The Entertainment Consumers Association is a new political action group designed to give gamers a voice in this new climate of video game legislation. Avid gamers everywhere should be jumping to join this organization where all thier voices can be gathered into one loud voice. Movie ratings are not governed by legislation and neither should video game ratings.
If you haven’t figured it out by now I am someone who likes to take in as much data as possible before I make a decision about anything. I love raw data. So here again is some more raw data:
Military Commisions Act of 2006
This bill would put “alien unlawful combatants” through military type trials. This bill is not as long as most, so it should be no problem to read and form your own conclusions. Always be wary of people who will mis-quote or take phrases out of context to further their own agenda.
From:Don Feder – Fighting Terror with Estrogen
“…And now, let us say a few good words for warfare and violence. Those whose mantra is violence-never-solved-anything, are dogma-blinded, historical illiterates who would lead us down the soft path to national suicide. Without warfare and violence, we would have no country. America was born on the battlefield. (George III would never have let us go without a fight.) The Declaration of Independence was noble words penned on paper. It was the sword that gave them a reality. In this instance, the perpetrators of revolutionary violence included John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington—men of learning and ability all… Without warfare and violence in 1939-1945, today, half the world would be singing ‘Deutschland uber Alles,’ while the other half bowed to the honorable emperor of Japan. And without warfare and violence during the Cold War, the world would have been swallowed up by a monstrous ideology responsible for 100 million deaths in the 20th century… [M]en with guns suffered and died to preserve and protect a republic where human rights are enshrined. Today, the choice is warfare and violence or total submission to Islamofascism—the annihilation of the Jewish people, the subjugation of women, dhimmi status for those infidels still alive and a world governed by a barbaric desert ethos.â€
A rural town in Idaho is considering mandating firearm ownership for all households. It sounds like a good idea, however I would want to make absolutely sure all the people are trained properly.
Armed Town
From: Bob Ray Sanders
“Kinky Friedman, one of the independent candidates running for governor of Texas, supposedly is in hot water these days because of some racially insensitive statements he has made in the past…
…Kinky’s recent poll numbers have dropped a little, and some folks believe – actually some Democratic leaders are hoping – that he is about to self-destruct because of his “racist†views.
Come on, y’all. There may be plenty of reasons not to vote for Kinky Friedman, but his being a racist is not one of them, mainly because he is not.
As far as I can tell, Kinky – the guy who once led a group called the Texas Jewboys – is a lot of things, but he is no bigot.”
From the Daily Mail:
Big Brother is shouting at you
“Big Brother is not only watching you – now he’s barking orders too. Britain’s first ‘talking’ CCTV cameras have arrived, publicly berating bad behaviour and shaming offenders into acting more responsibly.”
Now “anit-social behavior” can be instantly berated by the faceless cowards of the Party. Pretty soon, the populous will simply be shamed into absolute compliance with the will of those in power who are “democratically” elected.
The real scare is the fact that the UK is our stongest ally, and many believe that we should follow in their footsteps. On an unrelated note, I’m currently in the market for a cheap island in the South Pacific.
From: EFF
“Innocent Target of File-Sharing Lawsuit Deserves Attorney’s Fees
RIAA Should Pay Victim’s Legal Costs in Baseless Suit
San Francisco – The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), along with the American Association of Law Libraries, the ACLU, and Public Citizen, filed a brief with an Oklahoma district court Thursday, strongly urging a judge to award the innocent target of a file-sharing lawsuit the cost of her attorney’s fees in battling the baseless allegations of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).”
From: CNET
“A Brazilian judge has ordered the local office of Google to disclose the data of users of its social-networking site Orkut who have been accused of crimes such as racism or child pornography…
…He said Google’s local office had shown a complacent attitude toward “the serious crimes practiced on Orkut” and showed “profound disrespect for national sovereignty.” ”
more
From: NewsMax.com
According to a new study by the Cato Institute’s Radley Balko SWAT teams are increasingly being used to take down small time drug offenders. These take downs are resulting in incidents of violence that don’t need to take place.
Cato is one of my favorite organizations, because they truly stand for all things libertarian.
Check out a review of Radley Balko’s book concerning the same subject, Overkill.
From: The Seattle Times
By Maggie Farley
Los Angeles Times
TORONTO — Police began kicking down doors before dawn on a chilly May morning while gang members in Toronto’s Jamestown neighborhood still slept. By lunchtime, officers had made 106 arrests, collected 33 guns and announced they had broken an international gun ring run by the notorious Jamestown Crew
The raid was a shot across the bow from newly elected Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who says his Conservative Party government is going to spend its money on crime control, not gun control.
…”If you want a gun, you can get one in a day, a couple of hours maybe,” said Andrew Bacchus, 30, the founder of Toronto’s Vice Lords gang, who is now working with Breaking the Cycle, a gang-exiting program. “The gun registry hasn’t made any difference on that.”
More
Quote from: State of Fear by Michael Crichton
“He felt as if he had been physically moved—as if someone had picked him up and shifted him ten feet to one side. He was no longer standing in the same place. But he had also been changed internally. He felt a kind of solid impassivity he had not known before. There were unpleasant realties in the world, and previously he had averted his eyes from them, or changed the subject, or made excuses for what had occurred. He imagined that this was an acceptable strategy in life—in fact, that it was a more humane strategy. He no longer believed that.
If someone tried to kill you, you did not have the option of averting your eyes or changing the subject. You were forced to deal with that person’s behavior. The experience was, in the end, a loss of certain illusions.
The world was not how you wanted it to be.
