Bryson May Run for Gov

Well, despite what he said before, state senator Jim Bryson may be "leaning toward" running for Governor.

Very interesting.

More: Heh. This might make AC's new job a little more fun since this might actually create a race for Governor where none existed before.

More II: Nathan Moore might have some tidbits of information regarding who would be running for Bryson's seat if he does indeed run.

Bryson would have to give up his seat in the Senate. Unfortunately, if he doesn't win, that means we loose a very strong state senator who has championed spending reform of state government. On the other hand, he would make a wonderful governor and would be in a better position to push forward spending reform (something our current governor has never shown interest in).

So, if he is running...let me be the first to endorse Bryson for Governor.

Update 4/3: It will be official tomorrow. Bryson is running for Governor. He will make his announcement at the Hermitage Hotel tomorrow.

An unofficial Bryson for Governor blog has been started (where I, along with several others, will be helping out in a collaborative effort).

Para-Military Police State

As I've said before...the police aren't the military. However, we keep seeing more and more para-military police units being deployed against civilians. In fact, the number of deployments of SWAT units (aka...para-military police units) has risen from an average of about 3,000 per year in the 80's to about 40,000 per year now.

In a story I ran across from the BBC on SWAT deployments in the US, the following hit home (emphasis mine)...

"These elite units are highly culturally appealing to certain sections of the police community. They like it, they enjoy it," he says.

"The chance to strap on a vest, grab a semi-automatic weapon and go out on a mission is for some people an exciting reason to join - even if policing as a profession can - and should - be boring for much of the time.

"The problem is that when you talk about the war on this and the war on that, and police officers see themselves as soldiers, then the civilian becomes the enemy."

All of the the wars on this and the wars on that build up to equal less freedom for you and me.

But hey...don't you feel safer? [/sarcasm]

V for Vendetta

I spotted this at Thoroughbred Theatre as I was leaving church today.

I saw the movie on Friday night (see my pre-viewing review here). I'll post my post-op review later.

The short review: I'll be seeing it again.

Penn and Teller on Gun Control

Gunner at No Quarters Blog linked to a video on YouTube the other day. It's Penn and Teller's Showtime show, BullS***.

In this particular episode, Penn and Teller tackle gun control. It's an excellent clip and you should watch it. In fact, they even cover the real reason for the Second Amendment...government control.

Check it out here.* It's 28 minutes long, so set aside some time to watch it.

*Note: Language warning.

The Government Should Fear Their People

Last week I praised Anthony Hopkins for his thoughts on the way Hollywood has gone in recent years. I even went to see his newest movie (limited release), The World's Fastest Indian. It was a great movie and I encourage everyone to see it.

This weekend comes a different type of movie. It's a movie that you may have to really have a good understanding of what liberty and freedom are in order to enjoy it. Most of America will be going to see it because there might be some big explosions and a lot of action along with editing designed for those with short attention spans. Unfortunately, that's what America has come to expect, but I do hope that this movie is not like that. As an aside, I knew that we were doomed when, back in '98, a movie like Armageddon could do so well.

The movie that I'm speaking of is V for Vendetta. Early reviews are mixed, but that's about what I would expect. Either way, I plan on seeing it this weekend. Heck, I may not even like it, but I definitely don't go by movie reviews anymore.

Several weeks ago I purchased the graphic novel that the movie is based on. It was written during the 80's. It's a story about post-war England after the United States and Russia have supposedly cancelled each other out with nuclear conflagration which results in social upheaval. Then, along comes a fascist government to bring back order to the country. V is a former re-settlement camp prisoner who has now undertaken the task of getting revenge for his suffering as well as attempting to bring down the oppressive government...all while wearing a Guy Fawkes mask (if you don't know about Guy Fawkes or the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, see wikipedia).

One of the key quotes from the movie jumped out at me immediately when I first saw the trailer (and led me to get the novel)..."People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." In essence, that's how a free society should be. Of course, we know from experience that the bigger the government gets, the further and further you get from that. I think that's why the founding fathers of this country wanted the government to be less centralized and stay as small as possible...but I digress.

One of the first things you notice in the graphic novel is a street camera. It's plainly labeled, "For Your Protection." This government came about because the people allowed it to during a time of uncertainty. It happened quickly. However, we have to be cautious because the same thing is happening to us in a much slower fashion. In fact, I'd say that England was almost there...have you tried to purchase a firearm there recently? Have you tried walking down the street without being caught on a government surveillance camera? Neither can be done. They are only a few steps away from the world of V for Vendetta...but do they even know it? Would we know it if we were headed in that direction? Perhaps we already are.

What keeps the citizens of that world placated is the facade of security (and their tv shows). As long as they feel safe, then they willingly go along. Yes...we may already be there.

As to the violence that V for Vendetta portrays, wasn't it Thomas Jefferson that said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is it's natural manure." Indeed.

