Update from the Heartland
No.597
20.5.13 – 26.5.13
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- The Internal Revenue Service, Director of Exempt
Organizations Lois G. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination
as she was called to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee. The unfolding
multi-pronged investigation into the IRS’s targeting of conservative political
groups [596] has not offered
reassurance to citizens of this Grand Republic. Lerner’s refusal to testify was not a good sign for the
integrity and impartiality of our federal government. However, I must say, it is her constitutional right, and she
may be concerned about other threats in her life such as retribution from her
colleagues within the government.
Some opposition politicians have called for a special prosecutor. While the issue may not affect most of
us directly, it should give us all a chill – when will the government decide to
turn the powerful instruments of the State on us?
-- President Obama announced major changes in the War on
Islamic Fascism [152 & sub],
including new, more restrictive, guidelines for drone strikes, the transfer of
battlefield combatant detainees from the Guantánamo facility to places unknown,
and other measures to soften our public image. If the President was intent upon these changes in this war, I
would have preferred no public announcement that has the collateral
notification for our enemies. Regardless,
we have what we have; we move on to do the best we can with the cards we are
dealt.
What should have never happened as a
local criminal investigation in Sebastian, Florida, just north of Vero Beach, has
become a national cause du jour. Kaitlyn Ashley Hunt, 18, a senior
student at Sebastian River High School, was arrested on 16.February.2013 at
20:15 [R] EST, and was charged with two counts of “lewd and lascivious battery
of a child 12 to 16 years of age” for her relationship with a 14-year-old,
female, freshman student. Both
girls were members of the school’s girl’s basketball team. In addition to being charged with a
serious crime by the law, she was expelled from high school for reasons not yet
clear, but surely not for being accused of sexual child abuse.
I
have not yet found the exact content of the accusations made against Kaitlyn
that brought the criminal charges.
Various Press sources offered meager glimpses. The best image I can derive from the smattering of news
renditions indicate the younger girl’s parents, or at least her father, Jim
Smith, objected to the relationship between the two girls and accused Kaitlyn
of seducing and subverting their daughter into a life of homosexual
debauchery. They apparently
attempted to warn Kaitlyn away from their daughter and sought remedy by the law
as a choice of “last resort.”
Kaitlyn’s
parents, Kelley Hunt Smith and Jim Hunt, are not pleased with what has happened
to their daughter. They have begun
a campaign to defend their daughter and clear her name.
This
case is reminiscent of the Genarlow
Wilson v. State of Georgia [SC
GA S07A1606 (26.October.2007)] [307], although the Wilson case dealt with a minor
female and adult male with a two-year age difference. My opinion of such cases has not
changed.
In
the light of such cases, we must ask ourselves what is the purpose of these
laws and are they still relevant in contemporary society? I understand the law. There are examples where even the
minimalist interpretation of the law is warranted, justified and appropriate;
there are in fact adult sex predators who violate the person of minor
children. Is the Hunt case really
one of those cases? Although
somewhat mitigated over time, these sex laws have been around for decades (a
few centuries, if we expand the definition slightly). In the United States, they appear to be a genesis back to
the Victorian-Comstock morality era, where a willful minority (some might claim
majority) codified Judeo-Christian sexual morality for all citizens, regardless
of their religious, personal or private beliefs. The central premise in this particular instance rests upon
the fundamental principle of Judeo-Christian morality that sex is permissible
only within a sanctioned marriage and for procreation only, with marriage being
narrowly defined as adult, heterosexual, bilateral, monogamous-for-life and
happily-ever-after. Under that
ethos, children (under 18yo) are incapable of making rational decisions regarding
anything sexual. The notion of a
post-pubescent child being sexual is beyond comprehension or imagination. From my perspective, the younger girl’s
parents in the Hunt case failed to teach their child properly, and they found a
prosecutor to do their job from them.
There is not one sliver, hint, suggestion or modicum of anything other
than a purely consensual relationship between the two girls, and further I can
find not one bit of evidence that their relationship was even sexual. If there is any good to come from this
disappointing case, beyond clearing Kaitlyn’s good name, perhaps it might be
the reformation of these damnable sex laws to take a more enlightened approach
to all matters sexual. The only
charges that should have come from this should be for the failure of the
younger girl’s parents to properly teach and supervise their child. We must stop using the law to mask bad
parenting. Destroying another
girl’s life with antiquated laws is wrong, and those parents should be
condemned for what they have done.
