Carpenter’s song

Toes got to tappin’ over this little ditty over at the Jawa. Too bad for the outcome though.

Wiretapping laws examined…

The Washington Examiner looks at a video by the Cato Institute regarding the legality of private citizens recording video of police during arrests and the high value of such recordings.

via Drudge

Constitutional Law .vs. Case Law

Ed Morrissey brought this little piece to Hot Air this morning regarding Freedom of Speech and whether Pastor Jones had any right to burn a Koran. Definitely worth a read.

Reardon Metal on Allocation

Where have I read this before?

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County is suing a local farmer for growing too many vegetables, but he said he will fight the charges in the ongoing battle neighbors call “Cabbagegate.”Fig trees, broccoli and cabbages are among the many greens that line the soil on Steve Miller’s more than two acres in Clarkston, who said he has spent fifteen years growing crops to give away and sell at local farmers market.

Obviously this man was paid a visit from enforcers of the Equalization of Opportunity bill.

It’s a way of life, like it’s something in my blood,” said Miller.In January, Dekalb County code enforcement officers began ticketing him for growing too many crops for the zoning and having unpermitted employees on site.Miller stopped growing vegetables this summer and the charges were put on hold as he got the property rezoned.

Two weeks after approval, however, his attorney said the county began prosecuting the old charges, saying he was technically in violation before the rezoning.“It should go away. I think it borders on harassment,” said Miller’s attorney Doug Dillard.Miller faces nearly $5,000 in fines, but he said he plans to fight those citations in recorders court later this month.A county spokesperson said officials can’t discuss the matter while it is in court, but neighbors were quick to come to his defense.“When he moved here and I found out what he was doing I said, ‘Steve, you’re the best thing that ever happened to Cimarron Drive. And I still say that,” said neighbor Britt Fayssoux.

Maybe he should just burn his little farm to the ground, put a sign on the fencepost, and disappear.

Oh well, who is John Galt?

History Revisited

First off, if there are any readers (all one of you) you may have noticed that the appearance has been jogged around a bit today. I was trying to acquire something a little closer to my design idea, but the theme I tried out today evidently decides on it’s own to drop my blog roll once in a while. If the blog roll came back, then it would drop my RSS feed. Guess this one will have to do for now.

Very few may remember that I used to host a blog called ‘A Black And White World’. I had a lot of fun on that site and to an extent, enjoyed the learning curve a bit. The talk of the day was strictly politics, and I had a bunch of ideas and opinions that I had to get out of my head, rather than let my head explode due to the rot of rage and contempt I felt. The blog was a great outlet.

Then someone came along that commanded everyone’s attention. Her name was Terri Schiavo. Yeah, that haunt of a story. I, as well as others, had very strong opinions on the matter, and as was what I felt to be my duty, I put thought and argument to keyboard. It didn’t take long to find myself on the battlefield, in the thick of the war of public opinion. Things got hot. I carried the fight with me to work, family functions, household discussions, everywhere.

As the final week of Terri’s life ticked away, I started getting heavy comments from someone claiming to be an attorney in the area of Florida she was in. His claim was that he actually did some of the leg work for the legal proceedings in favor of pulling the plug. He wanted to pick a fight. I obliged.

The conversations that ensued had me fit to be tied. First of all,  if he wasn’t an attorney, he sure argued his case like one. Second of all, sometimes the way I see things makes such perfect sense, I really can’t understand how the other party doesn’t understand it. But I guess that this would describe the way I feel about everything I put energy into discussiing. And after a while, you start to even physically feel like you just spent your entire evening banging your head against a brick wall, like a boxing match with endless, countless, merciless rounds. This type of round robin continued even after the plug was pulled.

Then, the last breath was taken, the worth in the fight dissipated, and just like that, everything came to a screeching halt and an ear shattering silence. At that point, I was spent. I had nothing left. I wasn’t even sure as to whether or not I had just wasted a major chunk of my time and effort in a battle to which my voice would provide no assist.

