With liberty and justice for all . . .

I have some libertarian leanings.  The IRS already knows me pretty well so I think it is safe for me to use the word "libertarian."   An IRS official, Lois Lerner (not a Superman character) said Friday that the IRS had used search methods that would have been directed at politically conservative 501(c)(4) groups.

When it comes to constitutional freedoms, I am somewhat libertarian. I am glad the rest of the country is waking up. Finally.  It is reprehensible and indefensible for an individual or group to be investigated simply because of their political or religious beliefs, or perhaps because they dress or look different than the rest of us. (Let's face it, the tea party has spiced things up a little with their public antics).

It is a horrible un-American thing for a person or group to be picked out and suffer the intrusion of the government for no articulated reason other than who they are or what they believe or who they associate with or the fact that some wing nut crazy who believes the same thing or looks or talks the same way does something crazy.  It is not right.  Not in this country.

So now maybe we can get some unity on this issue.

Being a black man must no longer be sufficient reason to stop and frisk..

Being Hispanic must not be sufficient grounds for reasonable suspicion or probable cause.

Being a Muslim must not be a reason to be investigated or suspected of terrorism.

And certainly, being of a particular political persuasion should not make you more likely to be scrutinized by the IRS.

Whoever is responsible for any and all these un-American activities should be fired and such actions should never be tolerated.

Seriously.

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Thurvey 5/9/2013: Spring cleaning

News outlets of all kinds are exploding like the weeds in my yard with opinions on the important and less important issues of the day.  Spring is the time when the sap rises, when it it difficult to contain what has been held inside, dormant, bubbling beneath the surface during the long winter months. Fortunately it is Thursday.  So to offer a civil outlet for expression of blooming opinion and spreading of needed fertilizer, here is the Thursday survey . . . the Thurvey.  Send the world a bouquet of wisdom by entering your responses as a comment to this post.

1.  Continuing the spring motif,  dandelions, wild onion, poison oak and a variety of other pesky weeds, vines and bushes are thriving after the rains of the past few days.  Which is your nemesis and what is your most satisfying remedy?   For the more advanced Thurveyer I offer this challenge:   Compare the political  or press public figure of your choice to the pesky weed of your choice and explain the correlation.

2.  Alabama PSC President Twinkle Cavanaugh says environmental activists "have never done a hard day's work or hit a lick at a snake in their lives."   She said this in response to environmental groups insistence on transparency in the Alabama Public Service Commission's oversight of Alabama Power's rates and practices.  While it is true that an environmental activist would probably be less likely to literally  hit a lick at a snake, I don't think that is what she was trying to infer.  What is your opinion on Twinkle, how she is doing as PSC chair? How about environmentalists industriousness? or snakes?

3.  There is nothing more spring like than kicking back at a baseball game, eating a hot dog, and cheering for the home team.  Apparently folks in Birmingham agree as attendance at the Baron's new home at Region field has one of the best attendance records in the minor leagues so far this season.  What do you like about going to a baseball game, or to Regions field?  Tell your favorite baseball game story if you wish.

4.  There was a bill before the Alabama legislature to set up an Alabama Space Port Authority to insure Alabama's already substantial position in the aerospace industry.  Unfortunately I have not read the bill, but I like the sound of it.  What would you envision to be included and featured at the Alabama Space Port?  Use your imagination.

5.  Congress recently approved increasing the budget to assure that there would be no delays in airline flights due to airport staff shortages.  If you could choose one or two more specific things to exempt from the effects of sequestration, what would they be?

6.  Like it or not, it is time for spring cleaning.  What will be the priority at your house?  How about in D. C. or Montgomery?  What would you say is the priority for spring cleaning there?  Would you use the broom, a fresh coat of paint, simply reorganize, or some other instrument or method?  

7.  What question of your own do you want answered this week?

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Lighter side of the news . . .

There are a lot of important news stories to keep up with.  The following are not those stories.  But, I like them nonetheless.

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey has become a role model for other governors around the country.  In such hard economic times as these governors have had to find ways to cut the fat, tighten the belt, cut out the pork.

Governor Christie opted for lap band surgery, he announced today, in an effort to lose weight. The procedure reduces the capacity of the stomach by restricting it with a silicone band.  

The expanding size of the big governor will be arrested and ultimately shrunk by reducing the amount he takes in. A personal commitment to governor downsizing. Personification of conservatism.

Looks like he wants to run in the 2k16 race for the White House.  Fat chance?  Chances are thin?  Heavy favorite?  Political Lightweight?  We'll see.