If I choose a strict, fundamentalist approach to sex and I choose to instill
those beliefs in my children, my decision is between my children and me, and is
not a matter of State interest. I
should not expect or attempt to impose my beliefs on anyone else and especially
anyone else’s child.
An immigration reform bill has cleared
the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 13-5 – S.744, provisionally titled
the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization
Act. The language in the bill at
this stage of the process appears to be fairly balanced and apparently has bipartisan
although not unanimous support.
The bill has cleared only one critical Senate committee and still has a
long way to complete the legislative process. We need to keep an eye on this one as it evolves.
News from the economic front:
-- The Bank of Japan decided to hold its monetary policy
steady with signs the nation’s economic conditions are improving. The board feels the huge stimulus
unveiled in April will be enough to spur price gains in the world’s
third-largest economy.
-- Preliminary data from HSBC indicates the PRC’s Manufacturing
Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to a seven-month low of 49.6 in May,
signaling a contraction in activity. The gauge of nationwide manufacturing
activity was down from a final reading of 50.4 in April.
Comments
and contributions from Update no.595:
“Seeing the morning-after pill as a sane response to rape
involves the fact that rape victims feel an irrational guilt about what
happened. The morning-after pill gives them a way to prevent a horrendous
potential consequence without having to tell what happened if they are not
ready to do that. In some of the more backward states, even successful
prosecution may not be sufficient to allow ending a pregnancy so that the
morning-after pill is the only option.
“I hear repeatedly from certain quarters the notion that ‘they’
want to ‘take our guns away.’ Not so, except in the case of a felon who said
that to me. He is already prohibited from owning firearms in this state.
“Detecting ‘bad men’ by personal judgment fails for the same
reason as the statement that, ‘I cannot define pornography but I know it when I
see it.’ Neither of those is a sound foundation for asserting one's personal
taste and judgment as a matter of law. Society's decision to take harmful
actions toward a person or group demands a very clear definition of the offense
and a clear demonstration of harm to a person, property or institutions.”
My response:
Yes,
in many cases, not just rape, the morning-after pill may be the only choice to prevent
an unwanted pregnancy.
Unfortunately, the morning-after pill, like all contraceptives including
conventional birth control pills, condoms, IUDs, and such, gets caught up in
the wider debate at the root of the abortion debate; fundamentalist Judeo-Christian
morality clearly states that sex is only permitted within an adult,
heterosexual, monogamous marriage, for procreation only. Thus, anything that deviates from that
narrow morality is wrong, sinful, and to be condemned as unnatural, immoral,
perverted and otherwise abhorrent.
What’s worse, for decades, they enforced that morality with the law.
Part
of the root cause in the firearms debate is distrust of government. Some folks trust government inherently;
others do not. Taken from a broad
perspective, the genesis of this Grand Republic and the founding documents of
our governance reflect that inherent distrust of government from the beginning. I am not so sure all felons should be
prohibited from possessing firearms, but I most assuredly support the strict
prohibition for violent felons or those who have used firearms in committing a
felonious crime. So, there is no
disagreement regarding violent felons.
The challenge for us is all the rest of us law-abiding, peaceful,
respectful and productive citizens.
Re:
bad men. You are, of course, spot
on, which is my point precisely for the social constabulary . . . not law
enforcement, not social worker, but in between. Some folks believe the side of the road is their ashtray and
rubbish bin. If we accept that,
then we have defined good and bad.
I do not want the State imposing itself in private matters, but
littering or potentially violent anti-social behavior is in the public domain,
and it is up to us to define acceptable.
One person should not and cannot be a matter of law. But, I do believe most of us would
agree with what is acceptable public conduct, thus what is good and bad.
Comments
and contributions from Update no.596:
“Must confess, thought of you all this morning when the BBC
ran the dreadful news item on the tornado damage to the school and homes in
Oklahoma. Not certain of my geography here but you obviously suffered from the
same system. I don't understand, if all have access to some form of 'storm shelter'
why weren't all safely tucked away? Especially those school children.
