January 13, 2006

Jealous Socialists Hate Wal-Mart

Do why do people hate Wal-Mart so much? I think it's primarily because of their success -- everyone that hates them is jealous that one company should do so good. Well, to those people, I say, "Screw you."

In MD, the legislature just overrode a veto by the governor and passed a new law that requires large companies (ONLY Wal-Mart in MD) to set aside 8% of their payroll costs to buy insurance for workers. I'm not sure why the legislature of Maryland thinks they have the right to do that, but I'm not an expert on the MD Constitution. Apparently there's a clause in there that says laws can be passed to punish businesses.

Now, if I were Wal-Mart, with all the assets they have, I'd do one of two things right away -- only in Maryland:

1. Cut all employees salaries by exactly 8%. The legislature wants to force them to pay 8% from the salaries? Take it from the employees -- the people with the power to get the morons out of the legislature.

Or

2. Close all Wal-Marts in MD indefinitely. Just shut all the doors, all at once, all of a sudden -- no warning at all. Then see if any people complain to their alleged representatives in the legislature.

(H/T to Michelle Malkin).

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NC Lottery Illegal?

The lawsuit over the lottery in North Carolina continues, as the state races to take money from people before a judge can put a stop to it. Lockjaw the Ogre (yes, there's two Ogres in NC) has more details that clearly outline where the passage of the law was illegal.

What's really interesting is the lottery lobby's Democrat's defense of their clearly unconstitutional actions:

ItÂ’s the difference between getting a chance to get money and getting money.

- Rep. Bill Faison, D-Orange


So, in Mr. Faison's world, the NC lottery MIGHT not actually result in any money actually being received by the state. Seriously, that's his argument.

The North Carolina Consitution is clear. It's just as clear that the Democrat-run legislature broke the rules. It's doubtful they will have to answer for it. So what's the point of having a Constitution again?

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Charlotte Observer Agenda

On the political agenda for the Charlotte Observer for 2006: removal of freedom, total prohibition.

Seriously, consider that for a moment before you read another word in the Charlotte Observer. We are told over and over again that there is no media bias. We're told that news reports are unbiased reporting of facts. We're told they have no agenda. Here the Observer clearly admits that they DO have an agenda -- and it's horribly anti-freedom.

The Observer is happy those those in traffic accidents are not drinking. Note they make NO mention of how many people are dying in traffic accidents -- it doesn't matter to them if there are more deaths in traffic accidents, only that there are no people drinking who are in accidents (whether it is their fault or not, also has no bearing on the Observer).

At the very start, the Observer admits that their goal is no drinking.

In addition, they want more traffic checkpoints where you can be searched without a warrant. They want to confiscate personal property of those who have a beer. Yes, if you have one beer and blow higher than the Observer's suggested "lower than 0.08" BAC, you should have your car confiscated -- not temporarily, but stolen from you completely -- for ONE beer.

The Observer viscerally HATES freedom and everything that goes with it. Alcohol is just one part of freedom that the Observer hates, private property is another. Keep that in mind if you find yourself reading the "unbiased" Charlotte Observer.

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January 12, 2006

Internet Explorer 7.0

I've obtained the elusive IE7.0 Beta 1. I was anxious to test it and see what it does. Working with web design and security, those were the two areas that I was mostly interested in.

First, the good news -- the security in IE appears to be excellent. Recent reports and reviews I've read indicate that it's a huge improvement, and it's supposed to be a bit better than even Firefox now.

Next, the bad news -- as of this release, there appears to be no change in browser standards. Unless they've got more tricks up their sleeves, it looks like the next version of IE will not be compliant with the official standards. That stinks.

I haven't really had time to do speed tests to see how it performs vs. Firefox. It does have the tabbed browsing everyone loves, so that's certainly a plus...

There's also a menu option for managing add-ons, so I'll be checking to see how possible it is to write add-ons (I need that spellchecker!).

