29 April 2013

Update no.593


Update from the Heartland
No.593
22.4.13 – 28.4.13
Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,

The follow-up news items:
-- The U.S. Justice Department charged 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev [592] with one count of “Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction” [18 U.S.C. §2332a(a)], and one count of “Malicious Destruction of Property Resulting in Death” [18 U.S.C. §844(i)], for his part in the Boston Marathon bombing [591, 592].  The charges carry the death penalty under federal law.  Gut-check-wise, I tend to agree with Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina in that Tsarnaev should be designated an enemy battlefield combatant and subjected to Enhanced Interrogation Techniques [386].  Yet, at the end of the day, I support the administration’s decision to charge him as a common criminal who did an extraordinarily bad thing.  Any links to Islamo-fascists groups appears to be very thin and through his deceased older brother.  Regardless, he deserves to meet the same fate as Timothy McViegh [302].
            Then, we are informed by the amorphous, anonymous, “U.S. officials” that the CIA sought to place Tamerlan Tsarnaev on the terrorism watch list based upon information from the Federal'naya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii (FSB) more than a year ago.  The FSB had reason to believe Tamerlan Tsarnaev was becoming or already was a radicalized Muslim jihadist, and they appropriately alerted “U.S. officials.”  The FBI investigated and apparently found insufficient evidence to substantiate the warning.  I know we must go through these painful convulsions, but they are never pleasant or rewarding.  For all the successes the FBI, DHS, CIA, and local law enforcement have had in the last decade, it only takes one success like the Boston attack to fire up the blame-game, again.  And so it goes.
            According to the Wall Street Journal, a federal judge (as yet unidentified) made the call to advise Dzhokhar of his Miranda rights, even though investigators apparently still wanted to question him further under a public-safety exception.  The so-called public-safety exception was articulated and defined by the Supreme Court in New York v. Quarles [467 U.S. 649 (1984); 12.June.1984] [440] and has been generally interpreted as lasting nominally for 48 hours, which is what apparently triggered the judge to invoke Miranda.  I was not there, but it seems to me the time should have been extended since his ability to communicate was affected by his wounds and medical treatment.  Regardless, what is done is done.  And so it goes.
-- The disaster in West, Texas [592], has been largely overshadowed by the Boston attack.
“The Texas fertilizer plant explosion cannot be forgotten”
by Mike Elk -- OPINION
Washington Post
Published: Tuesday, April 23, 11:40 AM; on-line: Apr 23, 2013 04:40 PM EDT
Elk noted, “The plant had 1,350 times the legally allowed amount of highly explosive ammonium nitrate, yet hadn’t informed the Department of Homeland Security of the danger.  Likewise, the fertilizer plant did not have sprinklers, shut-off valves, fire alarms or legally required blast walls, all of which could have prevented the catastrophic damage done.”  He went on to ask the salient question, “So why did the media choose to cover around the clock a terrorist bombing that killed fewer people and is extremely rare while all but ignoring an industrial explosion that killed more people, is far more common and is far easier to prevent?”  He concluded, “As Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette, who has covered the Upper Big Branch mine explosion more than any other reporter, tweeted, ‘Terrorists want media attention, so we give it to them.  Unsafe industries don’t want media attention — so we give that to them.’”  The West, Texas, disaster may be a simple workplace accident; if so, then I laud Elk’s illumination of the lax safety precautions at such a dangerous plant.  However, I am not yet convinced this was a simple workplace accident.  Ammonium nitrate [NH4NO3] is not intended as an explosive agent, and it does not spontaneously combust; however, as we have seen with the Texas City disaster and the Oklahoma City bombing, it is a readily available material that has explosive properties in a conducive circumstance.  I suspect there is much more to this event than we have been told so far.
-- The charges were dropped against Paul Kevin Curtis of Mississippi, the man arrested last week for the ricin letters [592].  He was released.   Four days later, James Everett Dutschke, 41, of Tupelo, Mississippi, was arrested at his home in connection with the ricin letters, and is expected to be charged and arraigned next week. 
-- The U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) has apparently concluded the Syrian government likely used chemical weapons (sarin) during the ongoing civil war.  In Abu Dhabi, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told reporters, “The U.S. intelligence community assesses with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale.”  No public reconciliation with the British and French intelligence findings [592] was offered, and frankly, we are not likely to gain access to those connections.  Various administration officials have loosely hinted the evidence is not conclusive, thus I suspect we are not likely to see any overt response.

