield such power. If passed this will effectively eliminate the Fourth, Firth, and Sixth Amendment.

The White House has no grounds to claim they support the Bill of Rights in any way.