Hunt, Meet the Hatch Act

Lt. Col. Jim Hunt, Democratic candidate for no other reason than no one else was willing to run, has a posting up on that great source of information for all soldiers, the Daily Kos. Now, I have heard that Mr. Hunt is actually an okay sort of person, but his ignorance of the law, especially as a lawyer, and an officer at one time are astounding.
Let me begin with his first line - "Lt. Col." Jim Hunt. In the Army, at least the Army I left 13 years ago, we abbreviated the rank for Lieutenant Colonel as LTC. The Air Force uses the abbreviation that Mr. Hunt has in his posting, but I thought that he was supposed to be in the Army. Maybe he's confused.
Then he goes on to make himself a victim by saying:

Yesterday, the Montana Republican Party and Rehberg attacked me and my 23 years of service in the Montana Army National Guard – citing an obscure, new Pentagon regulation regarding photos of candidates in their old uniforms.

Obscure, new Pentagon regulation? When I was in the Army, we used to have our biannual lecture on the Hatch Act, which is a federal law, and applies to the Reserves as well, and was passed in 1939. I do understand that the laws were relaxed a little bit in 1993, but the prohibition still includes that you cannot use your uniform in any political activity. In fact, when we were briefed, we were told that we could not even put up partisan yard signs at our home, lest someone think that the military was lending its support to one party or the other.
Hunt then retreats to being a victim, and says that he will not let anyone take down the ad, even though it violates federal law, and military decorum as well.
In his defense, and I know that I am going to get into trouble for this, but he really was only part time help. He should rely on that defense for his lawbreaking activity.

Heretics

Being raised Lutheran, we learned how Martin Luther became enraged at the selling of Indulgences as a way to raise money for the Catholic Church. Eventually, it led to his posting of the 95 thesis that was to mark the beginning of Christian Protestantism. Even though Luther believed in his God and his Church, he detested that which he believed was wrong. As punishment, his church excommunicated him and branded him a heretic.

Get ready for a new bunch of heretics. Over 31,000 science degree holders, including more than 9,000 with Ph.Ds, have signed a petition saying that there is no science to back anthroprogenic Global Warming.

Just like before, they are objecting to the selling of indulgences (carbon credits) to finance some unholy activity. I am sure that there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but I predict it won't result in another 30 Years War.

We don't have the patience for that anymore.

Brilliant!

The Foundry has the brilliant idea of having Libertarians adopt the polar bear as their mascot. Now, most of the time, I think that using mascots is a shortcut to avoiding thinking. But as the Foundry points out:

Normally libertarians are not a litigious bunch, but if they are willing to adopt some new tactics, Section 7 of the ESA could provide them the tool they need to end federal government interference in the economy forever. See the polar bear will be the first animal ever listed as endangered on a global warming theory. Normally, species are listed due to harms to their habitat from local factors like logging, farming, or hospital building. So when the Army wants to build a firing range to train troops to protect our country, environmentalists can sue to stop the activity since it will harm local endangered bird populations.

But global warming is just that: global. Virtually every federal government action anywhere in the country can be connected to increased greenhouse gas emissions, which after all, are the cause of the destruction of the polar bear’s habitat according to the Interior Department. So you wanna stop the Agriculture Department from sending subsidy checks to millionaire farmers? Claim the increased emissions from transporting the crops to market will harm the polar bears and sue to stop them. Wanna stop a new high way from being funded? Just point out the new traffic will increase emissions and ‘presto’ … no more high way. Wanna end increases in Medicare spending? All you need to do is show that increased health care spending prolongs peoples lives who inevitably emit more carbon. The possibilities are endless…..

What a wonderful thing to do to stop the government from doing anything.

Brilliant!

Age and Memory

Getting old does terrible things to your mind. I used to have an excellent memory, and even if I forgot something, when given a cue, I could then recall it in its entirety. But lately, I have found that if I don't take my vitamins and supplements that my wife (The Good Democrat) provides for me, I have memory lapses and can't always do the most difficult levels of Sudoku.
So it is with a certain amount of sympathy that I feel for people who make those "Senior Moment" kind of mistakes. Sure, the politically incorrect make jokes about it: The advantage of Alzheimers - Just think of all the new people that you will meet everyday. But we should still be kind, nonetheless.

Of course, senility can come earlier for some than others.





President of these "57" States?

More Political Manipulations Pt. 2.

I had mentioned earlier, that politicians are lying to us, and for some reason we keep letting them get away with it. I had a good idea of how they were able to continue to manipulate us when the chronically reading comprehension impaired seemed to say that I was going to be just like them. Now, where he could have gotten that idea is beyond me, but it is consistent with his inability to grasp basic concepts that are other than his political bedrock. And I am sure that he is not alone in his quest to ignore facts that contradict his notions. Nonetheless, I am going to keep on pointing out how the Democrats are lying and hope that the awareness of the citizenry will cause them to rethink their ability to manipulate us.
Today, we have America's ex-wife Hillary, who is pandering to the crowds in Indiana about how George W. Bush let a plant that was used in the production of certain military critical items be closed and move to China, along with the jobs. Just one problem, the sale was done under Bill Clinton, and the move was pretty well completed by the time Bush came into office.