While my opinion regarding the Tsarnaev charging has not yet changed, I do have a few relevant questions for this forum.
            What would our ancestors have done in this situation?  What if an American of German descent carried out an act of sabotage or assassination inside the United States in 1942, on behalf of the German government?  For the lawyers among us, how would that relate to Ex Parte Quirin [317 U.S. 1 (1942); 31.July.1942] [170]?
            The Press has uncovered what appears to be more definitive self-radicalization and jihadist inspiration by Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who in turn apparently convinced his younger brother to participate in their terrible act – “in defense of Islam.”  There is no doubt Dzhokhar was a willing and engaged participant.  The fragmentary information making it to the public domain verges very close to the threshold of being an enemy battlefield combatant.  The FSB alerted the FBI in 2011 that Tamerlan may have been radicalized while on his visit to Dagestan and Chechyna.  The FBI investigated Tamerlan, but found insufficient evidence to warrant further investigation or surveillance.
            As a point of comparison, Herbert Hans Haupt was one of eight defendants in Quirin, and they were German saboteurs in Operation PASTORIUS.  Haupt claimed American citizenship, in that he is similar to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.  The Haupt timeline is perhaps useful and instructive.
17.Jun.1942            Haupt & three PASTORIUS colleagues disembarked Kriegsmarine submarine U-584 and landed Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
27.Jun.1942            Haupt and his parents arrested in Chicago
2.Jul.1942            all eight PASTORIUS saboteurs tried and convicted before secret military tribunal; 6 of 8 including Haupt sentenced to death
29.Jul 1942            Quirin appeal argued before SCOTUS
31.Jul.1942            SCOTUS rejected appeal and confirmed conviction
8.Aug.1942            Haupt & five colleagues executed in Washington, D.C.
In Quirin, the Supremes rejected Haupt’s claim of citizenship in that “. . . by his conduct (he) renounced or abandoned his United States citizenship.”  During World War II, we fought the Wehrmacht, a national military force that was uniformed and identified per the Geneva Convention standards.  The PASTORIOUS agents including self-professed American citizen Herbert Haupt, we neither uniformed nor identified, thus they were consider by law to be spies.  Today’s enemy is neither uniformed nor identified.  How is Dzhokhar Tsarnaev different from Herbert Haupt?  All opinions welcome.
            We are not and never have been at war with Islam.  Likewise, I cannot deny the existence of Islamophobic elements within the citizenry of this Grand Republic.  The Tsarnaev brothers succumbed to the political rhetoric of al-Qa’ida, apparently without questioning the validity of its premise, and they shall realize the consequences of being an enemy of the State. 

Letter to the editor, Wichita Eagle [sent Saturday, 27.April.2013]:
            Driving on the highways and byways of this Grand Republic should be fairly easy and stress free.  We have wide lanes, gentle curves, good signage, long merge lanes, and the majority of surfaces are well maintained.  Unfortunately, it only takes one discourteous, oblivious driver to ruin the daily commute for the rest of us.
            If you have several cars stacked up behind you and a quarter of a mile of open lane ahead of you, move over.
            If other cars are passing you on the right, move over.
            Be aware of what is going on around you.  Check your mirrors!  That is what they are for.
            Kansas State law [KSA §8-1514(b)] states, “. . . any vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic . . . shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic . . . .”  If the above applies to you, you are the slower traffic.  MOVE OVER!
            Good citizenship includes respecting your fellow citizens.  It is not that hard.
            FYI: “keep right” laws apply in most states; see URL:http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html.  If you encounter disrespectful drivers, write to your local newspaper, and if your state does not have a “keep right” law, write to your state legislators.
            Duplication, use and modification of any of the above are encouraged.

The legislative situation regarding the furloughed air traffic controller remains confusing, as we are relegated to information in the public domain only.  I believe Congress passed H.R.1765 to allow the Secretary of Transportation to reallocate funds within the department to maintain the pre-sequester personnel funding for air traffic controllers.  The House passed the bill by a vote of 341-41-0-30(23), and the Senate previously and unanimously passed the bill.  Sequestration began on 28.February.2013, with the mandated US$85B in spending reductions for FY2013 [585].  While Congress apparently did not add more spending, this action sets extraordinarily bad precedent as Congress once again abdicated its responsibility to unilateral Executive action.  I am losing hope that Congress might actually regain its footing and do the job they are constitutionally required to do.