Posted by: Ogre at 10:48 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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ACLU Hates Jesus

It is happening all across the nation. The ACLU sue city council after city council over praying in Jesus name. They don't sue to stop all prayer, but in every case the target has been Christian prayer. They even fought for the right of a Wiccan to pray at a counsel meeting. Many times it doesn't even take a lawsuit. They just type up a threatening letter and that does the trick. This was the case in Fredericksburg. But one man isn't taking things lying down.

Fredericksburg City Councilman Hashmel Turner has filed suit against his fellow council members, saying the council's newly adopted prayer policy violates his constitutional rights.

Turner is being represented by the Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit group that advocates for free expression issues.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Richmond, asks the court to rule that the city's prayer policy is unconstitutional, and to order that Turner be allowed back into the council's prayer rotation.

The council voted 5-1 in November to adopt a policy of offering non-denominational prayers devoid of any Christian or other specific religious references.

Turner abstained from that vote, and Councilman Matt Kelly voted against the policy.

The vote came after Turner had been excluded from the council prayer rotation for more than a year. The council got a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union in July 2004 saying that the civil liberties group would file suit if Turner continued to invoke the name of Jesus Christ in his prayers.

Turner, who is pastor at First Baptist Church of Love in Fredericksburg, had always closed his prayers before council meetings by invoking the name of Jesus Christ before the ACLU complaint.

On the same night of the November vote for the nondenominational prayer policy, Turner asked to be put back into the prayer rotation, and to give the opening prayer before the Nov. 22 council meeting.

Mayor Tom Tomzak said today he asked Councilwoman Debby Girvan to give the prayer at that meeting instead of Turner, because, "I did not want to unleash a 1,000-pound gorilla-the ACLU-on the City Council."

However, Tomzak said he does believe Turner's rights are being violated, and the suit filed today is "a lawsuit that I probably agree with."

"He's a very passionate man, a man of faith and a man of principle, and he believes his rights have been violated," Tomzak said of Turner.

Neither City Council members nor City Attorney Kathleen Dooley had seen copies of the lawsuit earlier today.

The suit calls the new prayer policy "an unlawful attempt by the City Council to prescribe the content of prayers given at City Council meetings by Turner and other members of City Council."

John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, said Turner approached his organization last fall, saying he believed his rights were being violated. "All he wants is to say Jesus Christ at the end of the prayer," Whitehead said. "He's not asking for any money. ... It's a very simple suit."

One would think that it would be simple, yet the ACLU don't seem to get that. Religious expression in America is under attack. It is a shame that an organization that claims to protect our rights are the number one censor of Christian religious expression. If they were trying to get rid of all prayer at counsel meetings, we would have a different argument, but they are targeting Christian prayers and individual expression. It is good to see this man is standing up for his rights. More people should do so.

Currently there is legislation, introduced by Representative Hostettler that could put a stop to these ridiculous lawsuits. Hostettler's proposal would amend the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. Section 1988, to prohibit prevailing parties from being awarded attorney's fee in religious establishment cases, but not in other civil rights filings. This would prevent local governments from having to use taxpayer funds to pay the ACLU or similar organization when a case is lost, and also would protect elected officials from having to pay fees from their own pockets.

SIGN THE PETITION TO STOP TAXPAYER FUNDING OF THE ACLU

This was a production of Stop The ACLU Blogburst. If you would like to join us, please email Jay at Jay@stoptheaclu.com or Gribbit at GribbitR@gmail.com. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll. Over 115 blogs already on-board.

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Your Papers, Please.

It's time. Freedom is completely gone in Ohio.

I know some Republicans will call me a right-wing wacko for this one, but I'm opposed to the random ID checks now "legal" in Ohio. Sorry, I fought in a war to stop people from being able to arrest me for not carrying my papers. I'll fight again.

I have to admit, I already refused to enter the state of Ohio, and not just because it's the home of the Buckeyes (Go Blue!). Their gun laws have been notoriously bad -- so bad that if I were driving in the area, I'd go hundreds of miles out of my way to avoid the state. This just gives me another reason to avoid it.

