What with the Chief’s robotics team at school, and then watching a time-zone shifted “24” every Monday night for the duration of season 5, Monday night blogging may suffer a bit, but I’ll try to keep up.
The above graphic is cruel and unusual punishment: bring it on!
Anyway, this site has all the “24” information you could want, and more. The “Kill Counter” is a nice touch, if you’re into scorekeeping!
Google challenges EU plan to regulate the internet
The Cheif has no problems with Google’s stance on this.
What DOES make him puzzled is their totally shameless kow-tow before the ChiComs demands to censor and filter the net, contrasted with their opposition to the Eurocrats regulatory efforts.
W.T.F.? Logic? Consistancy? Google had secided “We don’t need no stinking logic! Not when there’s all that money to be made.”
Netanyahu compares Hamas to Nazis
Call an ugly spade an ugly spade! Benjamin Netanyahu knows what side the bread is buttered on. He has a number of security concerns that make a lot of sense to the Chief.
It will be interesting to see if the ad-hoc party cobbled together by the strength of Sharon’s personality will make a serious contender in the post-stroke political environment over there.
Neanwhile, the Hamas domination in the Paleswinian elections is nothing good.
This OpEd from Arnaud de Borchgrave recaps many historical and contemporary examples of why the Chief does NOT consider himself to be a worshiper at the holy alter of (small-d) democracy, at least as far as it is defined as “holding free elections”. Just because someone can gain a majority in a vote is no guarantee that the majority itself will not become tyrannical in and of itself.
Free elections, we have been told ad nauseam, lead to a healthy body politic called democracy. Unfortunately for those who see the cliché as an article of faith, free elections and democracy are not synonymous. Hitler won a free election – and went on to build the world’s most formidable war machine in history’s blink of an eye.
There’s much more, and it’s worth considering. By the way, there is nothing wrong with a democratic republic, as long as there are strong protections for minority rights and limitations to the power of the majority factions. (Example: U.S. Constitution, amendments 1-10).
Democrats concede Judge Alito victory
In spite of the fulminations of the Kennedy-Schumer-Leahy axis and their ilk, the Donks do not appear to have enough votes to make a successful filibuster against the nomination of Judge Alito to SCOTUS.
It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving crew – their total fecklessness and bloviation is right out there in public, and with the monopoly of the MSM cracked, they discovered much to their dismay that they have lost the ability to “Bork” the nomination.
As icing on the cake, Kerry presents a comic-opera finish to the game with his cry of despair from the ski slopes of Switzerland:
Sen. John Kerry dashed home from the Swiss Alps yesterday to man the barricades of a futile filibuster against Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Well before he reached the battlefield, however, Democrats had waved the white flag and agreed that next week’s vote to confirm Judge Alito will surely succeed. “Everyone knows there is not enough votes to support a filibuster,” Minority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday, several hours before Mr. Kerry arrived.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan called it a “pretty historic” day. “This was the first time ever that a senator has called for a filibuster from the slopes of Davos, Switzerland,” Mr. McClellan said. “I think even for a senator, it takes some pretty serious yodeling to call for a filibusters from a five-star ski resort in the Swiss Alps.” By midday, Republicans had dubbed Mr. Kerry’s international politicking the “Swiss Miss.”
The Chief is amazed that anyone still takes this guy seriously. He continues to push the envelope to extend the definition of “buffoon”.
With this, maybe the Donks will finally start to realize that they have lost the last few elections.
Bill offered to restore official status
Aloha!
This story is good to get your tongues loosened up for the upcoming election “discussions”. The key to the name of this fish is to remember that each vowel is pronounced as an individual syllable in the poly\nesian languages. All you need to do is deal with the name is to break it down into syllables, and pronounce each vowel, as noted. For example, the ending is “…kuapuaa” that comes out “ku-ah-pu-ah-ah”. It’s easy, right?
The news shook the world of state Rep. Blake Oshiro, who found out the designation was no longer official from Joel Itomura, a 6-year-old fish-loving son of a friend and constituent. “I was really surprised,” said Mr. Oshiro, who has drawn up a bill to make the humuhumunukunukuapuaa — also known as the rectangular triggerfish, or “humuhumu” for short — the official state fish for the islands.
The details of the dethronement of the “humuhumu” are in the story, along with more than you may want to know about Hawaiian fish, but since the Chief had two trips to said islands with the Navy, he remains a lifelong fan of the islands, if not their politics.