News from the economic front:
-- The EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier has demanded that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke rethink the Feds requirement for banks such as Deutsche Bank and Barclays to hold extra capital in their U.S. operations.  The transatlantic kerfuffle highlights the growing discord between global regulators, whose efforts to protect local taxpayers are raising fears that international finance will be forced to retreat behind national borders.
-- Seven large U.S. financial-services firms said they are scaling back the maximum bonuses awarded to executives who beat their performance targets, implicitly in concession to regulators’ concerns about the size of executive pay and its role in financial industry risk-taking.  The seduction of monstrous, personal, financial gain has been suspected as one of several mechanisms inducing banking executives to take inordinate risk, and collaterally jeopardize the stability of the entire banking system.
-- The Wall Street Journal reported, “GE Capital is cutting off lending to gun shops, as the company rethinks its relationship to firearms amid the fallout from the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.”  This is a double-edged sword, and it cuts quite well both ways.  I do NOT see this little news bit in a positive light.
-- The U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose at an annualized rate of 2.5% in 1Q2013, stronger than the 0.4% rate in 4Q2012, but less than the 3.2% growth rate expected by economists.

Comments and contributions from Update no.592:
“Yes indeedy, quite a week as you say. Please add to that the funeral of our own Margaret Thatcher, probably the most influential British politician since Winston. Certainly the most aggressively determined. She made many enemies but got the job done taking on the miners and newspaper moguls not to mention the land grabbing regime in Argentina and other European leaders.  You may or may not have liked her politics but she was a 'leader'. And leaders we need Cap.”
My response:
            In American vernacular terms, Margaret Thatcher had balls – big brass ones.  She did what had to be done with Argentina in the Falklands.  She was not afraid of controversy and seemed to relish the opportunity.  I did not always agree with her, and I always admired her chutzpah.  Yes, Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven was an extraordinary woman and an exemplary leader.  May God rest her immortal soul.

Another contribution:
“Comment on the timing of the Boston Marathon bombing and the chem plant explosion in West, TX:
‘Once is happenstance,
Twice is coincidence,
Thrice is enemy action.’
“I was inclined to put the West plant explosion to the weakness of the EPA and the extremely lax regulatory and zoning structured in TX.  Having a school that close to a plant?  Then I learned that fire, by itself, should not cause ammonium nitrate to explode. Am interested in the forensics.”
My reply:
            Good point; thus, my inclination in writing.  I am still absorbing as much as I can on all four.  It just struck me in a very odd way that four major events happened in THAT particular week.
            Another good point.  As I recall the history of the Grandcamp disaster, the hold fire had been burning for hours.  The crew was afraid to get down there to fight the fire.  They wanted to flood the hold to extinguish the fire and the captain refused as that would destroy his cargo.  It was a combination of heat, pressure and initiation on pure ammonium nitrate, as I recall.  I suspect the same mechanism in the West explosion; I just don’t know how as yet.  That event remains on my curious list.
            I must add that I thought the assassinations of the Texas DA & DDA were related to the warden assassination – prison white supremacists.  Turns out to be a homicidal malcontent and his accomplice wife.
            Yep, we need to pay attention to these events.

Comment to the Blog:
“The more things change, the more they stay the same. Congress has yet to either effectively regulate guns or competently address mental health issues. There is some possibility we have seen genuine unplanned emotion from Obama, but other than that nothing new. While all that drew attention, the CISPA bill to take away our freedom on the Internet passed the House quietly.
“I am relieved, grateful, and a little surprised that the Kansas Supreme Court saw fit to guard the interests of the children in the same-sex parenting case. At least in this, Kansas is a role model.
“The world economy continues to confuse any and all observers. Transparency and simplicity are appropriate but not likely to occur.”
My response to the Blog:
            Re: gun violence.  Someday Congress and our state legislators will get the message that if they really wish to intercede before Newtown-type tragedies happen, then we must find the means to treat the root cause of these events.
            Re: CISPA.  First, CISPA = Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act [H.R.624] was passed by the House [288-127-0-17(3)], and was sent the Senate and referred to the Intelligence Committee.  There are good and necessary provisions in the bill; however, as with many of these well-intentioned bills, the real threat to our freedom lays in the interpretation by law enforcement and especially by prosecutors.  Nonetheless, the bill has a long way to go, and will be subjected to considerable amendment, most likely.
            Re: Kansas.  We do see glimmers of hope and enlightenment on occasion, here on the Great Plains.
            Re: world economy.  We need a lot more than transparency and simplicity to get us back to stability and growth.  We need banking reform to reduce the likelihood of repeating the collapse of 2008.  Progress by jerks . . . as they say.