Any crap about "safety" and "terrorism" is complete B.S. You can't take my rights away from me because it makes you feel more safe. It's plain wrong, but as mentioned in the article, hardly anyone opposed the law. I guess that's what you get with government education -- too many people actually believe that government grants rights, so they can take them away. Morons.

And strangely enough, the ACLU, bastards that they are, are opposed to this law -- but NOT because of the random ID requirement! They're opposed to the part that when you get a driver's license, you have to sign a statement that swears you're not a terrorist!

The only hope for freedom today is The Free State Project. Read their site. Consider it. Join them.

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Government Barn?

Ok, so you haven't heard about enough utter waste in government today? How's this?

Rockingham County commissioners are weighing a ten (m) million dollar commitment for a proposed equestrian center intended to draw horse enthusiasts to the area.

That's right. It's not enough to pay for rich professional team owners to have multi-million dollar stadiums, the government is now actually considering building a giant BARN to "attract people."

What in God's name are these people thinking? Can someone find me a place in any Constitution that says government's job is to "attract people?" But the county was "awarded" $1.5 million -- and YOU paid for it -- it's part of the TOBACCO LAWSUITS!

Oh, but that's not enough -- the General Assembly (remember them? They cut the budget "to the bone"?) also contributed $1,000,000.00 for the damn BARN.

Holy crap. Total B.S. like this really makes it very hard to have any faith in government ever getting fixed again. I just can't get over this one. THE GOVERNMENT is building a $5 million BARN!

Any time ANY government asks for a single dollar more, just remember THIS is what they're doing with the money. It's NOT for the children, for education, or ANYTHING else. If they want more money, tell them to reduce damn BARN funding for the rich! What a crock of you-know-what. Damn.

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More on the NC Gas Tax

One Joseph Freddoso, chairman of the Regional Transportation Alliance, reveals his strong support for socialism in N.C.'s roads need all the gas tax they get, as published in the News and Observer of Raleigh.

In the article, Mr. Freddoso strongly supports increased gas taxes. He even goes so far with his support as to suggest that a 3-cent cut in the gas tax would take $3 BILLION from the state's roads. Mr. Freddoso is not clueless, so he must just be dishonest.

He actually states that reducing the gas tax by 3 pennies (which JUST increased a few days ago) would "irreparably harm transportation in North Carolina." Yes, you read that right -- the state would simply fall apart if the 3 cent increase that's been in place for less than 2 weeks were removed.

Way down at the end of the article, he reveals that he's not clueless, just socialist, when he says, "I do agree with those who object to transportation taxes and fees being used for purposes other than transportation."

So he KNOWS the gas tax isn't going to be used for transportation, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't increase the gas tax. You see, if only 10% of all increases in gas taxes go to roads, then we should just increase the tax even MORE so that we get enough for the roads -- instead of actually following the North Carolina Constitution and using the gas tax for roads.

But feel safe, subjects peons lower-class citizens people of North Carolina -- a committee is meeting! Oh, but that "Special Committee" on the gas tax?

the committee does not have any power

So you'll get nothing. Just pay your taxes and shut up, let the royalty in the legislature tell you what you want and need.

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January 11, 2006

Freedom

Know what I like best about the internet? It's the only place where there's still quite a bit of freedom. For example, if I post here on the internet that "She's a pretty woman," I'm pretty much ok.

If I were to say the same thing at a place of employment, I would probably be fired, and would likely be sued.

If I said the same thing at a public University that I paid for, I would likely be expelled.

And the idea that I can say things on the internet and not be punished for incorrect thought REALLY bothers some people.

Posted by: Ogre at 11:26 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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The Never-Ending Flight

I know it's not a funny story, but the tagline for it is just silly:

Flying from Tennessee to Florida, aircraft carrying four aviators never lands;

Uh...what? So the plane is still flying?

But to the families of those missing aviators, my prayers certainly will include you.

Posted by: Ogre at 08:34 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Federal Water Police

In case you didn't know about it, the federal government is watching your shower. No, it's not the Patriot Act, it's the water police. As Jeffrey Tucker so eloquently outlines, the federal government actually spends time and money monitoring the amount of water you use at one time.

