The Feds Were Watching You, Eliot

Apparently the Feds had been keeping tabs on Spitzer for quite some time -- that is, long before he was busted for his entanglement with Emperor's VIP Club in February.

Spitzer Gets His Comeuppance

Republicans are now calling for legally and politically troubled Governor Eliot Spitzer (D-NY) to resign from his gubernatorial office.

Here's the Scotland-based News.Scotsman.com site reporting more on this swelling ruckus.

Payment Protection Plans (PPIs) Should Be Avoided At All Costs

Whatever you do, if you have credit cards or car insurance, please don't get protection payment plans (PPIs). They are nothing but a false sense of security.

New Cop Ratings Site Incenses Police and Is Removed

A new website (called RateMyCop.com) that rates more than 130,000 police officers nationwide on the basis of authority, fairness, and satisfaction not only incensed so many police organizations, it also resulted in the removal of the site.

The site that is listed under GoDaddy's domain webhosting service has now been replaced with the following:

This site is currently unavailable.

If you are the owner of this site, please contact us at 1-480-505-8855 at your earliest convenience.

It's funny: GoDaddy does not have a problem with you watching porn on its servers, but the pendulum only swings one way when you're dealing with free speech.

(Thanks goes to Christopher Manion for his thoughts on the GoDaddy site.)

Campaign Finance Laws Hurt Grassroots Causes

The government's own campaign finance machinations are wiping out grassroots causes, according to Jessica Peck Corry of Liberty For All Online Magazine.

The Rightful Persecution and Crucifixion of New York Democratic Governor Eliot Spitzer

The recent hoopla over the federal investigation of New York Democratic Governor Eliot Spitzer over his alleged involvement with a $1,000-an-hour prostitute known to various press accounts and sources as "Kristen" and her high-class brothel known as the Emperor's VIP Club has sent shockwaves to the entire mainstream media, especially the blogosphere housing the Left, "moderates," libertarians, and the Right. Moreover, while many pundits across the political spectrum have been putting different varieties of spin on the latest uproar, some of them -- if not, many -- are either ignoring or neglecting the fact that Spitzer isn't being charged with meeting with the woman or being in sexual congress with the woman or other women from the brothel.

In actuality, Spitzer is being charged with money laundering - that is, the crime of wiring money out of his bank account to the ring in the amount of more than $10,000, which, according to Newsday, appeared to be a front for the service. Interestingly enough, the governor contacted the bank to have his name removed, the fact that his broke the $10,000 amounts into smaller amounts notwithstanding. Moreover, the Feds initially believed that the transfers were part of a blackmail scheme or possibly political corruption on the governor's part. Because of the unusual, red-flagged amounts recorded in his bank account, the bank, required by government edict, reported the transactions to the IRS. (Keep in mind that the banks consistently record these unusually-large amounts and report them to the Feds on suspicion that their clients are possibly engaging in drug dealing and/or terrorist activity.)

This latest incident involving Spitzer is an excellent epitome of why the federal and state governments should stay out of the economic and personal affairs of its citizenry. More than that, it beckons for a repeal of laws criminalizing prostitution (it is, in fact, illegal in 49 states minus Nevada) and a repeal of all federal and state laws and regulations that call for monitoring, snooping in, red-flagging, and even overseeing peaceful economic transactions, especially when that activity involves two parties exchanging money for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.

While we're at it, let's repeal all the federal and state drug and terrorism laws that threaten our domestic and global way of life as well as what we do with our monies that are entrusted to the banks with whom we deal on a voluntary basis. And let's not forget an across-the-board repeal of all laws requiring banks to become snitches to the federal government (i.e. the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the IRs, etc.).

More importantly, let's abolish all unconstitutional federal agencies that are not authorized by the federal government (including the DHS, FBI, IRS, DOJ). Furthermore, let's repeal all the state-imposed laws enforcing morality on the public, especially in the area of illegal prostitution.

On a personal note, while I oppose government intrusion into economic and personal matters (including the act of having sex with a prostitute and/or exchanging money for that purpose), I cannot say, for the life of me, that I feel sorry for Governor Spitzer. This is a man who led a crusade against entrepreneurs, day traders, businesses, and other firms for victimless crimes by supporting the same vile, diabolical, morally-and-politically bankrupt draconian edicts and regulations that were ultimately employed to victimize hundreds -- if not, thousands -- of individuals and businesses for his goal to ascend to the putrid and evil ranks of the authoritarian, pro-state establishment. This man does not really deserve a libertarian defense -- let alone a modicum of sympathy -- for his wicked crimes against his victims whom he has terribly wronged. (I do feel sorry for his family, who did not ask to be put in this position; Spitzer, however, has put his family through this predicament, only that they will politically and legally suffer for what he has done to his victims.)

