Free kibbles

FREEDOM OF SPEECH:

Many allegedly ordered to leave federal park because of Ron Paul bumper sticker.

STATES RIGHTS:

The feds threaten to shut down all flights into and out of Texas if the state government makes groping people before a flight illegal.

"On May 24, 2011, the Texas Senate read on the floor for the first time HB 1937, which bans the TSA and any other State or Federal Government official from using a “pat-down” without probable cause as a condition for entering an airplane or a public building.Earlier that Tuesday, the US Department of Justice delivered a letter to the Speaker of the House Joe Straus and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst threatening the State of Texas with legal action if they passed this bill:
If HR 1937 were enacted, the federal government would likely seek an emergency stay of the statute. Unless or until such a stay were granted, TSA would likely berequired to cancel any flight or series of flights for which it could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew.
Let’s be absolutely clear here: the Federal Government just threatened to make Texas a no-fly zone if they can’t sexually assault us.
During the hearing, Senator Patrick, one of the Senate bill’s sponsors, defended HB 1937 and denounced the DOJ’s actions as threatening and insulting. Indeed, the Federal Government is not allowed to lobby for legislation in any state, yet here they are not only lobbying but threatening us! Finally, Patrick called this a “Come and Take It” moment in front of the entire Senate."

Sounds like a great speech, but...

"Yet despite his impassioned speech in support of the bill, Senator Patrick withdrew the bill from consideration that evening, not even allowing it to come to a vote."

Just like a politician. Maybe I should give him a break. Maybe his decision was strategic because he realized the bill would not pass at that time. In the mean time, you have the opportunity to send the Texas Senate an email on the subject.

TAX AND SPEND:

Thomas Sowell on the welfare and the poor.

"The poor have been used as human shields behind which the expanding welfare state can advance.The goal is not to keep the poor from starving but to create dependency, because dependency translates into votes for politicians who play Santa Claus.
We have all heard the old saying about how giving a man a fish feeds him for a day, while teaching him to fish feeds him for a lifetime. Independence makes for a healthier society, but dependency is what gets votes for politicians.
For politicians, giving a man a fish every day of his life is the way to keep getting his vote. "Entitlement" is just a fancy word for dependency."

Well said. But it's not just the politicians. The ruling class, banks, corporations, labor bosses and special interests, all make money off of welfare one way or another.

GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY:

Media blaming global warming for tornadoes. Dog bites man.

Fifty-seven percent of Americans won't buy and all-electric car. They want gasoline backup. Part of this is cultural. The other part is the very real problem that if they run out of electricity, they're screwed, and there are few places to charge up.

"Such cars "are very much niche vehicles. They find acceptance among a core group of passionistas, but too many questions remain for mainstream consumers," says Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl. He says consumers worry about range per charge, recharge time and battery replacement cost. Electrics also are priced thousands of dollars more than similar gasoline cars."

Those are big problems. If there was a general market for them, all those things could be overcome, but as gasoline cars become more efficient, which they will in response to rising gas prices, it's hard to see a general market for all-electric cars developing.

POLICE STATE:

British police scramble a helicopter and a riot van to hunt down boy who accidentally kicked his soccer ball through a greenhouse window.

Sheriffs and school administrators carry out armed intruder drill in school without informing students it was a drill.

MISC:

NASA understands that if it wants to shock and awe people with its white elephant riding a column of fire so it can continue receiving more stolen money, don't copyright the picture. From the linked article about copyright:

""The culture of the Internet is this concept of sharing everything. That things belong to us, not to a person," she said. "And they are surprised when someone says, 'You've taken this, it's mine.""

This has nothing to do with the culture of the internet and everything to do with human nature. Copyright is alien to people. People instinctively know that copying is not stealing. Sharing information is natural, communication is natural, and we all benefit from it. As with all government policies, copyright law is forcing something unnatural on us to our detriment.