No, there's no restrictions on how much water you can BUY, just how much you can USE at a given moment. In this article, it's the water flow through your shower head. I'm sure many of my readers know how little water you can get through today's newer shower heads.

Mr. Tucker suggests as an academic exercise removing the restrictor plate in the shower nozzle. There's no word on when the government will start searching through your trash to arrest you for having a shower head with too high a flow.

What I really loved about his article is the way American ingenuity took over -- since the regulations were per shower head, a company came up with a 3-headed shower head! Awesome.

So the federal government is going to investigate them. Yes, they could be forced at gunpoint to pay a fine for creating a water head that allows too much water through it. Who said government isn't too big and useless?

And yes, your toilet has that problem too -- that's why it clogs up all the time. I had a post somewhere about how to overclock a toilet, but I can't find it anywhere...but what I really want to know is why are businesses allowed to have toilets with just gallons and gallons of water, but lowly peons are not?

(H/T to Michelle Malkin).

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Education Money Silliness

The left is sure weird when looked at through a lens of reality and logic.

I don't know about where you live, but in Mecklenburg County, NC, every single year the government-run monopolistic education system ("public" education) "needs" more money. The school board asks for, and liberals (including the Charlotte Observer) demand more money.

And when they get their 25-50% increases in spending, all is good because the left can then spend money better than you know how -- on administrators and other non-education related things in the school budgets.

However, when it comes to higher education, where customers (the students) actually have to pay for their own education, suddenly it costs too much and tuition should be paid on a sliding scale (the rich pay more), AND prices should actually be CAPPED!

Now why is it that when the government is paying for education, it's simply not possible for it to cost too much, but when individuals have to pay, no matter what the actual cost, they shouldn't have to pay anything?

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Minimum Wage in NC

The Democrat Treasurer of North Carolina wants to make goods more expensive in North Carolina. Why? Because he may be running for governor in 2008 and wants to attract some support. Oh, why does HE claim?

"the labor market improves for low-income workers. This is because businesses actually start to do better when consumers have more money in their pockets."

So, in his mind, if we force businesses to pay more to make products, people will have more money to spend on the more expensive products.

Yes, he IS a Democrat.

Minimum wage laws might have been needed at one time. They are NOT needed today. Do you really think that if $2.00 an hour were offered for working at McDonald's that anyone would accept the job?

And if you are one of those who support a minimum wage, do you also support a maximum wage? If not, that doesn't make sense. If you do, what should the maximum wage be? And why only $6.15 for a minimum wage, as Mr. Moore wants? Why not $10 an hour? Why is $6.15 better than $10?

Minimum wage laws are socialist crap, no matter how you slice them. They are wrong and violently interfere with the free market. Their only real effect is to raise the prices for EVERYONE on EVERYTHING.

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January 10, 2006

It Worked in CA...

Well, one Democrat governor got removed from office recently for misconduct -- will another?

Monday afternoon, Kat Landry, founder of the website RECALLGOVERNORBLANCO.COM announced her intentions to file a recall petition for the office of the governor.

Who knows where this one will go?

(H/T to Louisiana Libertarian.)

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Planned Parenthood is Criminal

Planned Parenthood, the euphemism for killing babies, is on record this past year as being complicit in at least 290 cases of criminal activity in IL. I'm not holding my breath for the prosecutions, however.

As Part-Time Pundit outlines, Planned Parenthood is making large amounts of cash by hiding crimes from the police. The crime? Rape. That's correct, Planned Parenthood of IL knows details about 290 cases of criminal rape, but they won't report them because they're more interested in earning cash.

Don't believe me? Their own website shows it! A girl is raped at age 11 and tells Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood conceals that rape from the authorities so they can get cash from the girl.

Go ahead, try and convince me they're doing good by enabling rapists. Oh, but there's people who actually SUPPORT this continuing action:

Your attempt to slander Planned Parenthood as an organization involved in child rape may be accepted by your fellow neo-whatevers, but its hardly credible for most of the rest of us.