“Or am I being too simplistic?
“Our sympathies go to all our American cousins who are
suffering after this dreadful event.”
My reply:
Yes,
same weather system, but different event.
The problem in Moore was, many folks did not have structural shelters .
. . apparently the ground is rocky or safe rooms are too expensive. Unfortunately, school was still in
session. Fate is a hunter. And so it goes on the Great Plains.
Comment to the Blog:
“As I write this on Tuesday, May 21, 2013, another day has
passed since your posting. Since then, I am well aware of the extreme and
horrendous EF-5 tornado at Moore, Oklahoma. I hope that all and sundry in your
part of the country have or acquire strong shelter.
“I applaud your addition of e-books to your publication
avenues. I have a Kindle Keyboard with a couple hundred books on it. I do
almost all of my reading on that device because of its e-ink screen. I can only
work or read on other screens for a limited time before eyestrain sets in, but
I can read the e-ink screens as long as paper. In fact, I can go longer if the
paper version has a poor font. I can change the e-ink font size to suit myself.
“The IRS bumble concerns me only in that a particular
political viewpoint was apparently targeted. While much of the Tea Party
outlook seems fear-based, irrational and repugnant to me, we must protect their
right to free speech and a free press. None are free unless all are free. I
share your dislike of tax breaks for political organizations in general, but
with a stipulation that this nation would benefit from transparency in election
financing generally.
“I have already sent a further response to our discussion of
last week’s blog post. I will allow that one to stand on its own.”
My response to the
Blog:
Thank
you for your kind words. Yes, all
members of the Wichita portion of our clan have good basements for shelter in
such storms. The Austin branch
does not, but they have a good plan.
Frankly,
I am rather fascinated by the whole eBook phenomenon. I am still learning.
For those of us not named Hillary or Bill, or Barack or Michelle, it
offers a means to reach readers with our work. I have high hopes.
With Jeanne’s encouragement and the prospects & potential of eBooks,
I am eager to return to books and those characters. I am impressed with the flexibility and utility of eBooks.
This
whole IRS kerfuffle is sad on many levels, not least of which is feeding the
distrust of government held by too many in this Grand Republic. If this becomes the catalysts for tax
reform, then perhaps some genuine good can come from it. We shall see.
. . . follow-up comment:
“I'm glad you and yours are safe. Here at the northeastern
edge of the tornado zone, most housing has basements. I know that does not
prevail everywhere, and many apartment-dwellers have no safe place. Mobile home
parks here rarely have any shelter from extreme weather.
“For ‘simple’ reading, I will be sticking to ebooks most of
the time. In certain categories, such as instructional materials where graphics
matter and I tend to go back and forth between sections or pages, paper remains
my first choice, and other applications will probably call for printed books.
In general, though, I favor the extreme portability (200 books in one hand) and
lower prices of ebooks.
“The IRS mess continues. An IRS official has invoked the Fifth Amendment,
which most readers will know protects citizens from self-incrimination. To me,
that action states that criminal (incriminating) acts are involved. What
concerns me even more is the seizure of Associated Press phone and other
information. Freedom of the press is an absolute necessity to a free nation.
“The notion of tax reform still makes a great rallying cry,
but real fairness and clarity are unlikely to occur so long as politicians
depend on large campaign donors.”
. . . my follow-up reply:
Yeah,
the benefits far outweigh the detractors with eBooks over print books. Interacting with tabular or graphical
data is one example of when print is better, but most books I read don’t have
that part.
Invoking
your 5th
Amendment rights does not imply criminal conduct. I would invoke my rights if I thought I
was being used or set up as a scapegoat.
The 5th Amendment, as with other amendments, are to protect citizens
against the power of the State.
I
certainly share your apprehension regarding the chilling effect on freedom of
the Press with respect to the AP phone records.
Yes,
there are many obstacles to meaningful tax reform. Hidden campaign donations are one of many of those
obstacles. Illuminating abuse is
at least one stimulant. So much of
tax law is just wrong.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
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