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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

LNC Treasurer Aaron Starr's Anti-Ron Paul Resolution

Here's Libertarian National Committee (LNC) Treasurer Aaron Starr's anti-Ron Paul resolution, which died at the LNC due to a lack of adequate votes (the same with LNC At-Large Rep. Mary Ruwart's anti-Bob Barr resolution). I figured those wondered what the resolution says; well, here it is:

September 13, 2008

The Honorable Ron Paul

Committee to Re-Elect Ron Paul
837 W. Plantation
Clute, TX 71531

Dear Dr. Paul:

The Libertarian National Committee is disappointed to learn that you have recently urged those in the freedom movement to vote for the likes of Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney and Chuck Baldwin, none of whom truly grasp the meaning of Liberty.

More than before, we remain committed to our nominees for President and Vice President, Bob Barr and Wayne Root. We believe both of them boldly present the ideals of limited government, lower taxes, lower spending, and more freedom to the American people.

We invite you to restore your commitment to Liberty by supporting the only candidates on the ballot this year who understand the Constitution and are prepared to restore our republic to what the Founders believed.

Toward Liberty,

The Libertarian National Committee


[H/T to my good friend LNC At-Large Rep. Angela Keaton and El Nino's Mom of the Last Free Voice blog who both reported on this matter. ENM's report can be found here.]

Pink Floyd on Government Education

After blogging about the death of Rick Wright, I've decided to blog about Pink Floyd a bit further by noting that the band is heavily anti-government, particularly in the area of government education. This is one of the best lyrics from The Wall (which inspired that excellent surrealistic movie of the rock opera of the same name).

Here's some of the band's best anti-government lyrics on government schooling by Roger Waters, taken from the song "Another Brick in the Wall" (which is a three-part tune featured on The Wall):

We don't need no education
We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

We don't need no education
We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.


Update: Here are two different versions of the band's music video "Another Brick in the Wall." Please enjoy them; I have.

This one is the original first video clip of the tune:



This second one is a video clip taken from the film version of the rock opera:

Michigan Chapter of ACORN Tied to Voter Fraud in Michigan

Michigan's branch of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a grassroots political organization allegedly geared towards communities of low- and middle-income people and families totalling over 400,000 members, apparently is in legal hot water with the state. According to a recent Detroit Free Press piece, ACORN has been discovered to have submitted fraudulent and duplicate voter registration forms to state officials. The group, which is based in Detroit, enrolled over 200,000 voter applications with the state with approximately 200,000 paid, part-time employees on its payroll.

Here's the article in its entirety:

September 14, 2008


Bad voter applications found

Clerks see fraudulent, duplicate forms from group

BY L.L. BRASIER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Several municipal clerks across the state are reporting fraudulent and duplicate voter registration applications, most of them from a nationwide community activist group working to help low- and moderate-income families.

The majority of the problem applications are coming from the group ACORN, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which has a large voter registration program among its many social service programs. ACORN's Michigan branch, based in Detroit, has enrolled 200,000 voters statewide in recent months, mostly with the use of paid, part-time employees.

"There appears to be a sizeable number of duplicate and fraudulent applications," said Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for the Michigan Secretary of State's Office. "And it appears to be widespread."

Chesney said her office has had discussions with ACORN officials after local clerks reported the questionable applications to the state. Chesney said some of the applications are duplicates and some appear to be names that have been made up. The Secretary of State's Office has turned over several of the applications to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The U.S. Attorney's Office on Friday declined to confirm whether an investigation was taking place.

In recent years, ACORN's voter registration programs have come under investigation in Ohio, Colorado, Missouri and Washington, with some employees convicted of voter fraud.

ACORN officials said they were looking into the problem.

"We'll do an investigation to see what's happening," said David Lagstein, a spokesman for the Detroit office. "If it's really as many as that, it warrants further investigation."

In Pontiac, where several thousand applications have been submitted by ACORN in the last few weeks for the November election, the clerk's office is finding that numerous applications are sometimes filed under one name.

