That's what the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has done with a decision that claims that forcing inmates to give DNA samples is wrong because it "constitute suspicionless searches with the objective of furthering law enforcement purposes"
Loyal readers of this blog will know that I wrote about the arrest of Jesus C. Mezquia in January. Jesus had his DNA taken from a Florida prison and it was plugged into the national DNA bank. It came up with a hit on the unsolved murder of Seattle grunge singer Mia Zapata who had been brutally raped and murdered seven years previously.
The 9th Circuit Court has effectively spit on Zapata's grave and those of all unsolved murders in the United States. To disallow the collection of DNA from prisoners will only ensure that murders go unsolved and that the very murderers who commit them will walk free to kill again.
One hopes the music community of Seattle (some of whom are quick to adapt political causes at their convenience) will denounce this decision and start lobbying for it's reversal.
The utter defeat of the Conservatives at the hands of Dalton McGuinty's Liberal party last night was no surprise but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.
In June 1995 I stood in the Chelsea hotel with a host of jubilant party workers as we celebrated the victory of Mike Harris and the "Common Sense Revolution" so began 8 years of undoing the damage of two previous tax and spend administrations. Debt was reduced, taxes slashed and the economy roared back to life.
So too did the special interest groups. Militant unions turned the first three years into a virtual civil war in Ontario with strikes and so called "days of action" which featured mass protests designed to disrupt the economy. The bully tactics failed and the unions coupled with their media allies such as the Bolshevik Rag began touting a plan called strategic voting where in weak ridings they would back the candidate (Liberal or NDP) that would defeat the Tories.
The plan also backfired and Harris was elected to a second term. But in a shocking turn of events he decided to leave politics midway through his second term. The resulting leadership convention was a sinister hint of what was to come. Ernie Eves (the former finance minister) swept to power easily defeating more right wing candidates.
I knew this wasn't good because as long as the Conservatives were campaigning from the right they were driving the initiative and forcing the other parties to react. As soon as the moved to the center they gave that back to the Liberals.
In the last election the Liberals were forced to adopt the Tory platform almost verbatim giving the impression that they were Tory Lite. This time around the Liberals didn't need that because the Tories had no platform.
In what had to be the most boring election I have witnessed the Liberals managed to campaign on zero issues. Consider their tag line - "choose change". In other words don't vote on the issues vote purely to put someone different in office. The only issue that seemed to take hold was the media manufactured "attack ad" scandal. When that is the big issue of a campaign you know you're in trouble.
This is the worst aspect of Canadian politics - parties don't win elections as much as the incumbent loses them.
So the people of Ontario voted in a vacuum last night, a vacuum created by Ernie Eves moribund campaign team. The impression one got of the Conservative campaign was that they were impregnable and didn't have to make an effort. This was exacerbated by the fact that Eves is less than dynamic presence. Anyone with an ounce of charisma could have given McGinty a good fight. But Eves has all the presence of a head of cabbage.
In the end even some high profile cabinet ministers were defeated - but most narrowly. This suggests to me that the election was decided not by those who voted but by those that didn't.
There were quite a few rank and file Tories who were upset at the rise of Mr. Eves (considered by most a Red Tory) and I'll bet most chose not to vote in the hope of forcing him out and putting a new leader in place to defeat Dalton's Liberals in the next election. I haven't found any numbers about voter turnout online yet but I'll bet it wasn't as high as it could have been.
So now we are faced with a 4 -5 year term of tax rises and Liberal pork barreling. McGuinty has a green unproven staff who have bitten off way more than they can chew. If the Tories are smart they will consider today the first day in the campaign to defeat the Liberals.
Step 1 - Dump Eves. Step 2 - Ask Harris to come back (he'll say no but at least ask) Step 3 - Bring Tom Long back to run the campaign - he is a master at this. Step 4 - Begin attacking the Liberals now don't' let them have a honeymoon. Step 5 - Don't mope, don't mourn, don't hide get out and make a difference.
And when McGuinty begins the tax hikes make sure there are plenty of "Don't Blame Me - I vote Conservative" bumper stickers to be had.
