:: walterindenver ::

:: Saturday, September 07, 2002 ::

Denver Police Secret Spy Files Feature the Libertarian Party

Yeah, I went down to Denver Police HQ this week to look for a file on me. None exists, at least that they were willing to share. (I feel slighted.)

But I did find one on the Libertarian Party. Ari Armstrong's report is as least as good as anything I could write.

Is anyone not bothered by the DPD's willingness to spy on a mundane, peaceful political organization? And, yes, before you bring it up, this predates 9/11.

:: Walter 7:26 PM [+] ::
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Keep Your Receipts

FusilierPundit thinks gun purchases should be tax deductible because private gun ownership benefits the greater good. Spot on.

But don't stop there. Everything I buy benefits the greater public good. $120 for steak and wine at the Chophouse? Think how many jobs I'm supporting! $50 for detailing the Jeep? Why, those people might even be poor! I should get a tax credit for that. $1000 for a weekend of skiing and partying in Telluride? I'm supporting a whole bloomin' community!

It seems everything I purchase benefits someone. I daresay the money I spend on myself does greater good than the money I pay in income taxes.

So is it safe to say that the income tax does more harm than good? Why not? Let's make every purchase deductible. Really.

:: Walter 6:31 PM [+] ::
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What's Been Lost

A Sept. 5th AP story lists, matter-of-factly, the rights that citizens no longer enjoy in the USA, thanks to the 'war on terror.' Under the bland title 'Overview of Changes to Legal Rights' are listed seven former rights including:

"RIGHT TO A SPEEDY AND PUBLIC TRIAL: Government may jail Americans indefinitely without a trial."

"RIGHT TO LIBERTY: Americans may be jailed without being charged or being able to confront witnesses against them."

:: Walter 6:26 AM [+] ::
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Lileks

...is often my favorite read in the blogosphere. Or anywhere. So, frequently, I read the day's 'Bleat' out loud to my wife. I read this one to her, about a family flying on their way to Disney, on 9/11, without reading it myself first. It's, ummm, kinda dark. It ends:

Little Christine was Gnat’s age, give or take a month; bin Laden’s lackeys killed her - and did so to ensure that other fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters died as well, preferably by the tens of thousands. This little girl’s death wasn’t even a comma in the manifesto they hoped to write. They made sure that her last moments alive were filled with horror and blood, screams and fear; they made sure that the last thing she saw was the desperate faces of her parents, insisting that everything was okay, we’re going to see Mickey, holding out a favorite toy with numb hands, making up a happy lie. And then she was fire and then she was ash.
I feel the same anger I did on 9/11; I feel the same overwhelming grief. Nothing in my heart has changed, and God forbid it ever does.

'Gnat' is Lilek's nickname for his daughter. Read the whole thing yourself.

:: Walter 8:28 PM [+] ::
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Call Your Senator Today
...suggests TalkLeft. The goal; to protest a truly terrible piece of legislation called the Rave Act. As in our national Senate has at least a few raving lunatics as members.

:: Walter 12:28 PM [+] ::
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Denver Secret Police Files Now Less Secret

Colorado residents and regular readers of this blog have been following the story of the secret files Denver Police have kept on political activists. Hundreds requested to see their files yesterday, the first day that they were released. Only the people who are subjects of the files are allowed to retrieve them.

The Denver Post reports on the crowd that showed up, including:

Barbara Cohen, a member of Denver Copwatch, was surprised to see two entries in her 16-page file associating her with the Brothers Fast motorcycle club.
"I've never heard of them," she said. "I've never been on a motorcycle." The file also says she has an FBI number.

Hmmm, inacuracies in secret spy files? Say it ain't so. I think I'll go down and see if there's a file on me. I'd lay the odds at 3 - 1 against it.

:: Walter 7:50 AM [+] ::
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I'm Speechless

Someone paid to have the ad banner that was atop this page removed. I don't know who. Thank you.

I'm tempted to go do the same for somebody else's site.

:: Walter 9:13 AM [+] ::
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Hahahahahahaha

No. Wait. The damage socialized medicine does to a healthcare system will kill people. That's really not funny.

Link via Ben Fischer.

:: Walter 10:02 AM [+] ::
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