The world was how it was.
There were bad people in the world. They had to be stopped.â€
From: John Stossel
“How would environmental fanatics capture a government agency? Well, who is more likely to volunteer to take a job in a bureaucracy that has little to recommend it except that it gives you the power to use government force to control the lives of others? A dispassionate scientist or a zealot?
In government, the zealots eventually take over.”
From StopUNGunBan.Org
“This 4th of July, while you and your family celebrate the 230th Anniversary of the founding of our great nation, there’s one party you won’t be invited to…
…And that’s the party that Kofi Annan is throwing at United Nations headquarters in New York — using your tax dollars — for nearly fifty dictatorships, six terrorist states, governments that endorse execution based on religious faith, and a multitude of other nations from around the globe.
You see, this party isn’t to honor your freedoms — but to conspire to take them away. That’s right. Over our 4th of July holiday, while taps is played at Arlington National Cemetery to honor Americans who have sacrificed their lives for freedom…
…These dictatorships, terrorist states and so-called “free†nations of the world plan to meet on our home soil to finalize a U.N. treaty that would strip all citizens of all nations of their right to self-protection, and strip you of your rights under the Second Amendment.”
From Wired:
“A file detailing aspects of AT&T’s alleged participation in the National Security Agency’s warrantless domestic wiretap operation is sitting in a San Francisco courthouse. But the public cannot see it because, at AT&T’s insistence, it remains under seal in court records.”
This email to NPR is from Brad Potter.
“Here’s what I just wrote about a story NPR ran Tuesday. The transcript follows.”
“On May 16th’s piece about firearm straw purchases, Kai introduces the story with the lead, “New York City’s Got a Gun Problem.” And you wonder why many listners accuse NPR of having a liberal bias? A more balanced lead would have been something like, “New York City’s Got a Murder Problem” or “New York City’s Got a Crime Problem.” When you cover stories on traffic deaths, do you lead with “New York City’s Got an Automobile Problem?” You also quote the mayor as saying guns bought in straw purchases from neighboring states have accounted for more than 500 NYC crimes in less than a decade. Let’s say it was over a full decade to make the math easier. That would be 50 crimes per year in a city of more than 10 million people. Most mayors would be bragging about such a tiny percentage. Your inflammatory lead and, in fact, your story selection, are not-too-subtle editorializing on what is supposed to be a straight journalism broadcast. Please label opinion pieces as such and just give me the straight news. Thanks!”
From Annual Report of the United States Commission on Religious Freedom by way of Gandalf23.
“the repressive Saudi government continues to engage in an array of severe violations of human rights as part of its repression of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief. Abuses include: torture and cruel and degrading treatment or punishment imposed by judicial and administrative authorities; prolonged detention without charges and often incommunicado; and blatant denials of the right to liberty and security of the person, including coercive measures aimed at women and the broad jurisdiction of the mutawaa (religious police), whose powers are vaguely defined and exercised in ways that violate the religious freedom of others. ”
This from Dr. WC Douglass
Medicinal Meddling
“It’s intentional that I haven’t written much over the years about marijuana.
For one thing, I could only in good conscience write about it from a medical standpoint. And since it seems like the overwhelming bulk of the dialogue about the drug centers on its political aspects, its medicinal properties – and I’m not saying I’m certain there are such (I’ve seen evidence on both sides) – seem always to take a backseat. Because of this, the subject of marijuana use just hasn’t come up very often in contexts I’ve found it necessary to weigh in on.
“Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, ‘What should be the reward of such sacrifices?’ … If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!” –Samuel Adams
Well, as it turns out, the genius executives at Comedy Central censored Muhammad after having aired it before on the same show. That’s right! On July 4th, 2001, a South Park episode entitled “Super Best Friends” included Muhammad as part of a superhero-like group of representatives from every major religion not only was he aired, but Muhammad had a decently large role.
So, just to recap:
-2001: “Super Best Friends” airs, nothing happens. Later that year, the greatest single attack on the United States is committed, and the country begins its War on Terrorism. (the two are not linked)
-2005: A Danish newspaper prints cartoons featuring images of Muhammad. This leads to riots and violent retalliation.
-2006: Comedy Central refuses to air an image of Muhammad on their network in the name of “public safety.”
In case anyone is unclear, this is exactly what terrorism is supposed to do, use the fear of violent retaliation to cause a population to bow to the wishes of a few radicals.
Terrorists: 1
American civilians with power: 0
After blogging about Comedy Central’s decision to censor South Park, I wrote a letter to the network to voice my concerns. The following is my letter followed by Comedy Central’s response.
“I find it deeply disturbing that the one network that I was convinced was above censorship, the network that allows Carlos Mencia to rant and rag on anyone regardless of race or creed, the network that runs movies and shows COMPLETELY uncensored after hours, has been the first to cowardly bow to the wishes of radical Islam.
What if radical gun owners were to threaten violence because you made fun of Charlton Heston? Would you be willing to fight for the First Amendment? What if radical Christians threatened violence for disgraceful images of Jesus, or God? Would you be willing to fight for the First Amendment? The answer is yes, you would fight for your’s, and everyone else’s for that matter, right to say what you want when you want it. You have not succeeded in preventing violence due to retaliation.
You have only succeeded in destroying Comedy Central’s reputation as the network that IS willing to push buttons. I can only hope that you right your error and re-air the recetnly censored episode of South Park free of any censorship of the images of Muhommad. This and only this will show the people of the world that the Freedom of Speech is more important than a certain group’s radical agenda. Thank You.”