Brian J. Noggle directs us to a story about a Milwaukee town who loses it's only grocery store and asks if the left will now be asking for a national food care program.
It's funny when a big chain moves into a town the left are all whining about how it is putting the small family run operations out of business. Then if a large chain moves out they are whining about how seniors can't get food.
Shouldn't they be celebrating the fact that the small butcher, baker and candlestick maker can now go back to gouging the working poor?
Gun deaths are at an all time low in this country according to Stats Canada: Typically gun control advocates are crediting the new expensive gun registry with the drop in deaths - even though gun related deaths typically involved smuggled weapons from the US.
Suprisingly the most common weapon was a knife:
"Stabbing was the most common method of killing, accounting for 31 per cent of homicides. Beatings resulted in 21 per cent of deaths, while strangulation or suffocation came in at 11 per cent."
Not mentioned in the report was that the vast number of stabbings occured in long the long lineups of people trying to register their guns.
Canada's entertainment class has snubbed troops serving in Afghanistan.
"The Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency this week formally called for proposals for a morale-building "entertainment show tour," to run from Nov. 17 to Dec. 5"
"Country star Shania Twain -- likely the most popular choice among the troops -- is unavailable because of her world tour, and agents and publicists for other Canadian stars were either noncommittal or did not return telephone calls."
This is so typical of Canada - our military is treated like dirt not only by the government which has over the past 30 years reduced its funding to next to nothing, but by the very people it exists to protect.
Of course they are all for freedom and personal expression and don't want any form of censorship. But their drug addled brains can't make the connection that freedom comes with a price and sometimes that price involves killing people - the people who are trying to take away your freedom.
I can see some performers being squeamish about performing in Iraq where the war occupies a gray area in a lot of people's minds, but Afghanistan? The whole world agreed on this one. There is a large multi-national force in place, and we kicked out a regime that not only supported terrorists outwardly but also suppressed women in a vicious and medieval manner. Every woman pop star in Canada should be lining up to perform for the troops here. That would included Shania, that spoiled brat Avril Lavigne, Alanis (I've been to India now I'm all cool) Morrisette, Anne (get me another hormone shot my voice is getting deeper) Murray, Terri (I'm big in the States) Clarke, Celine (build me a stage and I will come) Dionne, Nellie (remember me I had hit once) Furtado, and so on.
One Canadian who would accept the invitation I bet would be Tom Green. Green apparently loves entertaining the troops and is currently free of obligations since his show got axed from MTV. Hey how much do you want to bet CBC picks up his show now that he is available? SCTV and Red Green had to become popular down there before CBC decided they were worthy. Probably not - he's just not left wing enough.
Oh yeah I forgot one Sarah McLachlan. Hey Lilith Queen - men are dying so you can have a safe country to put off your estrogen fest. Get off your cellulite riddled ass and thank 'em.
Rocket Jones scores a bull's-eye with the entry about a media contrived piece on homelessness.
I lived in downtown Toronto for about 10 years when I moved there in 1989 the provincial govt was the centrist Liberal party. Then in 1990 we had a left wing socialist government (NDP) finally in 1995 we got the neocon PC party.
There were plenty of homeless people in my neighborhood (downtowns are more apt to attract them than suburbs). Most were there from the moment I moved in. I remember one younger skinny guy who always seemed to have a cup of coffee.
When the PC's got in there was a furor over their tax cutting and work for welfare recipient programmes. One of the papers did a big story on the displaced "victims" of the Harris government. On the front page was the picture of this vagrant with the caption "Victim of the Harris cuts".
I guess he had more spare change thrown at him in the heady NDP years.
India has blocked all Yahoo forums because of 12 people. Why? They are separatists. I doubt anyone cared about these 12 people and their shitty little discussion group but now they have gotten worldwide attention.
This is why governments should stay out of the Internet - they could have monitored this group quietly and found out lots of information. Or used agent provocateurs to debate them on the group.
Or at least maims. Thrasher's Star Danny Heatley crashes his Ferrari and nearly kills a teammate. According to police reports he lost control of his care while going around a curve.
