NFL PICKS

Week 16: Straight Up 10-6 vs. Line 8-6-2
Season: Straight Up 153-87 vs. Line 116-118-6

WEEK 17

@San Diego -11 Denver
SD/SD

NY Giants -7.5 @Oakland
NYG/OAK

@Indianapolis -7 Arizona
IND/IND

Baltimore -3 @Cleveland
BAL/BAL

@Green Bay -4.5 Seattle
GB/GB

Buffalo -1.5 NY Jets
BUF/BUF

Carolina -3.5 @Atlanta
ATL/ATL

@Kansas City -7.5 Cincinnati
KC/CIN

Pittsburgh -13.5 @Detroit
PIT/PIT

@New England -5.5 Miami
NE/NE

@Tampa Bay -13.5 New Orleans
TB/TB

Houston -1 @San Francisco
SF/SF

@Jacksonville -4 Tennessee
JAX/JAX

@Minnesota -4.5 Chicago
MIN/CHI

Washington -7.5 @Philadelphia
WAS/PHI

@Dallas -12.5 St. Louis
DAL/DAL

Bush, Laying the Groundwork for Police State USA

We're told that September 11th changed everything, that new government powers like the Patriot Act are necessary to thwart terrorism. But these are not the most dangerous times in American history, despite the self-flattery of our politicians and media. This is a nation that expelled the British, saw the White House burned to the ground in 1814, fought two world wars, and faced down the Soviet Union. September 11th does not justify ignoring the Constitution by creating broad new federal police powers. The rule of law is worthless if we ignore it whenever crises occur.

Conservatives who support the Bush administration should remember that powers we give government today will not go away when future administrations take office.

Ends Don't Justify the Means

The way we turn into 1984 is to allow the government to spy on its own people and to have the option of torturing its enemies. If enough people refuse to condone this behavior, sure, a few terrorist attacks may occur that could have been averted, but at least we will never have Big Brother. You may think that President Bush is too nice of a guy to allow that stuff to happen. Fine. But once that machinery is in place, some other tyrant down the road will expand it even further and use it for far less "Christian" ends. No, in order to prevent the totalitarian nightmare from coming true here in the land of liberty, the American people need to shake themselves from their stupor and say it is unacceptable for the government to officially torture people or spy on its own people. We mean it when we teach our children that the ends don’t justify the means. And maybe, just maybe, if we started living up to the ideals for which the USA ostensibly stands, foreigners would stop devoting their lives to killing Americans. - Bob Murphy

Quotes of the Day

"Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under." - H.L. Mencken

"Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods." - H.L. Mencken

Ambrose Bierce defined American politics as: "A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles."

2nd Amendment

Here is a good article about the 2nd Amendment by Vin Suprynowicz

"Their swords, and every other terrible instrument of the soldier, are the birth right of an American. ... The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or the state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people." Tench Coxe - 1788

Bush vs. Hitler

Bush’s claim that extraordinary powers are necessary for him to be able to defend our country under extraordinary circumstances is identical to Hitler’s claim that he was entitled to ignore the rule of law because he was "responsible for the fate of the German nation and thereby the supreme judge of the German people." What is the difference between Hitler’s claim and the US Department of Defense’s claim that President Bush has the right to violate domestic and international laws?

Reading Higgs leaves no doubt that the Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq was an illegal act based in deception. Under the Nuremberg standard established by the US itself, Bush’s invasion is a war crime. Widespread slaughter of the civilian Iraqi population and torture of detainees are also war crimes.

Bush claims that his war crimes are justified because they are committed in the name of "freedom and democracy." The entire world rejects this excuse. Sooner or later even Bush’s remaining Republican supporters will turn away in shame from the dishonor Bush has brought to America.

NFL PICKS

Week 15: Straight Up 9-7 vs. Line 8-8
Season: Straight Up 143-81 vs. Line 108-112-4

WEEK 16

@Cincinnati -13.5 Buffalo
CIN/CIN

Pittsburgh -7 @Cleveland
PIT/PIT

San Diego -1 @Kansas City
SD/SD

@Miami -5.5 Tennessee
MIA/TEN

Jacksonville -6 @Houston
JAX/HOU

@New Orleans -3 Detroit
DET/DET

@Carolina -5 Dallas
DAL/DAL

@Washington -3 NY Giants
NYG/NYG

@Tampa Bay -3 Atlanta
ATL/ATL

@St. Louis -9 San Francisco
STL/SF

@Arizona -1 Philadelphia
PHI/PHI

@Seattle -10 Indianapolis
SEA/SEA

@Denver -13 Oakland
DEN/DEN

Chicago -7 @Green Bay
CHI/CHI

@Baltimore -3 Minnesota
BAL/BAL

New England -5.5 @NY Jets
NE/NE

Federal Air Murderers

What is the duty of air marshals? It is to prevent terrorists from taking over an airplane. How can a man who is unarmed and not even on the airplane take it over? Rigoberto Alpizar, who suffered from manic-depression, got into a panic while returning from a missionary trip to Ecuador... The two air marshals, who for no known reason decided to pursue him, followed him into the jetway and shot him to death.