Here's the complete story.

In 1995, General Motors decided to sell the Indiana-based Magnequench to a Chinese-American consortium. The consortium included:

* San Huan New Materials and Hi-Tech Co, a company owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences;
* Onfem Holdings, a company controlled by the State Nonferrous Metals Industry Administration in the Peoples Republic of China;
* Soros Fund Management, headed by George Soros;
* The Sextant Group, founded by Archibald Cox Jr.;

Soros, of course, is the wealthy investor who has contributed vast sums to Democratic candidates and liberal causes.

He's given more than $250,000 to Democratic campaign committees, tens of thousands to individual Democratic candidates, and about $2.5 million to the liberal group, Moveon.org, according to Federal Election Commission records.

He's also contributed to Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign, and to Obama's Senate and presidential campaigns. He contributed to Republican Sen. John McCain's first presidential campaign, in 1999, when he was running against Bush for the Republican nomination.

Because Magnequench made magnets for smart bombs, the sale to a group including foreign owners required approval under a 1988 law.

After a 30-day review, the Clinton administration's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which includes representatives of the Pentagon, approved the sale in 1995.

The buyers reportedly promised to keep manufacturing in the United States.

Yet in 1998, they started building a new plant in China, close to the source of the raw materials used in the magnets.

The company reorganized in 1999, buying out Soros as well as Onfem Holdings.

In 2000, Magnequench bought a magnet factory in Valparaiso, Indiana, the same year it started operations at its China plant.

In 2001, it closed its original plant in Anderson, Indiana.

And in 2003, it decided to close the Valparaiso plant, laying off its 225 workers.

Now, to be fair, Bush did nothing to block the move, but that is a far cry from what Hillary is saying. When confronted by the facts, she maintains

The Clinton campaign said she doesn't mention the role her husband played in the sale because it wasn't relevant.

Yeah, facts aren't relevant.

Striking a Blow for Democracy

The Supreme Court has upheld the Indiana Voter ID act. In a 6-3 decision, written by Justice John Paul Stevens, one of the courts more reliably liberal justices, the court found that the problems with voter fraud were enough of a legitimate concern that Indiana could require its citizens to show proof of who they were.
Democrats, and those who would like to vote under several different names, were of course outraged. Saying that it would disenfranchise the poor and the elderly and those who don't actually live there anymore, this could rob the Democratic Party of some of their most loyal voters - cemetery residents.

Ponder the Maunder?

I was listening to NPR earlier this week, and they were interviewing a young girl who had a Global Warming Denier blog. For a 15 year old, she has done a better job of science than all the so called "consensus scientists" seem to have done.
The best part of the NPR interview was when she was with her friend who disagreed with her. When her friend was asked why she disagreed, she could only reply "I dunno. It just is wrong."
And there you have in a nutshell, the entire climate change maniacs argument. Balanced by a 15 year old who can think critically.
There is still hope for this country.

Kudos to Craig

Craig at MTPolitics has gotten Denny to post an editorial on the Blogger Protection Act of 2008. Great for him!
In a way, this shows the prescience of Rep. Rehberg, in that it is a far more useful technique to send his message to people who are interested than relying on television.
Television, especially with the increased use of Tivo and other methods to skip through commercials, is going to be less effective as a medium than blogs are. Just think people, We are the Future.
Okay, that's kind of scary.

More Political Manipulations

Carol at Missoulaopolis pointed me to this article about three young men who have the courage to actually run for office in the People's Republic of Missoula. You have to give these guys some credit just for standing up and taking the chance.
But the article highlighted some problems that I have with the current state of politics. For example, in the article,

Betsy Hands, the incumbent Democrat for Cox’s district, said that it is interesting the Republican candidates named this as an issue, since it was while the Republicans were in control of the Legislature that all this government growth occurred.

Excuse me? Didn't the Democrats control the Senate and the Governor's office? She seems to be either ignorant or is deliberately distorting facts. (See other evidence below about Nancy Pelosi's Secret Plan.) Hands goes on to say:

“Having education for your child is one of the most important things you can do for their development.”

Great, Ms Hands. But what did you actually do, besides talk a good game? If spending goes up 7% from the State contribution, why is the increase at the classroom level only 1%, or less than inflation?
Apparently, the Office of Public Instruction was able to siphon off approximately half of the increase for their operations. (Buildings, an 11% raise for Linda McCullogh, more bureaucrats, etc.) And believe it or not, it's perfectly legal. Sure, you thought that the Legislature appropriates the money and directs how it is to be spent. Except for the OPI. The Leg is specifically prohibited from directing how the money is to be allocated.
You want more for the teachers? Close the Office of Public Instruction. You want more useless regulators, controllers, and other parasites who do nothing to teach children - re-elect Ms. Hands.