Usually when you lose control of a car going around a curve its because you have gone into the turn to fast. This in itself is not a bad thing especially in a race-bred car like a Ferrari - it should be able to take most curves at high speed. But our brains get us in trouble - we see that we are going too fast and are worried that the car wont make it. So what do we do? Lift off the throttle. Big mistake - the back end of your car will get light and the car will spin.
This is something that can only be cured with proper instruction and track time. Something that should be mandatory for people who buy high priced high horsepower machines.
Youth + Horsepower + Ignorance = Death or Serious Injury.
Of course Heatley escaped with minor injuries - drivers usually do. His passenger Dan Snyder is in critical condition. I hope he makes it.
Side note: Howard Hampton this is why insurance companies charge younger drivers a higher premium. It is not descrimination its common sense.
Speaking to allAfrica.com, several African leaders pointed out that although Tokyo gave aid to the continent, it did not give "orders" unlike other unnamed Western donors
Yeah orders like: Don't spend this money on a lavish palace, don't sock it away in a Swiss bank account and then send me thousands of emails asking for help in retrieving it in return for a small fee, or don't spend it on weapons to oppress your people.
I am all for helping African nations but the continent will remain a sewer as long as big stupid nations write big stupid checks to their corrupt governments. Aid has poured into that continent for 50 years with no result. The only nation with any economic stability is Africa which was run by whites. Rhodesia was also a rich nation until that maniac Marxist Mugabe took over.
Remember the song? "Africans are Liberated, Zimbabwae!!"
Liberated my ass.
Two quick solutions for Africa:
1 Stop writing checks. 2 Lower tariff barriers so they can sell their goods.
Joel Mowbray has exposed the glaring loopholes in the US state department's "VISA Express" program and written a book about it. Townhall is running excerpts this week.
Cathy Shaidle says The Exorcist made her cry and points to an essay she wrote three years ago about the film.
"Max von Sydow doesn't ramble on about Marxist eco-feminist paradigms or call for a group hug. And at the end, he doesn't take a Hawaiian sabbatical. He does he duty, and dies. Before that, he personifies an ever-merciful God, loving the real Regan hiding beneath the pea soup and obscenities."
She's right y'know.
If Hollywood wanted to remake this film they would turn the priest into a child molester and have Regan saved by a Wiccan priestess. Even Buffy the Vampire Slayer (as clever as the show was) couldn't reconcile its main plot (vampires) with the fact that all vampire lore is rooted in Catholic beliefs. The priests in the show were evil and the vampires didn't seem to be bothered by crosses.
I guess they figure people aren't willing to accept a premise that has as the Church as the good guys. This is partly the Church's fault but not entirely.
Steven Kings fantastic vampire book " 'Salem's Lot" relied on strict adherence to vampire lore: crosses and holywater powerful, if you get bitten by a vampire you are unclean - remember the scene where the priest couldn't get into the church? But that was 30 years ago. King doesn't' strike me as a conservative but he knows the basic premise of horror - start with old legends and stick to 'em don't build a tale around modern morality and bend demons power to it.
Anyway this post is becoming vague and unfocused.
To sum up: The Exorcist scary scary scary.
Steven King - used to be scary in the old days I don't think he is anymore but "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" was quite good and he stuck to the rules on old legends.
Hollywood - bad. God doesn't like them and it's ok to steal their movies on-line. If you pay for a movie you are aiding Satan.
Cathy Shaidle - My favorite religious person (outside my family). If I ever go back to being religious I'm joining her religion - whichever one it is.
As boring as the current election campaign has been in Ontario what has been most disappointing has been the media's unwillingness to ask the Liberals tough questions.
Only the Toronto Sun has been even remotely willing to hold Dalton's feet to the fire. This is a shame because even in the 95 elections the Tories were continually hounded by the press over their policies.
But of course when anyone mentions liberal media bias it is laughed off as paranoid.
Pirvatization is a one of the big dirty words for the left. They use it as a boogeyman in every election (the current one in Ontario has electric power privatization as the main monster) and it is fodder for union strikes nationwide, especially for those unions that control the public service.
You can bet the left will have nothing to say about this form of privatization however.