Personally, I'd rather take my chances with the passengers overcoming a terrorist than ride on an airplane with trigger-happy federal goons bored out of their minds. Ditto that Charley.

The US Criminal Justice (Sic) System

Until it happens to them or to a member of their family, Americans are clueless to the corruption in the criminal justice (sic) system. Most prosecutors are focused on their conviction rates, and judges are focused on clearing their court dockets. Defendants are processed accordingly, not in terms of guilt or innocence.

Almost all (95–97%) felony indictments are settled by a coerced plea.

Michael Tonry, director of Cambridge University’s Institute of Criminology, reports that the US has the highest percentage of its population in prison than any country on earth, including dictatorships, tyrannies, and China. The US incarceration rate is up to 12 times higher than that of European countries.

More on The Chronicles of Narnia

In his most recent article, Anthony Gregory ties in Christian/Libertarian Just War Theory with the popular new movie. It's worth the read.

Every once in a while, a new film comes out that explores themes of good and evil, of sin and virtue, of eternal conflict and universal values....

As Laurence Vance has made exceedingly clear, the U.S. war in Iraq fails the just war test. The U.S. war in Iraq is an aggressive war. The U.S. is the aggressor nation. Aggressive war is a war crime. War itself is a war crime, unless when conducted purely defensively against an invasive or oppressive power and with total deference to the rights of civilians and neutrals. Even a just war is not glorious; it is an enormity. C.S. Lewis’s war is not portrayed as a glorious way to stomp around the world spreading freedom, but as a calamitous event even when undertaken in defense of life and liberty.

Lazy Sunday

Next to Eminem, Chris Parnell is definitely the best white rapper on the planet. Check out this skit from SNL last week.

NFL PICKS

Week 14: Straight Up 11-5 vs. Line 5-9-2
Season: Straight Up 134-74 vs. Line 100-104-4

WEEK 15

@New England -4.5 Tampa Bay
NE/TB

@NY Giants -3 Kansas City
KC/KC

Denver -8.5 @Buffalo
DEN/DEN

Pittsburgh -3 @Minnesota
PIT/PIT

@St. Louis -3 Philadelphia
PHI/PHI

@Indianapolis -7.5 San Diego
IND/SD

@Jacksonville -16 San Francisco
JAX/SF

Seattle -7 @Tennessee
SEA/SEA

Arizona -1.5 @Houston
ARZ/ARZ

@Miami -8.5 NY Jets
MIA/NYJ

Carolina -9 @New Orleans
CAR/CAR

Cincinnati -8 @Detroit
CIN/CIN

@Oakland -3 Cleveland
OAK/OAK

@Washington -3 Dallas
DAL/DAL

@Chicago -3.5 Atlanta
ATL/ATL

@Baltimore -3 Green Bay
GB/GB

Diversity

Do we really need it? No, says Fred Reed.

Diversity causes nothing but trouble. Think about it. Do old people want to hang around young people? No. Do young people want to hang around old people? Generally they would rather take poison. Do liberals and conservatives want to get within rifle range of each other? No. Except conservatives, because they have rifles. Southerners and damyanks cordially detest each other, except after a few beers, when they stop being cordial. Urban folk and country folk loathe each other. Management and labor, Marine boneheads and army pukes, dogs and cats, on and on, don’t nobody much like nobody.

Robot Maids

I've been dreaming about this for years.

In 2010, Toyota intends to start selling next-generation household robots to help people receive visitors, raise children and provide nursing care for sick and elderly patients, company officials said.

The automaker also plans to develop robots that will "live'' with families and do household chores.

