Beyond Moronic

Get ready boys and girls, it's time to start scouting for loans in case you need to buy a light bulb. The federally mandated ban on incandescent bulbs will leave us with light bulbs that cost $40 minimum currently. There's a prize to get a bulb that will cost "only" $22. Oh, by the way, the new bulbs contain mercury, need to be disposed of in toxic dumps rather than simply thrown in a garbage bag, and require special instructions from the EPA on how to clean up should one break, including ventilating the area.

Seriously, when did we accept that the federal government should be telling us what light bulbs to buy. We're going to have to institute a light bulb stamp program for the poor. I think everyone in government who is responsible for this ban should be placed in public housing for the rest of their lives. Better yet, make them live on an Indian reservation. Their collective IQs probably don't add up to the lowest wattage bulb available. Write your congressman, it's time to stop this idiocy. I really am considering a move to New Zealand.

And in Today's Holy Shit Moment

I sourced this three different ways outside of the link I'm posting because it is so incredible (not like the Hulk, like not credible) that I couldn't believe it when I read it. In an act of supreme ignorance that has Corky from "Life Goes On" thinking, dear God, are these people retarded, the Indiana Supreme Court (the second portion of that moniker may be solely for the purpose of irony) has determined that police may enter your home without cause.

OK, brief civics lesson in case you're not familiar. States may interpret federal law, as they did here, within their own jurisdictions because states are allowed to provide protections greater than those in the Constitution. However, the Constitution provides a bare minimum level of protection and if a state interprets its laws to be in line with the protections provided by the Constitution, its courts may interpret those laws in the context of what the federal courts have said. Yawning yet? I am. I mention this only because it gets a bit confusing when the Indiana Supreme Court decides the Fourth Amendment doesn't mean what it says.

The Court, wait, they don't deserve to be capitalized after this decision...the court, felt that the legal system provides the proper remedy for violations of the Fourth Amendment. Much as in the same way that the government should be allowed to arrest you for speaking as long as you can get a court date in a few years. Pardon me while I use one of my rights to call them fucking idiots. Yes, mom, there is an inordinate amount of cursing involved in this post but, wow, how screwed up is this?

He who would trade liberty for security will soon find himself with neither. My loosely quoted memory of a Benjamin Franklin quote. Knock, knock, knock...do you have a warrant? No. You can't come in. But we have the name of a lawyer who can remedy our offense to your property and life in 6 to 10 years. Oh, well, sir, in that case, you are welcome into my home. (4th) May I board your soldiers involuntarily as well? (3rd) Perhaps when you've destroyed my country and taken my guns so that I cannot revolt, I shall sue you. (2nd) When you've shoved me in an internment camp for being descended from an enemy nation or shoved me in a cell for sedition, I can surely rely on my own legal acumen to give me back those years. (1st) Perhaps we can sue if I'm not allowed to pray or gather with friends. (1st) I can't wait to see the damage award I receive. I should have a lovely case set up when I was forced to testify to damaging information despite the fact that I didn't commit the crime. (5th) Luckily, having rotted in jail for twenty years before I got to the trial in the first place, I'm perfectly compensated by a lawsuit (by the way, read up on prosecutorial discretion, even if this worked it wouldn't). (6th) Luckily, it will never get to a jury until I file a civil suit and request a jury (paying a rather large bond I might add). (7th). Of course, I may not see an attorney (Miranda through the 5th) until I make bail after being beaten (8th) until I get to see my civil attorney about not being able to see my criminal attorney. Luckily, I have no rights other than those posted in the Constitution (9th) and apparently my state can't help me out either (10th).

I am hesitant to call anything more willfully ignorant or dismissive of the Constitution than our current administration, but congratulations Indiana Supreme Court. You have set the standard for moronic. I recently noticed that the Adult Video Awards was on cable while I was in a hotel and tuned in to see just what a train wreck that might be. The woman who accepted the award for best double penetration scene has more respect from me than you. You have defined the height of idiocy.

Here is a link to the full decision. The guy was a scumbag and deserved what he got. But this is the most ignorant decision I've seen since Roe v. Wade (and pro-"choice" people, don't get pissy, even liberal attorneys agree with me that it has no constitutional basis and should have been a state issue). The court (is there a lower than lower case c) said there is no right to resist the UNLAWFUL entry of police officers. Let that sink in. I'm almost in shock at this. I usually like to make a joke at the end of these posts but this...this makes me want to yell at mirrors hoping Alice can pull me through the looking glass.

All Politics is Local - Former Speaker Tip O'Neal (D. Mass.)

Faced with a bill proposing the elimination of tax credits for oil companies as a method to pay down the national debt, Democratic Senators Mary Landrieu (La.) and Mark Begich (Alaska) of oil-rich and producing states are departing from the party line. Senator Landrieu called the plan "laughable" and ridiculed the states that are in favor of the plan yet produce no energy.

While I'm against subsidies for any business, until the tax code is rewritten to be fair to all parties, I'm not going to envy anyone the opportunity to avoid their taxes. As much as I have little respect for Landrieu's policies, she has a point. The states that refuse to allow production off their shores but complain about the profits of the oil companies are really just welfare recipients.

My Alma Mater

Well, it seems not all college students are liberal morons. A graduate student at LSU had announced he'd be burning an American flag today. When he showed up to the parade ground to do so, he was "welcomed" by a throng of students who stopped the event from occurring. The student, Benjamin Hass, was burning the flag to honor Isaac Eslava, another student, who stole a flag from the War Memorial and burned it, apparently in protest of the killing of Usama bin Laden. He was arrested for having stolen the flag.

I'm all for free speech and I'll defend the right of a person to burn the flag in protest, even though I find it disgusting. But sometimes, free speech is also about winning the argument. My LSU bretheren made me proud today.

She Turned Me Into a Newt! Well, I Got Better!

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has announced his candidacy for President in 2012. While I'm not certain how I feel about him, I will say that he presided over a Congress that reformed welfare and actually ran a budget surplus while convincing liberal President Bill Clinton to declare that the era of big government was over. He also strikes me as the consummate politician and, as such, difficult to trust.

Haven't Raised that Debt Ceiling? Allow Us.

While Congress debates the possibility of raising the debt ceiling, it has once again been demonstrated that the executive branch doesn't much give a damn what Congress is doing. On Tuesday and Wednesday the Treasury Department went right on ahead and auctioned an additional $56 billion in debt which will push the national debt over the limit Monday.

This government is absolutely out of control.

Today's Recommended Reading

As always, Charles Krauthammer makes for an excellent read.