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap                        :-)

22 April 2013

Update no.592


Update from the Heartland
No.592
15.4.13 – 21.4.13
Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,

This has been one hellava week!
  • ·      Monday, 15.April – (Boston, Massachusetts) two terrorist bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon
  • ·      Tuesday, 16.April – (Washington, DC) first of the ricin letters intercepted
  • ·      Tuesday, 16.April – (worldwide) American Airlines grounded due to a “computer glitch”
  • ·      Wednesday, 17.April – (West, Texas) fertilizer plant exploded.

I have never been a fan of coincidence.  I know providence, happenstance, accident, acts of God (as we call it in the aviation biz), and such do in fact occur, but to my experience, they are extraordinarily rare.  The more likely scenario involves a failure to connect the dots and to see the real picture.  As events unfolded, rays of clarity began to emerge from the chaos.
            At 14:50 [R] EDT {4:09:43 on the race clock}, the first bomb detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, then 12 seconds later, about 100 m farther up the course, the second device exploded.  Statistics tell us success was inevitable; we have thwarted numerous attacks; we were bound to fail eventually.  So it happened.  My first impression was al-Qa’ida – near simultaneous, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), at a crowded public event.  Then, we learned only three killed, with 183 injured.  The low number of fatalities with so many people in close proximity to ground zero suggested someone other than al-Qa’ida.  In the light of the assassinations of Mark Hasse, Tom Clements and Mike McLelland with his wife Cynthia, I suspected the more likely culprits were anarchists or white supremacists.  The FBI sorted through terabites of video from surveillance and security cameras, as well as individual video files to identify the two persons of interest.  By the end of the week, two ethnic Chechen brothers were tracked down; Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed in a gun-battle, and Dzokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was wounded and captured two days later. So far, based on public information, the bombings appear to be a homegrown terrorist event by disgruntled immigrants. 
            The first of the ricin letters was detected at the suburban congressional mail screening facility, addressed to Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, with others showing up or suspected letters, including on to President Obama.  The attack was eerily similar to the 9/11 and the anthrax attack.  No one has a yet been injured by the chemical agent.  The FBI made quick work of this threat as well, arresting Elvis-impersonator Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, for the terrorist action.
            American Airlines “computer glitch” remains quite the puzzlement.  The last time so many aircraft were grounded by something other than weather was also on 9/11.  I have no idea what exactly caused such a monumental action, and I still do not know.  The actual cause may not be made public for many years, but may have just been lost in the Boston Marathon event and aftermath.  I envisioned a collateral cyber attack to complicate the situation, and might well have involved other airlines not made public. 
            The fertilizer plant fire and explosion in the City of West, Texas, immediately reminded me of the Texas City port disaster of 16.April.1947 [please note the date].  Two ships, the Grandcamp and the High Flyer, were loaded with ammonium nitrate fertilizer intended for devastated Europe.  A fire broke out on the Grandcamp, and the entire ship exploded like a massive bomb.  The High Flyer exploded the next day. The disaster devastated the port and killed 581 people and injured more than 3,000 others.  The West, Texas, event killed at least 14 with several dozen still unaccounted for and injured more than 200.  As of this moment, sources report that investigators have identified ground zero, but not much else.  It is still considered a crime scene, until proven otherwise.
            Since dates have been used as justification or rationale for violent events, I offered some related information.
  • ·      19.April.1775 – Battle of Lexington & Concord
  • ·      20.April.1889 – birthday of Adolf Hitler (neo-Nazis, white supremacists)
  • ·      19.April.1992 – first raid at Ruby Ridge, Idaho (anarchists)
  • ·      19.April.1993 – Branch Davidian raid in Waco, Texas (anarchists)
  • ·      19.April.1995 – Oklahoma City bombing (anarchists)

We could add other dates; however, these should be sufficient to convey my sensitivity to this week on the calendar.
            I spent inordinate amount of time writing, deleting and rewriting as I absorbed information from a myriad of sources.  I have still not disconnected this week’s events, although the weight of public evidence suggests an even more rare of the rare in the realm of coincidence.  Some of the perpetrators have been killed or apprehended, while the investigations into all the events continue.  This has been a very rough week.