Deadly force bill advanced by committee
The right to use firearms to in self-defense will be protected by a bill advancing in Pierre.
People who are attacked or defend others at risk of serious injury or death should be allowed to use deadly force, legislators decided Friday.
The House Judiciary Committee gave 10-2 approval to a gun-rights group bill that would revise existing state laws on self defense. HB1134, which goes now to the House floor, says those who believe they are at risk of great harm from others are justified in using violent retaliation. The measure says people may use deadly force and have no duty to retreat if they are in places where they may legally be  such as homes and businesses.
This limits the possibility of prosecution in cases of self-defense, which unfortunately has occurred in a number of other jurisdictions.
David Conway of the South Dakota Shooting Sports Association, an affiliate of the National Rifle Association, said such a law could save innocent lives because people would be less hesitant to defend themselves. But he said HB1134 would not make people trigger-happy. “People are not going to go around shooting one another randomly because of this bill,†Conway told legislators. “All we’re going to do is build a safety net for those that are brave enough to react with force or violence when the situation justifies it,†he said. “You would not have the right to shoot someone just because they’re on your property,†Conway said.
Support for the bill also came from NRA lobbyist Darin Goens. “If someone does break into your home in the middle of the night, you don’t have to run out the back door,†he said. “You can protect yourself.â€Â
Rep. Alan Hanks, R-Rapid City, said people should not be expected to flee their homes instead of taking measures to defend themselves. “You have the right to stand your ground,†Hanks, prime sponsor of the bill, said.
Self-defense is a constitutional right, said Zach Lautenschlager of South Dakota Gun Owners, another gun-rights group. “It will help provide security to South Dakota individuals and families,†he said.
The Chief likes this bill: if the malefactors and pertetrators come after him or his and get a facefull of hot lead, like they say on the Russian plains, “Toughski sh-tsky!”
Hamas plan for an army draws fire
The Chief notes the prophetic nature of this WaPo headline: if there’s verbal fire aimed at Hamas over plans to incorporate itself into a regular army, it’s NOTHING compared to the REAL fire they will draw from Israel if they go ahead with their plan and continue to attack the Israeli state.
Hamas suggested yesterday that the Islamic group could create a Palestinian army that would include its militant wing — responsible for scores of deadly attacks on Israelis — in the aftermath of its crushing victory in parliamentary elections.
Speaking from his base in Damascus, Syria, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal insisted his group would not disarm and said Hamas’ military wing, estimated at nearly 5,000 gunmen in Gaza alone, could be merged into a Palestinian army. “We are ready to unify the weapons of Palestinian factions, with Palestinian consensus, and form an army like any independent state,” he said. Mr. Mashaal also said Hamas would abide by existing agreements with the country “as long as it is in the interest of our people.”(emphasis added)
Ooops. Historically the Hamas position has consistantly been that the “interest of our people” is the eleimination of the state of Israel, and driving the Jews into the sea.
Not a ressuring situation.
Herseth cites ‘significant progress’ in Iraq, Afghanistan
Representative Stephanie Herseth (Donk-SD), has moved into the rarified outer fringes of what passes for the modern Donk party by noting an improved situation in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Back in South Dakota from a trip to Afghanistan and Iraq, Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., said Monday that significant progress is being made in rebuilding both countries though challenges remain. “It’s clear to me from my briefings and meetings with some of the troops and commanders on the ground that the military objective of training Iraqi security forces, of training the Afghan national army, of raising the police forces in both countries, that significant progress has been made,†she said.
In the weeks and months ahead, Herseth said, the military and security progress must work in tandem with the political process to complement  rather than complicate  efforts toward self-sufficiency. “The challenges remain. People have acknowledged the setbacks that we’ve had, but there is progress, day by day, based on the service and commitment of the people I had the chance to meet,†she said.
Looks like Steph is opting for getting re-elected from red state South Dakota rather than winning brownie points with the Deaniac establishment of her own party. The Chief certainly can’t blame her, he wouldn’t want to be associated with that crew either!
The Chief certainly doesn’t agree with all of the politics of New Mexico’s Donk Governor (and former Clintonisto) Bill Richardson, but he’s been doing an OUTSTANDING job of promoting New Mexico’s prominence in the development of commercial spaceflight. This will turn out to be a legacy that will have a lasting impact by positioning his state firmly on the launching pad for the 21st Century and beyond.