In other news, libertarian radio talk show host Adam Kokesh has organized a march on Washington, D. C. for July 4th.  The only requirement for marching is carrying a loaded firearm.  What could possibly go wrong?  Kokesh says he has already received commitments from over a thousand people to participate in the Independence Day event. Giving assurances that the march will be absolutely non-violent, even in the face of arrests by local authorities, Kokesh said it would be safe, but on the other hand, he couldn't guarantee the behavior of that many people. Something could happen.  That's just life in America, according to Kokesh.   He did promise, however, that the event will be "well choreographed."

So dance, cowboy, dance. (not a reference to a form of a popular form of line dancing, but rather a reference to old cowboy movies in which the bad guy would shoot at the feet of some meek bit actor's feet and demand "dance, cowboy, dance." as Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny demonstrate here)

And finally, we all should hope, the infamous Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church, known for picketing hatefully at the funerals of American soldiers and pronouncing God's judgment on the evil-doers of the world, has announced a visit to the University of Alabama campus on May 18, claiming that the campus is an evil place, evidenced by the tragic tornadoes sent by God two years ago.   I'm not sure they understand how hard it can be to stand out on the strip.  Or how empty that place gets after finals. It will look like the rapture has come. Okay, it is up for debate whether the rapture will make that much difference on the UA campus population.  But whatever the case,  I am sure the Bama Nation will welcome Westboro appropriately.  Tuscaloosa's white picket fences as a backdrop for Westboro's insane picket lines.  They just think their picket line is offensive.  It would be nice for them to meet a real offensive line.  .  . 

  I doubt that this is an appointment they should keep. 

  I suggest that they schedule their next protest in Washington D. C. on July 4th.

What a great country to live in.  

Seriously.

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Of dogs and gopher barks, and reading the signs

Saturday. Sofa. Coffee.

I am pondering this morning whether I could substitute privet for gopher wood.  I have plenty of it piled up around the yard unless it has been swept down the hill in the raging waters coming off the mountain.  Probably a little too late to do the cubit measurements for an ark, so I guess I'll just stay on the sofa, drink coffee, write, and listen to the rain.

Actually I was up early this morning to restrain some dogs before the Hometown Heroes Run through downtown Oneonta got started. While I doubt that these particular dogs would have felt strongly enough about the runners to brave the rains (they are no longer young pups) you never know.  If there is anything worse than a barking dog chasing you, it is a rain-soaked, smelly barking dog. So while I didn't actually run in the race, I got up early to make the path easier for those who did.  So I had to come home and rest.

Yesterday I made my way up Shuff's mountain, along what was to be today's Hometown Heroes Run  route,  to feed these same dogs.  I was driving, not running.   It had been a long, rather stressful week, and my mind had yet geared down.  About half way up the mountain something on the side of the road caught my eye.  It was a white sign staked into the ground, as if it had just been placed for me to see.  It said,

"Give Up"

Well that was a fine how do you do.  What kind of sign was that to put on the side of a road on a Friday afternoon of a long, stressful week?    I was perplexed for a moment.  What was I supposed to give up?  Or what was I supposed to give up on?  How does the sign know I should give up?  But then I arrived at the dogs' house (and their overseer, the cat), and I didn't think much more about the sign. 

So this morning was dark, grey, raining, cold and dark when I got up to go corral the dogs (the cat never chases runners).  I was not yet de-stressed from the week, and, in fact, was already pre-stressing a little about next week.   I had just punched the accelerator of the Prius to power up Shuff's Mountain again when something on the side of the road caught my eye.  It was a white sign, staked into the ground, as if it had just been placed there for me to see.  It said,

"Never."

Dang.  It was like there was a negative sign troll living in the vines below the road, attacking the emotional health and ego of all who might pass.

What a pathetic message to start a miserable morning.

Then very quickly, something else caught my eye.  Another sign.  Oh great.  It said,

"Never."

A real double negative.  But before I could begin to be more dismayed, something else caught my eye. Another sign.

"Give up."

A second passed while my processor was buffering the download.

"Never."       

"Never."

"Give up."

"Never."   "Never."   "Give up."

"Never, never give up."

Well now, that's completely different.

Of course, the signs had been placed in order along the right of way a hundred or so feet apart, to encourage the runners as they attacked the steep, lengthy slope of Shuff Mountain.  "Never, never give up."  They were at perfect places and spaces to be seen by those who were truly running the journey, not cheaters like me  driving swiftly by, in Priuses, or Priae, whatever . . .

The complete message was revealed only to those who continued the difficult journey to the mountaintop. 

That's all from the sofa this morning.

Gotta run .  .  .