The second of the major gun control bills failed to pass the Senate – Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013 (S.649) [591].  The Senate voted 54-46-0-0(0) and failed to achieve the necessary 60 votes to pass in the Senate, despite a compromise, bipartisan amendment sponsored by Senator Joseph “Joe” Manchin III of West Virginia and Senator Patrick Joseph “Pat” Toomey of Pennsylvania.  The proposed legislation broadened the application of background checks for gun purchases.  The Senate did what it should have done, what it had to do.  The legislation offered woefully insufficient protections for the privacy and freedom of peaceful, law-abiding citizens.
            President Obama was not pleased.  Later in the day, the President angrily blasted senators as he pronounced, “the gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill.”  He went on to say, “There were no coherent arguments as to why we wouldn't do this,” and concluded, “All in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington.”
            I shall respectfully disagree, Mister President.  I laud your desire to prevent any future Newtown tragedies; however, legislation like S.150 and S.649 are bandaids on cancerous lesions.  We must find the will to treat the root cause(s) rather than the superficial symptoms of this disease.  I urge you to refocus your rhetoric and influence on the root causes of gun violence and avoid imposing upon the vast majority of good citizens.

In all the excitement of this week, we nearly missed a critical happening related to the civil war in Syria.  Great Britain and France informed the United Nations that they have credible evidence that chemical weapons of mass destruction have been used in Syria, presumably by the government, since they are the only ones who possess such weapons.  The significance rests on the redline drawn by Europe and United States regarding the war.  Previous declarations implied direct military intervention would be warranted if the redline was crossed.  There is no public indication as to whether the West will make good on their threats.  Let us remain vigilant.

Every once in a while, I am pleasantly surprised and reassured that sanity might actually prevail in a state that passed a constitutional amendment to discriminate and deny equal protection under the law to a segment of its law-abiding, peaceful, productive residents.  A few months ago, the Kansas Supreme Court rendered its judgment in the case of Frazier v. Goudschaal [KS SC case no. 103,487 (2013)] – a child custody case.  What makes this particular case of family law noteworthy in this forum, you ask?   Kelly Goudschaal and Marci Frazier, both females, began their relationship in 1995.  The couple decided to start a family, utilizing Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) in the form of artificial insemination.  Their mutual plan involved both women being impregnated, so that they could share a child from each partner.  When Frazier was unable to conceive, they mutually agreed that Goudschaal would bear both children. Before the birth of their first child, Frazier and Goudschaal signed a co-parenting agreement.  In 2002, Goudschaal gave birth to their first daughter; their second daughter was born in 2004.  It is important to note at this juncture in their relationship chronology that the voters of Kansas passed Constitutional Amendment 1 by public referendum in 2006, which prohibited marriage or civil unions for anyone other than a bilateral, heterosexual couple.  By September 2007, the relationship between Frazier and Goudschaal began to unravel, and they were staying in separate bedrooms. In January 2008, Goudschaal moved out of their home, but continued to share parenting responsibilities and maintained equal parenting time with the girls.  However, by the following July, Goudschaal began to decrease Frazier's contact with the girls, allowing her visitation only 1 day each week and every other weekend.  Finally, in October 2008, Goudschaal informed Frazier that she had accepted a new job in Texas and intended to move there with both girls within a week.  Frazier responded by seeking relief in the Johnson County District Court.  The district court found in favor of Frazier.  Goudschaal appealed.  The state supreme court affirmed the district court’s general finding, however the justices were not satisfied that the best interests of the children had been properly addressed and documented as part of the judgment.  The court clearly stated that same-sex couples have the right to define their family as they wish, as long as the best interests of any children involved are protected.  The journey for equal rights continues.

News from the economic front:
-- The People’s Republic of China (PRC) National Bureau of Statistics reported the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the country rose 7.7% in 1Q2013, compared to a year earlier, down from a growth of 7.9% in 4Q2012.
-- A senior Chinese auditor warned that local government debt is “out of control” and could spark a bigger financial crisis than the U.S. housing market crash and banking collapse.  The International Monetary Fund (IMF), rating agencies and investment banks have all raised concerns about Chinese government debt, but it is rare for a quasi-government figure to make such stark comments.
-- The IMF warned that an “uneven recovery is also a dangerous one” for the global economy as it again downgraded its growth forecasts for 2013.
-- The IMF also said, “The global financial crisis could morph into a more chronic phase, marked by a deterioration of financial conditions and recurring bouts of financial instability.”  The IMF voiced its concern with extraordinarily loose monetary policy that risk sparking new and dangerous credit bubbles, which threaten to tip the world back into financial crisis.
-- Japan’s finance ministry announced that exports to U.S. rose 10% to ¥11.4T (US$116B), which means the U.S. has exceeded the PRC as the top importer of Japanese goods for the first time since 2009.
-- Finance ministers from the Group of 20 nations agreed that Japan’s massive monetary easing is needed to boost growth, a sign they are not stepping up pressure on Tokyo over the yen’s recent drop.