For that reason above, what has occured to him serves him right. This is a rightful persecution and crucifixion of the governor himself. His comeuppance is truly and rightfully handed to him on a silver platter as it is.

Ron Paul to CNN: "My Campaign Is Never Over"

Contrary to my earlier blog about Ron Paul's presidential campaign being over, Ron appeared on CNN yesterday stating that his "campaign is never over."

While there is a part of me that is elated that the campaign isn't folding, there is another part of me that feels that it is absolutely silly for the campaign itself to continue. McCain has landed the GOP nomination even well before the GOP National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota this year. After all, he has the delegates, whereas Ron doesn't. What's the point of continuing this campaign if McCain has creamed Ron on that side of the presidential aisle?

Secondly, Ron has consistently said time after time after time that he wasn't interested in a third party or even an independent run. While a slew of his supporters urged him to run on the Libertarian Party ticket, Ron later publicly (but adamantly) ruled out any posibility of a third party or independent run. If he's refusing to consider any of those avenues in order to continue his campaign, then where's the advantage of him running as a GOP presidential candidate when McCain is the already-anointed War Party candidate? Where's the benefit in that?

Moreover, Ron, in his most recent congressional report to his campaign supporters (which was issued on March 6th), noted that the campaign would soon "wind down." Many of his supporters interpreted that to mean that the campaign was over. Was he really serious about the campaign "winding down" or was it chicanery on his part? His statements and actions within the last few days have been very suspicious, not to mention downright absurd to say the least. Moreover, his words "wind down" and "my campaign is never over" are contradictory in a very profound way. It's one or the other; they can't be both.

Look, either Ron is still in the game or not. But, if he is in the game, why is he so stubborn to not run as a third party or independent candidate? What is he trying to prove? I would -- and could -- see it if he were shifting his campaign into a separate political movement (or an educational one) for the purpose of advancing liberty. But to continue the campaign in this fashion is just hairbrained and moronic. What is this tactic going to achieve? How is this going to help the pro-liberty cause at all?

Although I said that I would blog about my feelings about the Ron Paul campaign (despite my shock that it's now continuing) a couple of days ago, I will issue my thoughts on this campaign later today. It will be quite long and analytical.

Nonetheless, it should be an interesting read.

Big Brother Is Snooping More into Your Privacy

Herr Bush is secretly boosting his domestic spy program. That includes everything from your telephone records to your credit card accounts.

The U.S. government's own police state is becoming bigger and stronger with each passing second.

Kentuckian Government Busybody Proposes to Outlaw Anonymous Internet Posting

A Kentuckian busybody state lawmaker wants to police internet websites by simply outlawing anonymous posting online.

If the bill is passed and becomes law, any online anonymous user who refuses to register with a website will be slapped with a $500 fine for the first offense and a $1,000 fine for each offense after that.

Don't these statist, government-worshipping collectivists have anything better to do than to worry about some anonymous twit posting a nasty comment on some website? And how are they going to enforce this bill if (and when) it becomes law? How will this work? Don't they understand that, if this bill becomes a government-sancted edict, the cost to operate a website would go through the roof? More so, don't they understand that it will scrap free speech on the internet for good?

This is nothing more than an attack on an anonymous poster and any other Internet surfer's First Amendment protections. Anyone who is for anonymous posting on the Internet in that state should speak up, contact their state legislator, and speak out against this vile and diabolical monstrosity.

Cops to Law-Abiding Citizens: "Laws We Enforce on You Don't Apply to Us!"

Maryland's tax collectors, whom we call "cops" (sometimes "law enforcement officers"), believe that the laws they enforce on its own residents have no bearing on them.

Surprise, surprise, surprise...

Anthrax Was An Inside Government Job

Of course Anthrax was an inside government job. It was made in a taxpayer-funded government lab for the U.S. military. It may even be another neocon trick.

Here's the YouTube for it:

The Governator Speaks Out Against California Homeschooling Ban

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former bodybuilder and actor and now a Republican governor of the socialist state of California, has publicly expressed his outrage at the state's supreme court ruling against homeschooling. He said that he would fight the ruling and defend the rights of the parents to educate their children any way they see fit.

(03-07) 13:37 PST SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denounced a state appeals court ruling that severely restricts homeschooling and promised Friday to change the law if necessary to guarantee that parents are able to educate their children at home.