New Mexico: Building A Better Spaceport
With a projected $225 million being spent to create a “purpose-built” spaceport near Upham, New Mexicoâ€â€expected to be completed by 2009-2010â€â€for many of the principals involved there remains but one question: what is a 21st century spaceport supposed to look like? Bulldozers have yet to start pushing dirt around. Nonetheless, near-term and future users of the spaceport are ready to bring their respective countdowns into the area.
The Chief posted on the spaceport development plans, which were solidified by agreements with enterpreneur Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic. Those plans are already being implemented by additional outfits that have their operational targets above the atmosphere.
Late last year, British entrepreneur, Richard Branson, decided to park the world headquarters of his Virgin Galactic spaceline in New Mexico and to use the Southwest Regional Spaceport as the company’s primary operating base. Furthermore, the state’s quest to build a spaceport has also become a magnet for rocket builders Starchaser Industries, launch specialists UP Aerospace, the annual X Prize Cup and the Rocket Racing League.
Richardson’s bet was to imitate Costner’s strategy in Field of Dreams: “Build it and they will come.”
The proposed spaceport site is approximately 27 square miles of open, generally level, range land that can be found 45 miles north of Las Cruces and 30 miles east of Truth or Consequences. This site was picked for its low population density, uncongested airspace, and high elevation.
It looks like the bet is paying off, with a number of space enterprises planning on moving in to the facility along with Branson, et al.
In fact the first area (sub-orbital) launch is on track for March:
That’s ideal rocket country for UP Aerospace of Unionville, Connecticut. They are readying their SpaceLoft XL rocket for a New Mexico spaceport sendoff in late March. This opening rocket launch is to set the stage for a series of space liftoffs planned for the Southwest Regional Spaceport.
There’s more detail about the many aspects of pushing this project along, including funding, FAA certification(s), etc. This is serious stuff, and will ultimately produce a serious payoff for the state of New Mexico, and the US in general.
Rocket Racing League Establishes New Mexico Headquarters
The Chief also previously noted the organization of the Rocket Racing League. Their organization is now actually on the ground, and is in the process of setting up their first base at Las Cruces, NM. Racing is planned for October. How cool is this?!
The Chief would REALLY like to go to that event!
Bill seeks ‘intellectual diversity’
Saying that they want to ensure that a wide range of views is heard and tolerated on college campuses, a group of state lawmakers is proposing legislation that would ask South Dakota’s six state universities to report periodically on their efforts to promote “intellectual diversity.â€Â
Generally the Chief has his hackles raided by the term “diversity” – but in the academic context, with it’s often far-left domination in certain (un)disciplines, diversity translates into making it safe for conservatives to be…conservative! What a concept!
Rep. Phyllis Heineman, R-Sioux Falls, chairwoman of the House Education Committee and the chief sponsor of HB1222, said Wednesday that the goal is to prevent situations already seen in other states where students, speakers and faculty members have been harassed because of their views. “This is not an indictment at all,†Heineman said. “For us, it is good governance.â€Â
Hear, hear! The Chief likes this one! Cut ’em off at the pass! Of course the voice of professional academia is a bit more jaundiced:
Tad Perry, executive director of the South Dakota Board of Regents, said that he discussed the idea with Heineman but that he hasn’t yet read the bill. He said it could raise some concerns. “If it is just about making a report, we could go along with that,†he said. “If it goes beyond that, I might have some questions.â€Â
What some academics have done is to forget that “academic freedom” is a two-edged sword – if they have it, then so do those they disagree with. In cases where this has been abused, more than a report might well be necessary, and if so, then too bad for the concerns of the academic establishment.
Bill seeks ‘intellectual diversity’
Saying that they want to ensure that a wide range of views is heard and tolerated on college campuses, a group of state lawmakers is proposing legislation that would ask South Dakota’s six state universities to report periodically on their efforts to promote “intellectual diversity.â€Â
Generally the Chief has his hackles raided by the term “diversity” – but in the academic context, with it’s often far-left domination in certain (un)disciplines, diversity translates into making it safe for conservatives to be…conservative! What a concept!