Go see V for Vendetta with an open mind. Don't go to see the big explosions and action. Think about living in a society such as that. Would you fall in with everyone else because it's safe or would you risk your life to fight for your freedom? Another thing to remember...while the government in the movie is a "right-wing," Christian form of fascism, tyranny can also come from a "left-wing," socialist form of government. After all, who do you think brought the cameras and banned the guns in modern-day England...or even Chicago for that matter?

Earmark Limit a Farce

From The Hill via Glenn Reynolds this morning:

As House Republican leaders have not agreed on a final plan for earmark reforms, the internal Appropriations Committee rules changes represent the only new limits. House leaders briefly outlined possible earmark reform to rank-and-file members at a closed-door meeting yesterday morning, but fiscally conservative leaders such as Reps. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said the proposal is “sketchy” and unsatisfactory.

Flake said leaders are willing to let lawmakers vote against individual earmarks in spending bills when they first reach the chamber floor but not after bills emerge from conference negotiations.

Appropriators are lobbying their colleagues to oppose dramatic earmark reform. At the same time they are implementing their own new rules.

The chairmen of appropriations subcommittees that traditionally produce among the most project-laden of the annual spending bills said they are limiting their colleagues to 10 project requests each.

Reynolds calls this "limit" a "modest improvement" while at the same time calling for serious reform, but this really is no improvement at all. In fact, this "limit" could make things worse!

From the same (unnamed) source as my last post...

The House Appropriations Committee announced today that it would cap the number of earmark requests made by each Member at 10 requests per appropriations bill. The House currently has 10 separate appropriations bills.

-Under this new rule, if each Member of Congress requested 10 projects on each bill, the total number of earmark requests would total 43,500.

-Last year, the House Appropriations Committee received 34,687 earmark requests.

-On 8 of 10 House appropriations bills last year, the average number of earmark requests per requesting Member was below 10.

-If every Member of the House requested 10 earmarks on each appropriations bill this year, the number of earmarks would total 43,500, an increase of 8,813 earmark requests over the FY2006 level.

-Even if the number of requesting Members per appropriation bill remained the same for FY2007, the total number of earmark requests would still increase.

So, if each member were to put in earmark requests up to their "limit," then the actual number of earmarks would go up by almost 10,000! Any person that pays attention will realize that the Appropriations Committee's new rule is nothing but a farce!

Want to see some raw data for earmarks? Click here for the PDF.

Again...Republican Conservatism is dead.

Raising the Roof

From someone in the Senate:

Earlier today at 11:17am, the Senate voted to increase the federal debt limit to nearly $9 trillion. Since 2001, the amount of federal debt per American has increased by nearly $9,000, while average annual wages have only increased by $4,200.

At 1:03pm, the Senate then “hotlined” – or attempted to approve by unanimous consent – the Russia Polar Bear Conservation and Management Act. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill would cost nearly $20 million over the next five years.

The sponsor of this vital piece of legislation? You guessed it – Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska.

Republican Conservatism is officially dead.

Police Abuse of Power - Franklin, TN

This is an outrage...

My daughter was working nights at Carmikes. A Franklin Police officer took an interest in her since she was only 16 years old. This officer would follow her home , which was outside the city limits. After she told me what was going on , I would stand in the shadows watching her pull into the drive way with the patrol car on her bumper. The car would then drive away. One night , the officer pulled her over and with her driver liscence in his hand , asked her out. When she said no , the officer wrote her a ticket for running a yellow light that did not exist.

So, this father went to file a complaint. What happened? Not a damn thing.

The police department refused to act and even a city director wouldn't...why? Because they were going through an accreditation process by the CALAE, and if this came up it would jeopardize their accreditation. This even after they determined that there "might" have been some actual wrongdoing.

WHAT???

A few weeks ago Gunner at No Quarters Blog wrote about several (lots of) police departments surrounding the Miami, Florida area not having complaint forms and the use of intimidation to get people not to make complaints. Looks like we have the same problem down in Franklin, TN.

First, there should be a complaint form system. As the Police Chief of the Miami Police Department said, any police chief who doesn't have a complain form system in place should be fired on the spot.

The citizens of the city of Franklin should be demanding some answers.
1) Why was this investigation stymied? 2) Why was this officer not thoroughly investigated? 3) Is a form complaint system in place?

If those questions can't be answered satisfactorily then heads need to roll.

(via WKRN's NIT)

More: Keep in mind that this is has not been completely verified, but it is in the process of being done. This story might also be old as he starts it out with it being "from the pages of Franklin Police's history book." However, that does not diminish the need for answers.

On another note, if I had a 16-year-old daughter who was being followed home by a cop who had a "special interest" in her, I would come out of the house with my shotgun when she came home. But that's just me.

State Capitol Photoblogging

I took some time today to head up to the state capitol complex to get some pictures.

I played around with some HDR...

And some standard pictures as well...

Enjoy the entire set here.