Comments from Update no.590:
“A couple notes, the international Arms Trade Treaty you cited, is just that- an international arms trade treaty.  While the NRA is trying to make political hay- (and maximize donations), it does not affect internal domestic trade.  Wayne LaPierre has put himself on the same side as Kim-Jong Un and the Iranian mullahs, if not the Chinese and Russian arms industries.  The ATT is designed to get control over arms trade between countries- of which there is precious little- and to the detriment of U.S. security. And it is to the benefit of U.S. arms makers for that matter, as we have stringent regulations for such trade.  Good question, why is the NRA positioning itself against U.S. arms makers?
“U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Internal Security and Nonproliferation, Thomas Countryman, has stated that the Obama administration only wants to make it more difficult to ‘conduct illicit, illegal and destabilizing transfers of arms.’  In addition, a press release issued by the U.N. Office for Disarmament Affairs said that ‘The outcome will not seek to prohibit citizens of any country from possessing firearms or to interfere with the legal trade in small arms and light weapons.’
“Regarding Dennis Prager, you charitably described him as ‘a writer, theologian, and daily talk show host on KABC Radio.’  I have heard of him and heard and read his articles/shows...I would have to add that he is very conservative and candidly, a bigot against certain religions and races.  In fact, the late former NYC mayor Ed Koch called out Prager as a bigot and called for him to be kicked off the United States Holocaust Memorial Council for Prager's continued criticism of Minnesota Representative Keith Ellis using a Quran for being sworn in (Ellis is a Muslim- and black as well, a two-fer for Prager). The ADL also strongly criticized Prager for that.   He has also made racist comments about blacks and Mexicans on his show, as well as having espoused the view that women should be barefoot, preggers and in the kitchen.  You are more generous than I would be for giving his views on homosexuality a platform.”
My reply:
            With all the excitement this week, I missed your contribution.  Please accept my humble apologies.
            Re: Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).  I do not agree with the NRA being on the same plain as the DPRK or IRI.  As I read the ATT language, it sounds quite like most of the gun control legislation . . . let’s punish or restrain the good folks so the bad people can do their dastardly deeds.  I am all in favor of going after the bad or mentally disturbed guys to prevent them from injuring anyone, but not without protections for good citizens.  Thus, my rejection of S.150 and S.649; we are treating symptoms, not the root cause.
            Please pardon the suspicions of citizens like me who have seen far too much abuse of existing laws by federal, state and local prosecutors.  Every time over-zealous prosecutors do that, they add another link in the chain of resistance.  Why should we trust them with more power?  Intellectually, I want Countryman and the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs to be spot on correct and empowered, but not at the cost of our individual rights.  So, let’s see the protections against political or unwarranted prosecutions, disclosures, defamation and such.
            Re: Prager.  I believe it is vital in democratic public debate, especially within this Grand Republic, to hear the full spectrum of political thought.  Prager’s representation of fundamentalist Judeo-Christian morality is accurate.  His thinking is accepted by a goodly portion of our citizenry.  I do not fear his words, but I do resent and object to those who translate words like his into damnable, oppressive, intrusive laws that violate the fundamental right to privacy of every citizen . . . including Dennis Prager.  I know what he says about homosexuality is flat wrong, for a host of reasons both religious and secular.  Yet, I also believe our resistance of such thinking should be in the power of our argument rather than suppression of his voice.  I am offended by Prager’s opinion, just as I am offended by the vitriol of Adolf Hitler or Grand Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei; there are extremists at both ends of the political spectrum.  We must watch and listen to all of them.

No comments and contributions from Update no.591.

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap                        :-)

16 April 2013

Update no.591


Update from the Heartland
No.591
8.4.13 – 14.4.13
Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,