Rep. Phyllis Heineman, R-Sioux Falls, chairwoman of the House Education Committee and the chief sponsor of HB1222, said Wednesday that the goal is to prevent situations already seen in other states where students, speakers and faculty members have been harassed because of their views. “This is not an indictment at all,†Heineman said. “For us, it is good governance.â€Â
Hear, hear! The Chief likes this one! Cut ’em off at the pass! Of course the voice of professional academia is a bit more jaundiced:
Tad Perry, executive director of the South Dakota Board of Regents, said that he discussed the idea with Heineman but that he hasn’t yet read the bill. He said it could raise some concerns. “If it is just about making a report, we could go along with that,†he said. “If it goes beyond that, I might have some questions.â€Â
What some academics have done is to forget that “academic freedom” is a two-edged sword – if they have it, then so do those they disagree with. In cases where this has been abused, more than a report might well be necessary, and if so, then too bad for the concerns of the academic establishment.
DISCLAIMER: The Chief does NOT want kids hurt in car wrecks….but…this was yet another of those cases where a benevolent legislooter is out to protect us from ourselves.
The Chief wonders how people managed to survive so long before without this sort of governmental interventionism. The main pusher of this act of enlightenment ultimately fell back on the all-too-usual Donk habit of pulling statistics out of thin air, whether or not they made any sense at all.
Rep. Mary Glenski, D-Sioux Falls, pleaded with the committee to send the booster-seat measure to House floor. She said about 100,000 children have been injured in the past 10 years and as many as five children have died each of those years as a result of not being properly restrained. “I hate to think of another 100,000 kids being injured just because we decide to defer for another year,” Glenski told the committee.
Hmmmm. Let’s see what’s being said here. 100,000 kids in the past 10 years. South Dakota has approx. 750,000 people TOTAL. So then 13.3% of the entire population of South Dakota was injured by not being in booster seats over the last 10 years. Somehow this demographic seems dubious, at best. Also, note her statement that another year’s deferral will result in “another 100,000 kids being injured”. At THAT rate then we could look forward to a cool 1 million such injuries in the next decade!
The Chief wants to know what Rep. Glenski’s secret plan is to increase the South Dakota population that much? Bring in Mexicans and rename the state Dakota del Sur? Push for a whole new interpretation of sex-ed? One has to wonder.
This is yet another illustration of what Thoreau observed: “If someone were to approach me with the express intent of doing me good, I run fleeing into the woods.” (May not be exact quote, but you get the idea.)
Another potential case of legislative micro-management and usurpation of property rights has gone into that great circular file.
South Dakotans should not be forbidden from feeding deer and other wild animals, which could attract predators and endanger people or their pets, the House Agriculture Committee decided Tuesday. HB1085, killed 10-3, would have made it illegal to feed big-game animals. Legislators decided such a law would be tough for game wardens to enforce, and it could interfere with rural landowners.
Sibby has noted this bill, and posted more detail about it, but what the Chief particular appreciated were the penultimate remarks toward the end of his posting: “It looks like we have some who move out of the city and buy property in the country, but can’t handle the issues they face. So the first reaction is to propose changes that take away the rights of their neighbors.”
This is precisely the sort of thing that drives me crazy. It’s the same attitude precisely that drives activists like the Dakota Rural Action and their ilk to oppose rural development when it involves things like setting up a dairy operation. This has been a popular pastime here in Moody County over the last couple of years, but fortunately the local moonbats haven’t benn pushing for the deer law – yet.
Sibby’s final conclusion shows a healthy dose of reality and common sense: “While the GF&P should rightly educate people about the dangers of feeding wildlife, GF&P also has been getting an education from the rural folks about freedoms and types who are not afraid to defend it. Today they were definitely gun shy about treating those who feed deer like they were criminals.”
As the saying goes, the man has reason, and property rights were not nibbled away again, at least this time.
Texas border standoff with Mexican military
At first the Chief thought this was about the earlier reports of Mexican invasion, but such is not the case! This was an incident literally yesterday:
Texas law enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents engaged in an armed standoff with Mexican military personnel and drug smugglers just inside the United States along the Rio Grande yesterday afternoon.
Border Patrol agents called for backup after seeing that Mexican Army troops had several mounted machine guns on the ground more than 200 yards inside the U.S. border – near Neely’s Crossing, about 50 miles east of El Paso. Hudspeth County deputies and Texas Highway patrol officers arrived shortly afterward.
We need to have a few patrols of USMC Recon types scattered around to respond to something like this. ¿Comprende hombres?
