Thursday, October 28, 2010

Muslims speaking out

A lot of people demand that Muslims speak out and that we participate in dialogue to further peace and understanding between the Islamic and Non-Islamic world.  To me this is confusing I do not differentiate between the Islamic and Non-Islamic world because I live in the only world I am aware and this world is not bisected or balkanized by religion.  Having said all of that a Saudi Royal Prince has spoken in favor of moving the misnamed "Ground Zero" mosque to another less offensive location.  There you go America as I said the location of the Mosque is irrelevant it is the fact that some people  in this country want to ban our freedom to practice our religion.  Move the Mosque and end this senseless debate!!

Monday, October 18, 2010

GPS Tracking: The demise of a free Nation

In times of confusion and strife tryants will arise among the people and attempt to steer the conversation into the arena of the absurd and the ridiculous.  I will be the first person to stand up and point out that Islamic extremists pose a grave threat to America's national security and that we must be vigilant about the threat that this terrorists pose to our safety and well-being.  However, I do not believe that in times of war the government is justified in sacrificing our basic civil liberties on the altar of expediency and knee-jerk reactions.  In case you did not know various law enforcement officers in America have begun conducting unwarranted gps placement and subsequent tracking of the movement of free citizens in America.  In particular it is my understand that SUPRISE! the American-Islamic community is being targeted with little to no evidence or provocation for the simple offense of belief in Islam.  What is scary about this process is that it invests law enforcement with the power to decide at will when and where to monitor the movements of American citizens who have never done anything wrong.  Imagine the wide open areas of abuse for such a carte blanche endorsement to run rampant over political enemies, underprivileged people and unpopular groups of people.  If law enforcement or the federal government feels that they have reasonable suspicion or probable cause to monitor the movements of someone within the continental U.S. there is a process for obtaining a legal search warrant.  People will no doubt scoff at this and say well this is merely a tool in fighting the global war on terrorism and crime.  Is it really?  Let's suppose that is does assist the federal government and local law enforcement in apprehending and preventing various types of crime including but not limited to terrorism that is not in and of itself a justification.  The problem with warrantless survilleance by GPS is that it invades the privacy of the person being watched without a legal justification or reason.

The case about unwarranted GPS monitoring recently re-ignited because while having an oil change performed it was discovered that a strange wire was coming from the gas tank of a Muslim-American of Arab descent.  The device was removed by the oil change service station and the FBI contacted the Service Station and demanded back their equipment.  No explanation was given for why this man never convicted of any crime and only working and living in America paying taxes and obeying the law was being monitored without a warrant.  No wait a reason was given this man was guilty of the heinous crime of having extensive contacts in the Middle East!  Definitely suspicious considering the man is from gasp! Egypt an American ally located in you guessed it the Middle East.  The real problem is that when the precedent is set that the government can do whatever it wants under the pathetic and overused guise of NATIONAL security the only thing that becomes more secure is the draconian grip of the government around the throat of free citizens.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

GOP and the O'Donnell Problem

As a Conservative Libertarian I tend to vote the GOP ticket but I am troubled by Christine O'Donnell and it has little to do with soft allegations about masterbation or witchcraft.  Honestly I do not care about such red herring issues and I focus like a laser on the issues that matter to me small efficient government, free markets and low taxes while still ensuring freedom and justice for all Americans.  The real problem with Christine O'Donnell she is not a very good candidate and she showed this lack of political chops in the first debate.  It would be much too easy to dismiss O'Donnell as stupid or as a right wing extremist I do not think this hyperbole properly captures O'Donnell the candidate.  What Chrisitine O'Donnell is an unremarkable and uninteresting bland average American of average intelligence neither good nor bad.  While the basic tenants of her CONSERVATIVE message sound really progressive and great for America in this time of economic despair and recession when held to the light of scrutiny the are exposed as airy false platitudes.  Candidates like O'Donnell have no idea how to win a fierce political election and they have no understanding or real game plan for getting America back on track.  Standing against Obama and the Liberal Democrats sounds great on paper but what does it really mean?  Also acting like statements about witchcraft, failing to maintain your personal finances and taking hardline stances on sexual issues will not matter in an election are simply naive.  O'Donnell almost seems oblivious that she could be attacked because she is after all the TEA party child of light and justice.  What is most telling about O'Donnell was her inability to name one single Supreme Court case in recent years that she objects to based on her political beliefs this from a chest beating fist pumping Social Conservative.  Republicans still have not gotten the message it is the economy stupid not masterbation or prayer in school that wins popular elections social conservatism wins GOP primaries but the wider public does not care about your values as much as they care about their families economic security.  America is made up of many different kinds of family a wide panorama of faiths, values and belief systems and this is lost on many social conservatives.  There are two family value that extends across all faith/ethnic groups and that is love and respect.  Christine O'Donnell may or may not be a nice person she maybe a conservative but she is not a great candidate and she looks clueless when held to the fire so how will she govern?