As you already know, this week’s Update is a smidgen late, and you will soon know it is rather thin, as family deserved priority.  We made the journey down to Austin, Texas, to be inspired by Grandson Judson James and Granddaughter Avalon Mar . . . oh yeah, along with their parents.  ;-)  As an associated but unimportant factoid, we chose to drive through the night both ways – great for minimum stress from the disrespectful drivers, but hard on consciousness the day after; needless to say, we made it home safely.  We watched Judson execute a double play and hit the winning, ‘round-tripper, home run in his T-Ball game on Saturday.  The image of Judson is through the backstop, so not the best, but it sure was fun to watch him.  Avalon is not yet three-years-old, but she is developing into quite the character and personality, and of course a real cutie.
Judson ready for action
[file: Judson ready 130413.jpg]
Avalon Mar
[file: Avalon 130413.jpg]
 Then, Melissa and Tyson treated us to a delightful meal of BBQ chicken – very moist and tasty – and an excellent orzo salad that was to die for (so to speak).  On Sunday, we went to Stubb's BBQ, 801 Red River Street, in downtown Austin for Gospel Brunch.  Great music, great food, fantastic company.  We were fascinated by the drummer – a really big man.
Stubb’s BBQ gospel band
[file: Stubb's 130414.jpg]
Thank you so very much Melissa, Tyson, Judson and Avalon; we had a most enjoyable weekend with y’all.  Thank you also to Trinidad for his extra effort.
Just an FYI: if you are ever in Austin, we recommend the Stubb’s Gospel Brunch, but you definitely need reservations – limited seating, two sittings (11:00 & 13:00), and a very popular local event.

From last week’s treatise by Dennis Prager, we know that Judeo-Christian ideology espouses, nay demands, sexual conduct should only be carried out within the confines of an adult, bilateral, monogamous-for-life, heterosexual marriage – no deviations allowed.  We used to have more laws to enforce that ethos on private conduct, and we still have remnant laws to that effect.  Nonetheless, the moment of conception is defined as the instant in time when the spermatozoa penetrates the membrane of an ovum, otherwise known as fertilization.  My question: How is a woman to know when that moment occurs, so that she does not offend the moral sensitivities of the Judeo-Christian majority?

While the gun control debate continues, Senator Feinstein’s Assault Weapons Ban (S.150) has stalled for a host of reasons, and the Senate has focused its legislative attention on a companion bill – Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013 (S.649) – the universal background check provisions.  The Senate voted [68-31-0-1(0)] to open floor debate on the bill.  I have read the summary but not the full text of the proposed legislation.  I have not yet seen any provisions in the language to protect the privacy of innocent citizens, thus I urge rejection of the bill until proper protections are included.

Another opinion of interest in an important public debate:
“A Conservative Case for Gay Marriage – Is the triumph of an invidious distinction worth the price in unfulfilled or misdirected lives?”
by Bret Stephens
Wall Street Journal
Published: April 8, 2013, 7:14 p.m. ET

Since this Update is late being distributed, I can only note the apparent terrorist bombings in Boston, Massachusetts, that occurred circa 14:50 [R] EDT, Monday, 15.April.2013.  The employment of multiple, near simultaneous, shrapnel-enhanced, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) is a hallmark of al-Qa’ida, although attribution has not been claimed or made as yet.  The lack of significant numbers of fatal causalities suggests an individual, group, or groups other than Islamo-fascists organizations like al-Qa’ida.  I am fairly confident law enforcement will sort this one out and bring the perpetrators to appropriate justice.

News from the economic front:
-- The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) rose 2.1% in March compared to the previous year.  Food price inflation in the PRC fell back to a pace of 2.7%, which had surged to 6% year on year in February.
-- The PRC also reported 1Q2013 trade with the U.S. rose to US$118.2B – 10.8% from a year earlier.  PRC trade with Europe declined, further evidence of an uneven recovery in the global economy.
-- The U.S. Treasury Department acknowledged their active monitoring of Japanese fiscal policies that have pushed down the yen to avoid competitive currency devaluation.   The mechanism is intended to make the country’s exports less expensive in world markets.  The exchange rate sits near a four-year low – near ¥100 = US$1.

Comments and contributions from Update no.590:
“Still following Update.  Have you heard any news re: Soobzokov v. Holder appeal and Aslan Soobzokov's quest for justice for his late Father?
“Also looking forward to next issue and comments re: gun control hearings and meetings.”
My reply:
Phil,
            Glad to know you are still with us.  All contributions welcome.
            No, I’ve not heard from Aslan, and no information available on the 3rd Circuit website.  I will forward your query to Aslan.
            It looks like gun control is the cause de jure.  I’m sure there will be many more opportunities for debate.
{PS: I have not heard from Aslan Soobzokov, as yet.  To the best of my knowledge, his appeal – Soobzokov v. Holder [3CCA no. 11-2858] – has not been heard before the bar.}