Hunt’s bill would ban abortions
Roger Hunt of Brandon, SD has decided that there’s no time like the present to jab a legal finger in the eye of Roe v. Wade, and with a couple of new and apparently\ conservative SCOTUS justices, he may be right.
Of course the billhas to clear Pierre, and then the Governor’s desk before it gets that far, but Hunt takes a big step in that direction.
Hunt’s bill would ban abortions
Roger Hunt of Brandon, SD has decided that there’s no time like the present to jab a legal finger in the eye of Roe v. Wade, and with a couple of new and apparently\ conservative SCOTUS justices, he may be right.
Of course the billhas to clear Pierre, and then the Governor’s desk before it gets that far, but Hunt takes a big step in that direction.
Work is good for you, says Blair in benefits shake-up
This is a major shift for the UK Labor (socialist) party. Maybe Blair has looked across the Channel and seen where the Frogs have ended up, and wants to avoid that fate for Britain.
Tony Blair warned the unemployed, single parents and those on incapacity benefit yesterday that they could no longer expect “a lifetime” on benefit.
He issued a “work is good for you” message as the Government announced a welfare shake-up aimed at getting a million people off incapacity benefit over the next decade, as well as a million people aged over 50 and 300,000 lone parents back into work.
Just like the cold-warrior Nixon was able to open relations with teh ChiComs, perhaps erstwhile socialist Blair might be able to pull off getting people off the dole, and back to work, which would be of benefit both to them, and to the state of the UK.
A bill against teen drivers’ use of cell phones while driving that the Cheif commented on earlier, is headed for the circular file.
Of various reasons reported for opposition, the Chief’s favorite is this one:
“We are taking more and more rights away from parents and putting them in the hands of this body,” Sen. Bill Napoli, R-Rapid City, said. “We are saying that we can take better care of your children than you can.”
Hear, hear!
A bill against teen drivers’ use of cell phones while driving that the Cheif commented on earlier, is headed for the circular file.
Of various reasons reported for opposition, the Chief’s favorite is this one:
“We are taking more and more rights away from parents and putting them in the hands of this body,” Sen. Bill Napoli, R-Rapid City, said. “We are saying that we can take better care of your children than you can.”
Hear, hear!
Eminent domain bill passes first test
The SD legislature is on course to address something that has not been a proble yet – the abuse of eminent domain that has been seen in other states.
Under HB1080, counties, municipalities, housing and redevelopment commissions cannot transfer property to private or nongovernmental entity primarily for “enhancement†of tax revenue. Also, after seven years, if land isn’t used for the purpose for which it was acquired, it must be offered for sale to the original owner of the property.
The Chief heartily approves of this as an act of legal prophylaxis. not unlike the concept of Amendment E (the JAIL amendment).
DISCLAIMER: The following is shamelessly ripped off from SteelDeal.
This actually has a practical use: the Chief teaches H.S. biology, and this could make a great discussion topic for evaluation of possible alternative life-forms: “COULD it really live? Why or why not? Give reasons to support your conclusion.”
Canada takes tentative step to right in election
Canada took a tentative step to the right in Monday’s federal election, ousting the Liberals after 12 years in power and voting in a fragile minority Conservative government, television networks said. Preliminary official figures at 11 p.m. (0400 GMT Tuesday) showed the Conservatives winning or ahead in 122 electoral districts compared to 103 for the Liberals of Prime Minister Paul Martin.
The Chief wonders where the US moonbats will be threatening to go to now that the Great White North has shifted its direction, and what with France’s Chirac threatening to use nukes in response to terrorists. Ah well, I guess Bolivia, Cuba, and Venezuela are still available.
Dead man rides subway for hours
Urban legend comes to life? No, maybe not THAT, but…well, you get the idea anyway:
It took more than six hours for anyone to realize that a 64-year-old Brooklyn man had died on a New York City subway train. Eugene Reilly, who died of a heart attack, likely got onto a Brooklyn-bound Q train just before 1 a.m. Thursday. He wasn’t found until 7:15 a.m. when a curious commuter touched his shoulder, trying to wake him, the New York Daily News reported.
It brings to mind “Charlie on the MTA” the old Kingston Trio song from back when.
Iranian News Agency: straight from the horses’ as…er…mouth.
Iran Says Palestine is Center of Islam
President Ahmadinejad said Friday Palestine is the center of the final stages of the battle between Islam and arrogance, saying the Palestinian Intifada is progressing. The plots hatched by enemies against Palestine should not be overlooked even for a moment, Ahmadinejad noted in a meeting with leaders of the Palestinian resistance movements in Damascus, Syria.