"What it causes is a slowdown of our operations," said Pontiac City Clerk Yvette Talley. "They're steadily coming in, and we are finding a huge number of duplications."

Talley said she could not provide an exact number.

Clerks are required to check their records against a statewide database of all registered voters within their jurisdiction, so it would be unlikely that duplications would allow voters to cast their votes more than once, Talley said.

"We catch them all, but it's taking up a lot of our time," she said.

In Oak Park, clerk Sandra Gadd said they have been seeing "lots of duplication" from ACORN in recent months but were reassured by ACORN officials that the group was working to correct the problem.

"They've been very cooperative," Gadd said. "I spoke with them this week. They called me, and they're willing to go door-to-door to do whatever they have to do to take care of this."

ACORN is the nation's largest community organization for low- and moderate-income families. Created more than 30 years ago, it has branches in 100 cities and claims 350,000 families as members. It works to help create affordable housing and health care, and to improve job conditions and neighborhood schools.

Lagstein said ACORN's Detroit office has hired dozens of employees for the voter registration program and that any problems likely stem from sloppiness or incompetence -- not an intent to let people vote more than once.

"We're proud of our efforts to increase voter registration, and we have aggressive training for our staff to make sure the cards are filled out appropriately," he said.

ACORN has a method to track the workers who filled out individual registration cards, which will allow investigators to question the workers, Lagstein said.

"We certainly do our best to keep the duplications as low as possible, so we'll have to evaluate what's happening here," he said.

Contact L.L. BRASIER at 248-858-2262 or brasier@freepress.com.


The article conveniently leaves out the allegation that Obama is behind the voter fraud with the help of ACORN. Not only that, the Press also leaves out recent investigations into ACORN's voter registration practices in Wisconsin, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and a number of other states. Moreover, Obama's associations with ACORN is said to be very deep.

Now, with all of this information out, is anyone really ecstatic about voting this year, especially in those states?

Hilarious SNL Impersonation of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton

Check out this hilarious impersonation of Palin (portrayed by Tina Fey) and Hillary Clinton (portrayed by Amy Poehler). SNL was spot on with the idiotic statism of both Palin and Clinton. Even many of Fox News' Palin-McCain sycophants love the skit.

Palin's $600 Million "Other" Bridge Boondoggle

Sarah Palin's public opposition to using state funds for the Alaskan Bridge to Nowhere will be nothing compared to the latest story that's broken today so far. Apparently, Palin supports a bridge being constructed in her home state of Alaska, one that will be connected to her hometown of Wasilla. This state-subsidized boondoggle will cost Alaskan taxpayers approximately $600 million, linking the state's largest city to her home town with a population of 7,000 residents.

Here's more on the story:

Palin supports $600 million 'other' bridge project

By GARANCE BURKE
The Associated Press
Tuesday, September 16, 2008; 6:58 AM



ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Gov. Sarah Palin may eventually have said "no thanks" to a federally funded Bridge to Nowhere.

But a bridge to her hometown of Wasilla, that's a different story.

A $600 million bridge and highway project to link Alaska's largest city to Palin's town of 7,000 residents is moving full speed ahead, despite concerns the bridge could worsen some commuting and threaten a population of beluga whales.

Local officials already have spent $42 million on plans to route traffic across the Knik Arm inlet, a narrow finger of water extending roughly 25 miles northeast of Anchorage toward Wasilla. The proposal exists thanks to an earmark request by Republican Rep. Don Young, whose son-in-law has a small stake in property near the bridge's proposed western span.

A Democratic council member in Anchorage will try Tuesday to spike the city's sponsorship of the project, which Palin supports with some reservations.

"This is basically an incredibly expensive project that doesn't help commuters, doesn't help create jobs and may drive whales to extinction," said Justin Massey, an attorney advising environmentalists opposed to the proposal. "It is also a project that serves the area where the governor is from, which is near and dear to her heart."

The Knik Arm was one of two bridge proposals in Alaska awarded more than $450 million from lawmakers who requested money for special projects in 2005, when Young chaired the House Transportation Committee. Young, Alaska's 18-term congressman, has said Alaska still lacks basic roads, railroads and bridges that were developed long ago in older and less spacious states.