National ID on the March

From CATO today:

"Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee successfully attached language to a bill Thursday that would set new transportation security requirements," GovExec.com reports. "The amendments would require the Transportation Security Administration to issue regulations for biometric identification cards by June for all workers at transportation facilities across the country, and would require that mass transit and rail operators develop comprehensive security plans within 18 months."

Jim Harper, the Cato Institute's director of information policy studies, comments on the larger implications of these amendments: "With the passage of the REAL ID Act last year, an American national ID is on the march. People should think of identity cards as the visible front end of surveillance systems. When an institution collects identity information, this is solely so it can track people and keep records about them. With the growth of databases and automatic information capture technologies, more and more information is permanently tied to us. A national ID ties all this data back to one single identity.

"Our uniform national identification system is also the root cause of identity theft. If you have a single key for your entire financial identity, it takes a criminal only one step to get access to your entire financial life. You don't have one key on your keychain for your physical possessions. You shouldn't have one key to your financial, communications, health, and social life. "

Big Brother is slowly creeping in. But hey...it's all in the name of "security," right?

The Scene's Loss = Cooper's New Hire

I heard today that Congressman Jim Cooper has a new hire coming on board soon. The Nashville Scene's own John Spragens.

First it was Roger Abramson leaving now Spragens. Has Bruce Barry's stranglehold really gotten that bad over at the Scene? heh

Break it down Kleinheider style...

The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.
~Princess Leia

Coincidence?

Nathan Moore says:

We’re under a wind advisory here in Middle Tennessee. Coincidence or no that the pro-abortion rally started at the Capitol half an hour ago?

Michael Silence (who's on a roll today) replied to that over at Nashville is Talking by saying:

Or one could blame the wind on this: http://www.srlc.org/

I think it also has something to do with the Rage Against the Roboto party tonight. The combination of all three events taking place in the same state on the same day has lead to this. This is one of those paradoxical events that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of time and space...just like Doc Brown always talked about.

Better batten down the hatches. This is a day Tennessee will not soon forget.

Big Announcement from NASA

This seems fairly interesting:

NASA is planning to make a huge announcement today, about possible life in our own solar system.

Exact details of what we can expect to hear have not been released. We do know that evidence has been found that could point to life relatively close to the earth.

Official word is expected this afternoon at 2 p.m.

Although...I don't know. If they have found some microbes or space worms on another planet, I really don't care (I've always expected that). On the other hand, if they reveal some type of space mutant from Satriani 5, I might get a little more excited.

Update: Drudge is reporting that the announcement is in regards to the Cassini spacecraft finding geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Update II: Drudge was right. It was only space geysers. No space mutants this time. Drats. heh

By the way...It looks like the news station that said the announcement was going to be about finding life is being taken to task.

Update III: Heh...From Michael Silence: "Blake and Drudge are missing the scoop, and I have it. NASA is announcing they found a Democratic strategy on Venus."

Now that's funny.

Here we are...entertain us

You have to respect Sir Anthony Hopkins. Today comes an article from This is London where he hits out at Hollywood for making "condescending" films...

The Hollywood star's latest film, The World's Fastest Indian, is a true story about a New Zealander motorcyclist who broke the land speed record.

Sir Anthony said of the movie: "No sex or violence, and that's refreshing.

"I'm also tired of the camera moving all over the place, with car chases so cut and edited you don't know what's happening.

"It's condescending. Audiences aren't so mindless as movie-makers think."

He added: "If you look at The Shining or Fargo, they photograph it and let actors tell a story. That's the old-fashioned way. I hope it comes back."

Exactly. And speaking to what I mentioned yesterday regarding the reason I didn't watch the Oscars...

"I can't get caught up in the self-importance. People bow to your every wish and you forget where you come from and what you're doing," he told the magazine.

"I recently worked with two actors who wouldn't come out of their trailers for some reason.

"Can you figure that out? It's insanity. Or they complain because their trailers aren't big enough.

"Bulls***. It's a job, like any other, so don't make a big deal. Be polite, treat the crew with respect and don't think you're different.

I've been wanting to see his latest film, The World's Fastest Indian, and I just found out on Sunday that it is playing at Regal Green Hills cinema here in Nashville. It looks like a nice, non-violent, zero-sex movie that simply tells a story. It's apparently an art form that's been mostly lost.

Two weeks ago I went to the Belcourt Theatre to watch Lawrence of Arabia. Now there's a movie that tells a story. It's like watching a series of beautiful pictures with the wide-open expanse of the desert while the actors tell their story with such eloquence.

Eloquence...that's what's missing. Eloquence and class. Would America even know what that was anymore though?

Here we are...entertain us...while the world falls apart around us.

The Defence of MySpace

Creative Liberty defends MySpace over the bad media it has been receiving lately and offers advice to parents on ways to protect their children.

Quote of the day goes to him: "Parents, stop trying to be your child’s friend and be a parent."

No truer words have been spoken.