OK. It looks to the Chief like Ahm-mad-on-a-jihad Ahmadinejad is continuing with the serial version of his Islamic Mein Kampf. Check it out for a direct sampling of a psychotic view of reality.
Iran warns against UN referral
Iran’s top nuclear official on Sunday warned Tehran would resume efforts to enrich uranium on an industrial scale if its case was reported to the UN Security Council, further raising the stakes in the crisis over its nuclear programme.
As ineffectual as the UN has been, it’s hard to understand what the Iranian’s worry is about.
Tehran earlier this month moved to resume nuclear research, including some small-scale enrichment. But Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, which handles the nuclear issue, said in an interview with the Financial Times that a referral to the United Nations would force Tehran to broaden significantly the scale of such work.
Iran is already busting their agreement, so this is just threatening more of the same. Besides, who’s going to be able to see if they are just doing “a little bit” now?
Iran has always intended to develop industrial-scale uranium enrichment, which can be used for nuclear reactors or atomic weapons, but stopped all preparatory work during two-year talks with Europeans.
Sounds like another example of an Islamic “truce” – with just as much validity and with the same goal as the one Bin Ladin offered: string the enemy along while strength is built up before resuming the attack.
Israeli Hints at Preparation to Stop Iran
Israel’s defense minister hinted Saturday that the Jewish state is preparing for military action to stop Iran’s nuclear program, but said international diplomacy must be the first course of action. “Israel will not be able to accept an Iranian nuclear capability and it must have the capability to defend itself, with all that that implies, and this we are preparing,” Shaul Mofaz said.
This is not a surprise to the Chief, nor should it be to anyone. They have a slogan over there that is MUCH more than just a simple slogan: “Never again!”. Iranian and other Islamofascists of similar ilk like HAMAS, al Qaida, and all the other groups may be on the edge of learning a hard, hard lesson – and one which they will have fully earned.
Israel’s concerns about Iran have grown since the election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said last year that Israel should be “wiped off the map.”
Is there REALLY cause for some alarm here? Sure looks like it!
Iran says Israeli threats are a ‘childish game’
Historically, wars have often started when one party misunderstimated the resolve of another. Iran shows evidence that it is going chugging down that railroad in it’s own inimitable way:
Iran on Sunday said Israel would be making a “fatal mistake” should it resort to military action against Tehran’s nuclear program and dismissed veiled threats from the Jewish state as a “childish game.”
None of this is a cause for much optimism.
New super-gun to be tested in Feb
Next month a new high-explosive munition will be fired in Singapore and then tested again by the U.S. Army, heralding what may be a sea change in weaponry: a gun that can fire 240,000 rounds per minute. That’s compared to 60 rounds per minute in a standard military machine gun.
Talk about rock-and-roll with a vengeance!
A Metal Storm gun of any size — from a 9 mm hand-gun up to a machine gun size or a grenade launcher — has no moving parts other than the bullets or munition inside the barrel. Rather than chambering a single slug for each shot – very quickly in the case of machine guns — the bullets come pre-stacked inside the barrel and can be shot all at once, or one at a time, as the shooter decides through the electronic controls.
Metal Storm’s speed allows it to lay down a blinding wall of slugs that can intercept and pulverize incoming enemy fire, according to company CEO David Smith. As long as the grenade or mortar is fired from outside a range of about 50 meters or 162.5 feet and a Doppler radar is in use, a Metal Storm system could be an effective defense, he told UPI.
Pretty nifty! There’s more detail in the article if you are into it.
Teen drivers’ phones targeted
The Chief admits that cell phone use by inexperienced drivers can be a problem. Having said that, he’s NOT at all sure that legislation is the solution.
Methinks it isn’t something unique to cell phone use to be a problem while driving. Many other actvities, (all of which the Chief has personally witnessed) can be serious distractions to driving: eating hamburgers, talking to passengers, lighting up and smoking, drinking beverages (of any type), changing CD’s, reading newspapers, combing hair, (re)doing fingernail polish, etc., etc.
Should ALL of these be subject to legislative review? One would hope not, although some are even worse that the use of the dreaded cell phone. It is probably a good idea to have a “distracted driving” provision that imposes sanctions if ANY distraction results in an accident or other driving violation.