At the time, Palin's running mate for the Republican ticket, Arizona Sen. John McCain, derided both projects as wasteful. He called Young's highway bill a "monstrosity" that was "terrifying in its fiscal consequences."

"I want no part of this," McCain said in a July 2005 statement. "This legislation is not _ I emphasize not _ my way of legislating."

The governor initially championed the first so-called Bridge to Nowhere, which would have connected the southeastern Alaska town of Ketchikan to its airport on nearby Gravina Island. She later pulled the plug on the project after it became a national symbol of extravagant federal spending.

Palin's record on the Bridge to Nowhere has emerged as a central point of controversy in the campaign over her recent public claims that she had opposed it, aligning herself with McCain's anti-earmarks philosophy.

Palin still supports the second bridge, officially named Don Young's Way in honor of the congressman. She called for a review of the bridge's financing plans and raised concerns about its financial risks for the state. Still, the planning process is marching forward.

"Governor Palin's demand for accountability and transparency around this project is exactly what she has called for across the board to ensure taxpayers' dollars are being used wisely," spokeswoman Maria Comella said.

Dianne Keller, who succeeded Palin as mayor in Wasilla, has said the new $600 million crossing could lower traffic congestion in the fast-growing community. A Federal Highway Administration study shows the project would cut down some area commutes, but could add to others as more people move to the suburbs.

The average commuter trip to work for Wasilla residents is 34 minutes, compared to an average of 25 minutes for the rest of the United States, according to 2000 Census figures, the most recent available.

The bridge is popular with property developers _ including a group comprised of Young's son-in-law, the former legislative director for indicted Republican Sen. Ted Stevens and three others _ who own land across from Anchorage on the inlet's western side.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is evaluating whether the isolated beluga whales that breed and feed in the waterway's strong tides should be listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Palin has publicly urged the government not to list Cook Inlet beluga whales as endangered.

Anchorage Assembly members Patrick Flynn and Matt Claman, both Democrats, plan to introduce a proposal to kill the bridge on Tuesday. They argue the money would be better used to set up commuter van pools and fix Alaska's existing highways, some of which are so rutted that cars go skidding off the road.

"She clearly hasn't said 'no thanks' to this particular bridge," Claman said. "If money were not an issue and we had no limits, maybe we'd build a bridge. But this is not a pragmatic or efficient way to spend scarce resources."


So much for Alaska's great governor being a "fiscal conservative," as many of her Republican colleagues, including John McCain, claim she is.

R.I.P. Pink Floyd's Rick Wright

Rick Wright, the founder and keyboardist of the psychedelic and space rock bank Pink Floyd, passed away from an undisclosed type of cancer yesterday. His death has sent an enormous shockwave to the music and entertainment industries, although it's no secret that he had been ill for quite some time.

I remember when I was approximately four or five years old, my brother Brian and his then-girlfriend (now his wife) Barb, both of whom had been high school sweethearts, were heavily into Pink Floyd with their friends. At that time, the band's monstrous hit rock operaThe Wall had already hit the rock music scene, and it already had secured itself a number-one hit entitled "Another Brick in the Wall" in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, and many other countries.

I recall one day, as a young kid, I wandered into my brother's room where Brian, Barb, and their friends were hanging out. I saw them painting the back wall, copying the cover of the band's album. I even partook in it (painting the wall that is), and I do remember them smoking pot in those days. When I first heard the song in that room, I fell in love with it. Obviously, at that age, I didn't exactly understand it, but I loved it. It wasn't until my later years that I came to appreciate the song for its anti-government school, pro-human liberty stand on education.

Thank you, Rick Wright, David Gilmour, and Roger Waters for a wonderful time. It was great. I will never forget that experience for as long as I live.

Here's a great clip of Rick singing a solo version of "Breakthrough," which, as a studio tune, was originally arranged to have another singer on vocals. This is the only time he sang it by himself.

[H/T to Tom Woods of the LRC blog for blogging about this last night.]