:: walterindenver ::

:: Saturday, June 29, 2002 ::

Blogger Problems
This blog is only days old and I've got my first tech problems. Hopefully they're all behind me now. Lost all my posts from this morning, but I'll get them back, along with front line reporting from tonight's Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash.

:: Walter 6:39 PM [+] ::
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Idiotic LTE of the Day
Stiff competition for today's award. Denver resident Edward H. Hawkins takes the prize with this entry from today's Denver Pest.
A taste:
I know it comes as a shock to liberal Democrats that Sen. Wayne Allard, a Republican, introduced legislation to provide $200 million for low-cost housing in the form of grants for down payments. Horrors of horrors! A Republican pushing for low-cost housing for the poor? Republicans aren't supposed to want to help poor folks. Fortunately for readers, the editorial explained it quite well. The bill, S. 2582, effectively spikes the false notion that Republicans are a bunch of unthinking, crass, rich guys.
Here's a Republican proud of his Senator for sponsoring a big ol' chunk of pork barrel social engineering. I'd hate to see what the unthinking crass rich guys are up to.

:: Walter 4:22 PM [+] ::
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You probably don't care
But it's a big deal anyway. Claudio Reyna made the World Cup All-Star team. As in All-World, and richly deserved. The first US player to do so. This country is finally approaching superpower status.

:: Walter 4:12 PM [+] ::
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Don't Worry!
There's no chance the US government will save all e-mail sent anywhere on the internet to peruse at their leisure, up to, say, seven years in the future. Like the Europeans are doing. A White House spokesperson has said so. Then again, why should we save e-mail, if it's already archived in Europe?

:: Walter 3:02 PM [+] ::
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Cheese War
One of this year's most interesting political races is in Wisconsin, where Ed Thompson is threatening to break the two party monopoly. Ed is brother to Tommy, the former Wisconsin Gov and current Bush cabinet utensil. He's running on the Libertarian ticket on a moderate libertarian platform with a strong populist appeal, and polling 11% (eleven %!) already. Madison's Capital Times explains why Ed is in position to win the race.
P.S. Did I say 'moderate libertarian platform?' Isn't that an oxymoron?

:: Walter 1:59 PM [+] ::
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The Constitution does not apply here

Vin Suprynowicz takes up the Rick Stanley cause in Sunday's Las Vegas Review-Journal. (and syndicated nationally) Rick is certainly a controversial character, even within the Libertarian Party, but I have to give him kudos for standing up against Denver's blatant disregard to the state constitution at great personal risk. I attended the trial myself, and I can vouch for the veracity of David Bryant's retelling of his conversation with the city attorney. David went to Cal Tech, not MIT, however.
Full disclosure: I voted for Rick Stanley for US Senate at the state LP convention, in spite of some things he's said that I can't defend. He won the nomination in a close contest.

:: Walter 6:03 PM [+] ::
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Idiotic LTE of the day
This beauty comes from one Ronald L. Buckles of Denver, published in the Rocky Mountain News on Tuesday the 25th. He would like to see the US retain the Tax on Dying, or, umm, estate tax. Excerpt:
So why do some of our elected officials in Washington want to do away with it completely? Full repeal of the estate tax would mean much less money for the things most Americans really care about: Social Security, Medicare, prescription drugs, education, and homeland security. Is it fair for multimillionaires to get another tax break while the rest of us bear the burden?
You mean people would have to bear the financial burden of their own existence? Why would they do that when rich people could just pay for everything instead?

:: Walter 8:04 AM [+] ::
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This was sent to me by The American Liberty Foundation, Harry Browne's public policy group. Yeah, it was first published a few years ago but horror stories like these are worth repeating.

"In 1994 Debbie Vineyard was accused of dealing
drugs, even though no drugs or money were ever
produced as evidence. She was convicted solely on
the say-so of an admitted drug dealer -- a man who
was given a reduced sentence in exchange for naming
other people.

The drug agents pressured her to name other
conspirators in exchange for leniency. But, of
course, she couldn't name anyone because she wasn't
involved in any criminal activity.

She was told (as many people in her situation are)
that if she pleaded innocent and asked for a jury
trial, she would get 30 years to life if she lost
-- as a penalty for tying up the judicial system.
Afraid of being separated from her family for so
long, she gave in and pleaded guilty. Even though
she was a first-time "offender," she was sentenced
to ten years in prison.

Debbie was sent to a prison in Alabama -- separated
by 2,000 miles from her husband, son, and disabled
father in California.

There were no drugs, no money, no evidence of any
kind -- just the misfortune of being acquainted
slightly with someone who was secretly dealing
drugs.

She describes the experience:
"I was never given the opportunity for a bond,
and I was held for eight months before pleading
guilty. Before this happened to me, my family and
I would never have believed something like this
could actually happen. There was absolutely no
evidence against me, and a crime had not even
been committed.

"Even though I was pregnant, I was handcuffed,
shackled, and flown via airlift with the Federal
Marshals. I was housed in four different county
jails before finally reaching my destination, an
Alabama jail. In court, I was provided a
court-appointed attorney (I was his first client).
Due to my pregnancy, my court date was postponed
and the Marshals drove me, handcuffed,
belly-belted, and shackled, for ten hours to a
Kentucky Prison to give birth to my child."
(Source: "The Great Libertarian Offer" by Harry
Browne, published by LiamWorks, 2000... Sources are
cited there.)

:: Walter 7:42 AM [+] ::
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It's official now. Everyone has a blog.

:: Walter 7:20 AM [+] ::
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