So, despite current, active evidence that clearly shows that PP supports child rapists, some simply choose to absolutely not see the truth. Ignoring facts does not make you right or good.

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New Advertiser

Yes folks, time once again to introduce a new advertiser here at Ogre's Politics and Views. This week, Organized Chaos has seen the wisdom of placing an advertisement here at Ogre's -- now don't let her down, click on the link and go read. And if you want to check back later in the week, the small square over there in the left column will be there all week.

Lisa, the author there is...(deep breath)

a conservative republican with some libertarian tendencies,a sports fan(baseball/college basketball and football), web geek, XM subscriber, talk radio addict, college grad, and a fan of snow (the white, fluffy stuff and the guy who works at FNC). And I think guys in bow ties rule (love ya tucker!).

Whew.

But there is some really good reading over there. There's a post with henry david thoreau quotes -- that are just excellent. She also talks about the brewing Abramoff scandal that shows it's NOT about campaign finance reform -- it's about scummy people.

There's lots more good stuff over there, so head on over and read a little, especially if you like politics -- you might find yourself a new daily read!

Oh, and if you're interested in adding your own ad here, to get that top box, you need a free BlogExplosion account...or you can buy a BlogAd (they're cheap!).

Posted by: Ogre at 03:01 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Eddie Goodall on the Lottery Lawsuit

In case you're wondering why a group of people would sue the state for illegally passing a lottery, Eddie Goodall, Senator from Union county, outlines his case. He describes exactly why and how the lottery passed, and what's wrong with it.

First let me tell you what our purpose isn't. There is nothing in the 23 pages of the complaint and petition that says anything negative (or positive) about a lottery. The lawsuit has nothing to do with the value of a state lottery.

It has everything to do with something far more fundamental to our citizens: adherence to the law.


This lawsuit is about asking the courts to force the Democrat-run state legislature to follow the Constitution. In fact, the more I look at the facts of this case, if the judges do not rule against the legislature, then the North Carolina Constitution seriously becomes just an advisory document that the Democrats are free to ignore.

The Constitution is very clear. The Democrats violated it. If this is left stand, there is no Constitution in North Carolina, except when the Democrats want there to be one.

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Eminent Domain - NC

Get ready to lose more property rights in North Carolina. A committee is meeting to discuss eminent domain. Here's some anti-freedom quotes:

I don't think there's a single person here that wants to disrupt progress with our governments.

-Wilma Sherrill, R-Buncombe


Nope, there isn't. Only because you don't have anyone at your meeting that believes there is such a thing as property rights, apparently. Government and progress in the same sentence just don't go together.
We want to be sure that whatever we do ... that we don't take away the good things that can now be accomplished in North Carolina

Lucy Allen, D-Franklin


Left off of that sentence was the implied, "at the expense of individuals and liberty." Government isn't doing good things when they steal from individuals. These people meeting clearly hate property rights and believe that government is the end-all be-all determiner of the use of all land in the state. These people suck eggs.
State law allows local governments to condemn private property that's considered a community blight because it harms the health and safety or economic well-being of those surrounding it.

-Legislative Staff


So, in other words, New London can VERY EASILY happen in North Carolina. All a government has to do is decide that a certain section of privately owned land will harm the economic well-being of those around it by not being a manufacturing facility or a building of condos -- and then the government can take it.

If you support freedom and property rights, you simply cannot support this crop of morons shysters scum of the earth freedom-haters socialists legislators running North Carolina.

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January 09, 2006

Carnivals!

The New Blog Showcase is up at Dave's Not Here. This is where you can read about new blogs in the world. Be sure to head there, visit a few, and comment on at least one of them -- new blogs really do appreciate being found!

This week's Tarheel Tavern, a weekly Tavern of blogs from North Carolina, is up over at Nothing Could be Finer. Head on over and read, people!

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The Earth Engineer




Your Superhero Profile



Your Superhero Name is The Earth Engineer

Your Superpower is Solar

Your Weakness is Ants

Your Weapon is Your Radiation Bullets

Your Mode of Transportation is Space Shuttle

Uh...Yay?

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