'Every California child deserves a quality education, and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children,' Schwarzenegger said in response to the ruling, which said children educated at home must be taught by a credentialed teacher.

'Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education,' Schwarzenegger said. 'This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts, and if the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will.'

State Education Secretary David Long, a Schwarzenegger appointee, said that meant the governor supported allowing parents without teaching credentials to educate their children.

'The governor sees this as a fundamental right of parental choice,' he said.

In the meantime, attorneys with Long's agency are poring over the decision to determine what to tell local school districts, the agencies responsible for pursuing truants, said Jack O'Connell, the state's superintendent of public instruction.

An estimated 166,000 children are homeschooled in California. Some are enrolled in independent study programs through school districts, charter schools or private schools. Others are taught at home or in programs that have no oversight by a public education agency or private school.

The ruling that prompted Schwarzenegger's anger was issued Feb. 28 by the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles, but went unpublicized until this week. The court said all children ages 6 to 18 must attend public or private school full time until they graduate from high school or must be tutored by a credentialed teacher.

As much as I despise Ah-nold "The Governator" Schwarzenegger's statist/fascistic ideology and his support for his own party's hawkish foreign policy, at least he had the audacity to challenge the socialistic collectivists, statists, and social engineers who view our children as the property of the omnipotent state.

McCain Won't Release His Medical Records

Apparently McLame's -- err, I mean McCain's -- medical records won't be available for public viewing anytime soon. According to The New York Slimes (err, Times), McCain adamantly refuses to relinquish his medical files to the public.

An already-anointed presidential candidate who refuses to be candid about his health to his propsective constituents is unworthy of the Office of the Presidency.

California Homeschooling Ban Exaggerated...Sort Of

It turns out that the L.A. Times' recent reporting of the Supreme Court's ruling on homeschooling was blown out of proportion. Well, sort of.

Apparently the paper neglected to mention that parents are still allowed to educate their children at home without state-approved teaching certificates under the state's education code, which makes room for various exemptions to required government school enrollment regulations. As a blog going by the name of Ace of Spaces HQ recently asserted, the parents did, in fact, lose due to the fact that they couldn't support their contention that their kids were enrolled in charter schools and the kids were free to skip classes so that they would be taught at home with little supervision.

Of course, Aces of Spade sided with the court (not to mention the government-propped teacher unions), claiming that, if the parents had done everything in their power to homeschool their children by complying with the state's mandatory regulations, they would have had a case. In other words, in the eyes of The L.A. Times and The Washington Post, the California Supreme Court, the government school unions, and their collectivistic cronies, if the parents in question had played by the state's rules by being more proactive with their kids' education, everything would have been fine and dandy.

Balderdash! Even if the parents had played by the government thugs' rules, the thugs could have -- and most likely would have -- done an about-face on the parents and lobbied to ban homeschooling, all the while pushed for their children's return to the propaganda learning centers that the statist thugs wanted them to have done to begin with. Morever, the state could have easily turned on the parents and imposed a series of mandates on the homeschooling industry or even pursue an outright ban on the schools, regardless of whether the parents complied with the state's rules.

Whatever may have been the case, the point is that the state would have cracked down on the homeschooling industry, just to set an example on the homeschooling families, no matter what its excuse would have been and what the parents would have done.

Iraq Veteran Says No to McCain's War Policy

An Iraq veteran speaks out against Arizona Republican Senator John McCain's war policy, saying that the United States and its military forces "cannot afford another leader like President Bush who would keep our overstretched military in Iraq for 100 years while ignoring the other threats our country faces both at home and around the world."

According to the March 8th edition of the Washington Post:

WASHINGTON -- Speaking on behalf of the Democratic Party, an Iraq combat veteran said Saturday that apparent GOP nominee John McCain should not win the presidential election because he would continue the war in Iraq.

Roger Martinez, who served as an Army ranger in Afghanistan and Iraq, noted in the Democrats' weekly radio address that President Bush endorsed McCain this week. Bush said McCain 'won't flinch in the face of danger' and McCain strongly supports the U.S. efforts in Iraq. Electing a leader who would continue Bush's policies in Iraq would be a mistake, Martinez said.

'Our country and our armed services cannot afford another leader like President Bush who would keep our overstretched military in Iraq for 100 years while ignoring the other threats our country faces both at home and around the world.' McCain has said that U.S. troops could be in Iraq for many years if those troops were no longer being injured or killed.

'I honor and thank John McCain for his years of military service to our country,' said Martinez, who is studying at the University of Texas at San Antonio. 'But I don't think he offers the right leadership on Iraq or understands how to reinvigorate our economy here at home.'