Comment to the Blog:
“That article on Judaism’s and Christianity’s rejection of homosexuality and demand that sex be confined to marriage falls short in many ways. First, consider the source. ‘Orthodoxy Today’ is not a scholarly source, as the ensuing load of nonsense demonstrates. I would almost buy as much of the argument as you do, except I study history. The Greek and Roman Empires subscribed to none of that Judeo-Christian morality, as you well know. The Romans (at least the Imperial Court) eventually converted to Christianity, but by that time they had already begun to decline. The “barbarians” put them out of their misery. The Jews were a conquered people and remained that most of the time until the United Nations finally granted them Israel. I cannot subscribe to the notion that their specific morality somehow gave rise to what Prager sees as civilization. How, then, does Prager explain China’s and India’s empires or the modern-day success of Japan? I find his assumption that Judeo-Christian religions are ‘higher’ religion offensive, as I do his dismissal of others’ sacred sexual practices. Prager’s article is ranting, not reasoning.
“Wehner’s article encouraging the Republicans to oppose drug legalization seems intended as a strategy point rather than a real discussion about drugs. He gives all the same claims I have been hearing for decades about the damage he says drugs do, but does not offer any evidence for success of the same old strategy that goes back to Lyndon Johnson. If Wehner intends to influence Republican strategy, as I believe he does, he ignores the tide of public opinion. The primary people who favor continuing the ‘war’ on drug users are those who make money on it: people who operate private prisons and public agencies pursuing, prosecuting or imprisoning users. We cannot know whether the criminals currently controlling the markets for illicit drugs financially support their continued prohibition, but they would not be breaking new ground if they did. Al Capone was a major supporter of the Prohibition against alcohol, and that paid off very well for him.
"'The Politics of Roe v Wade and Gay Marriage' is a good article. I share the position that individual freedom is the central point of this discussion.
"As you may have noticed, I do not support warrantless surveillance. FISA, the so-called PATRIOT Act and anything else that gives the government unrestrained control over the lives of Americans is just simply wrong.
"I do not know how you can call the Central Bank of Cyprus’s decision 'slow death.'  There’s no reason to believe it will be prolonged.
"The US 'stress test' a few years ago was widely criticized and had no concrete results."
My response to the Blog:
Calvin,
            Re: Prager.  I believe he used the term “Western civilization,” which can be generally thought of a Euro-centric and would thus exclude the Eastern civilizations of Japan, China and India.  We are agreed; the fall of the Greek and Roman empires came on reasons far broader than hedonism.
            Re: Wehner.  Yes, precisely; his suggestion is a proposed political strategy to differentiate the Republican Party from the other political parties.  He clearly does not understand or even comprehend the demand for use of psychotropic substances or the criminal sub-culture that feeds that demand.  I would not be surprised in the slightest that the drug lords and their production/distribution infrastructure encourages and supports continued prohibition – it is their business.  Regulation of the drug trade would almost overnight supersede their business.
            Re: individual freedom.  Sadly, the Republican Party appears to have been blinded by the conservative religious right and the dictation of their moral oppression, which has made them incapable of appreciating the essence of individual freedom.  The Republicans have garnered sufficient majority in Congress and shamed/coerced enough Democrats to pass the myriad of morality laws attempting to prohibit private conduct.  They have created a massive government bureaucracy and deeply intrusive laws to enforce their professed morality, and then they spit epithets at Democrats (actually, anyone who does not agree with them) about being tax & spend liberals, socialists and worse.  Even sadder for me personally, there was a time when I swallowed that bitter pill.  So, I say let them adopt Wehner’s proposal and continue to fantasize about a nation at their mercy and dictation.  Virtually all of the morality topics – drugs, abortion, prostitution, gambling, non-heterosexuality, et cetera – are simply and solely about individual freedom versus the oppression of a moralistic majority.
            Re: warrantless surveillance.  In general, I agree; warrantless surveillance is the antithesis of the freedoms we cherish.  Yet, in the War on Islamic Fascism, the enemy has effectively used our commitment to freedom and the restraint of government.  While I am quite uneasy with the extraordinary power FISA, PATRIOT and other laws have given the Federales, and even more so the known abuses, I think they must have those tools to wage war successfully.  The laws should be amended to insulate the intelligence apparatus from the law enforcement and political systems; it is simply too easy, and way too tempting to use war information for political gain, as I believe we witnessed in the Elliot Spitzer travesty.
            Re: Central Bank of Cyprus.  Slow is a relative term . . . as compared to what?  They could prolong it as long as their captured funds last, or until the EU/ECB inject significant funds.  Generally, banks do not survive long with really angry, betrayed customers.
            Re: stress test.  Perhaps, but that is a matter of perspective and opinion.  Regardless, the necessary banking industry reform that is needed has not occurred for a host of largely political reasons.
Cheers,
Cap

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap                        :-)