Singling out ONE activity for sanction in and of itself, is really nothing more than another manifestation of that the Chief regards as the attitude of “the nanny state” – micromanaging the details of daily life, of course in the interest of protecting us from ourselves. Enough already!
Bill would allow state to sell guns confiscated from crooks
Sounds good. Why waste perfectly good guns?
This is a win-win. People can get a good deal on guns, and the agencies get a bit of cash to help their budgets.
The R.C. Journal notes the massive and widespread opposition on the part of our elected legislooters legislators to any independent review of legal authority. This reminds the Chief of the old one about the fox guarding the hen-house. Legislators make laws – that’s what they do. If they don’t, then they are prima facie less significant.
Judges are supposed to interpret and enforce the laws. Although abuse of their authority has fortunately NOT been a problem yet in South Dakota there is no restraint in place to prevent the sort of legal abomination like the infamous ruling of Judge Cashman in NH that gave a 60 day sentence to a long-term child-raper because “I no longer believe in punishment in the law.” In this case, the Judge’s personal BELIEF trumps the law – without a regular procedure for imposing sanction for this ignoring of the letter and spirit of the law. In short, this is an example of what constitutes the legal part of a de-facto politico-legal-media complex.
When the peasants voters have the temerity to propose a mechanism for addressing the ARBITRARY abuse exercise of legal authority, the legislature and the legal establishment, along with thier MSM enablers, instantly “fort up”, raise the drawbridge, drop the portcullis, and bar the gates against the threat to The Way Things Always Are Done Around Here.
The legislators are quoted extensively and uncritically in their universal opposition, which is expressed in terms that show that they have either NOT bothered to read the amendment, or else have read it but are distorting and incorrectly stating its provisions:
South Dakota’s legislative leaders said Friday they are united in an effort to defeat a 2006 ballot initiative that would allow judges to be sued by people who believe their rights have been violated. If approved by the voters, Amendment E  the Judicial Accountability Initiative Law, or J.A.I.L.  would strip judges of their immunity from lawsuits stemming from their decisions.
The kernal amendment actually reads:
No immunity shall extend to any judge of this State for any deliberate violation of law, fraud or conspiracy, intentional violation of due process of law, deliberate disregard of material facts, judicial acts without jurisdiction, blocking of a lawful conclusion of a case, or any deliberate violation of the Constitutions of South Dakota or the United States, notwithstanding Common Law, or any other contrary statute.
(The rest of the proposal establishes a Special Grand Jury system to handle the mechanics and procedure for this to be implemented.)
If this is unacceptable to the legal aristocracy, the Chief has to wonder why? Do the opponents really mean to say that “deliberate violation of the law” in legal decisions IS acceptable and beyond independent review? Are “deliberate disregard of material facts, jusicial acts without jurisdiction,…or any deliberate violation of the Constitutions…” REALLY beyond recourse without having to fight against the “good old boy” legal establishment?
According to the Legislature, the SD Bar, and many other political leaders, the answer to this to the voters is clear: “Don’t try this at home. Nothing to do here folks, go back home and watch American Idol, and leave the art of government to your betters. We really don’t need your scrutiny. Just remember to vote for us again in November!”
The stage is set for the argument about this measure. At this point the Chief thinks that the amendment is too radical and fundamental a reform to get past the universal rabid opposition of the politico-legal-media complex, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have merit.
Does it pass the wife check?
The idea of checking with a mate before purchasing a big-ticket item may not be a new idea, but its name, spouse acceptance factor — usually called wife acceptance factor for the greater number of men interested in electronics — is building steam among technology gurus and electronics manufacturers.
DUUUUHHHH! The Chief could have told ’em about this one LONG ago!
Women control 88 percent of electronics purchases, whether they make the purchase or influence what their spouse buys, according to research by the Consumer Electronics Association. Whether an item passes the wife acceptance factor, or WAF, typically depends on price, design and complexity.
Most women like technology, but in a different way that men do, said Michelle Miller, a marketing consultant and partner at Wizard of Ads marketing firm in Scottsdale, Ariz. Men like hearing about a product’s speed, size, strength and accessories from salespeople, Ms. Miller said. “But if you talk about what technology does for [women’s] lives, they love it,” she said, adding that women relate to technology in terms of how it can make their lives better.
That’s making it FAR too complex (even if it is true, in a way). The Chief can summarize it much mores simply: “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!”