NFL PICKS

Week 13: Straight Up 11-5 vs. Line 10-6
Season: Straight Up 123-69 vs. Line 95-95-2

WEEK 14

@Carolina -5.5 Tampa Bay
CAR/TB

New England -3.5 @Buffalo
NE/NE

@Minnesota -7 St. Louis
MIN/STL

@Pittsburgh -6.5 Chicago
CHI/CHI

Oakland -3 @NY Jets
OAK/OAK

Indianapolis -9 @Jacksonville
IND/IND

@Tennessee -6.5 Houston
TEN/HOU

@Cincinnati -12.5 Cleveland
CIN/CIN

Washington -4 @Arizona
WAS/ARZ

NY Giants -8.5 @Philadelphia
NYG/NYG

@Seattle -16 San Francisco
SEA/SEA

@San Diego -13.5 Miami
SD/SD

@Denver -15 Baltimore
DEN/DEN

@Dallas -3 Kansas City
DAL/DAL

@Green Bay -6 Detroit
DET/DET

@Atlanta -10 New Orleans
ATL/NO

GOLD $500

What Do Rising Gold Prices Mean?

by Ron Paul

Gold prices historically rise when faith in paper currencies erodes, as investors seek the intrinsic value of gold to protect themselves from inflation. It’s interesting to note that while the U.S. dollar has regained some of its value relative to other paper currencies like the euro, it continues to lose value relative to gold and other hard assets. This shows the folly of using one fiat currency to value another.

Since 1971, the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury have employed a pure fiat money system, meaning government can create money whenever it decrees simply by printing more dollars. The "value" of each newly minted dollar is determined by the faith of the public, the money supply, and the financial markets. In other words, fiat dollars have no intrinsic value.

The Cost of War

There are many, many reasons to oppose the US invasion of the Middle East and cost is certainly one of them.

Lew's Latest

An abosolute must-read.

Second Thoughts and Moral Culpability

a few excerpts:

How good it would be to hear the politicians who are changing their minds begin seriously to confront their errors, and admit that those they once smeared were right all along. Only that course of action will lay the proper groundwork for a culture-wide opposition to war in the future. They should admit that people like Ron Paul and Jimmy Carter were right all along, and that they were wrong, and that their errors played a role in whipping up public support for a horrible policy.

But we need to remember that this is not a philosophical parlor game. Real people die in war. Families are shattered, men are tortured, lives are ruined, enemies are made for generations, governments become more corrupt through their war lies and spending, whole regions are pushed to loathe the occupier, and society and culture become imbued with a tolerance for spilling blood.

You care about life? Oppose war. Worry about the disregard for the sanctity of God’s most precious creation? Oppose war. Seek the well-being of all, and peaceful cooperation among the whole human family? Oppose war.

Silver

Not just a great investment. Cowboys used to put a small piece of silver in their drinking water to kill the bacteria. Using real silverware is also a health benefit because bacteria doesn't grow on silver.

In a groundbreaking study, the Journal of Nanotechnology has published a study that found silver nanoparticles kills HIV-1 and is likely to kill virtually any other virus.

NFL PICKS

Week 12: Straight Up 13-3 vs. Line 8-8
Season: Straight Up 112-64 vs. Line 85-89-2

WEEK 13

@Miami -5 Buffalo
MIA/BUF

@Pittsburgh -3 Cincinnati
CIN/CIN

@Baltimore -8 Houston
BAL/HOU

@Indianapolis -15.5 Tennessee
IND/IND

Jacksonville -3 @Cleveland
JAX/JAX

@NY Giants -3 Dallas
DAL/DAL

@Chicago -7 Green Bay
CHI/CHI

Minnesota -3 @Detroit
DET/DET

@Carolina -3 Atlanta
ATL/ATL

Tampa Bay -3.5 @New Orleans
TB/TB

Arizona -3 @San Francisco
ARZ/ARZ

Washington -3 @St. Louis
STL/STL

@New England -10 NY Jets
NE/NE

Denver -1 @Kansas City
DEN/DEN

@San Diego -11.5 Oakland
SD/SD

Seattle -4 @Philadelphia
SEA/PHI

BCS

Congress wants to decide college football's national champion. Perhaps next year they will choose who wins the Ms. America pageant.

The Turning Point

We lost, get over it before more young men and women have to die for a lost cause.

Murtha said in full public view that the pottery is broken and it cannot be fixed. There is only one rational response, he said: prepare for a pull-out of the troops before too many more of them die in a lost cause. He said this as a decorated military figure who has always voted for military expenditures.

This was a major turnaround. This is what turning points are, by definition. Murtha will be seen by historians as the turning point of this war. He is just too tempting a figure for historians to ignore. He will become in retrospect the Tet Offensive of the Iraq War.

BIG XII CHAMPIONSHIP PICK

Week 13: Straight Up 2-2 vs. Line 3-1
Season: Straight Up 66-18 vs. Line 45-38-1

2005 Big XII Championship in Houston

Texas -27 Colorado
UT/UT

Healthcare

It's way too important to leave in the hands of government.

Greenspan said it was likely that Congress will have to make "significant adjustments" in reducing benefits to future retirees. He said it appears the country has promised more than it can afford to deliver in Social Security and especially Medicare payments, given that health care costs have been exploding.

This is typical of government in general, heavy on the promises, light on the delivery.