I tried to post for a couple of days, tried to readjust my focus, but the reality was that my heart was not in it anymore. At least not for the time being.  I tried to jumpstart a couple of blogs, but whatever sparks I threw at the kindling, I could not fan the flames for trying.

I guess it would have lent more to the story to mention that at the peak of ‘A Black And White World’ I was also writing an article for the local conservative monthly rag ‘The Republic’. (They have since folded but have also reemerged as a magazine called The CABPRO Newsletter.) I even stopped writing for them at that point.

As of the last three years, since the beginning of the election immaculation cycle, I have found my voice starting to seek an outlet again. I have had alot to say, whether I was preaching to the choir or just plain picking a fight. But it just has not quite been the same. That is why, after about a month of deep thought on the matter, I have resurrected one of my old reattempt blogs into what you see here. I have some things to get off my chest. But the challenge here is to try to be a little more a)objective and b) not so quick to rage. In trying to follow a direction tighter with my faith, and in an attempt to not look like an utter hypocrite, I know that this is going to be exactly that…a major challenge.

But rest assured… I mean to say what’s on my mind, and to conform my argument to what makes sense to me.

By the way…Hello again TC.

And the melee ensues…

Pastor Jones may not have burned the stack of Korans on this hallowed day, but the idea was indeed viral…

Scanning the Drudge Report this evening we find some doins‘ over at the site of the proposed ground zero mosque. Frankly, I’m a little surprised that someone hasn’t done this already at ground zero at any point since the 9/11 attack.

Then, in Tennessee, we have two Christian pastors having that afternoon BBQ to ring in the Patriot Day weekend.

and how did that venerable religion of peace respond?

By showing all the love and forgiveness their faith requires them to have.

Well, the only thing I decided to put heat to was a chicken on the rotisserie. I think that’s pretty safe. No protests outside from anyone other than my cats.

And in the courts yesterday…

On ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’…

JUDGE RULES ‘DON’T ASK, DON‘T TELL’ UNCONSTITUTIONAL

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge in Southern California on Thursday declared the U.S. military’s ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips granted a request for an injunction halting the government’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for gays in the military.

Phillips said the policy doesn’t help military readiness and instead has a “direct and deleterious effect” on the armed services.

The lawsuit was the biggest legal test of the law in recent years and came amid promises by President Barack Obama that he will work to repeal the policy.

Government lawyers argued Phillips lacked the authority to issue a nationwide injunction and the issue should be decided by Congress.

The injunction was sought by the Log Cabin Republicans, a 19,000-member group that includes current and former military members.

Government lawyers argued that Phillips lacked the authority to issue a nationwide injunction and Congress should decide the policy’s fate.

Something about the name ‘Log Cabin Republicans’ has always struck me as a wee bit odd.

Now for the battle against illegal immigration…

Pa. mayor to take immigration law to Supreme Court

HAZLETON, Pa. – A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Hazleton, Pa., may not enforce its crackdown on illegal immigrants, dealing another blow to 4-year-old regulations that inspired similar measures around the country. The city’s mayor pledged to take the case to the Supreme Court.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said that Hazleton’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act usurped the federal government’s exclusive power to regulate immigration.

“It is … not our job to sit in judgment of whether state and local frustration about federal immigration policy is warranted. We are, however, required to intervene when states and localities directly undermine the federal objectives embodied in statutes enacted by Congress,” wrote Chief Judge Theodore McKee.

I find this somewhat bothersome. The arrogance of the current administration has pushed many states to reclaim and exercise their tenth amendment rights. The tongue-lashing response from the feds on this has led me to believe that they currently want the states to enforce federal law over state law. If this is the case, would it not stand to reason that the best enforcement of federal immigration law would be conducted by the states, thereby saving federal resources for other pressing issues? Or am I just suffering from delusions of my own Constitutional Utopian Dream?

Oh well, who is John Galt?

Article excerpts courtesy of The Blaze and Drudge