Cinemas in Central Baghdad

The cinemas in central Baghdad are closed according to this AFP news story of August 27, 2006. http://tinyurl.com/omtvy The story said some of the closed cinemas were previously owned by Jews and Christians. Imagine a Jewish owned theater in Baghdad!

The religious extremists of Islam do not want their members to have entertainment. That used to be the way of Christianity also. When I was a child attending the church we were told that dancing and laughing was the Devil's workshop. The church leaders did not want us tempted, asking questions, or thinking. This is what is happening now in Iraq.

The United States should open the cinemas and screen the patrons for safety. The cinemas are one of the best ways to change the minds of young Muslims. American movies are still desired by the youth of other countries.

I remember the impact movies had on me when I was young. War movies made me want to join up and be patriotic. Movies could have a dramatic impact on young Muslims. American movies are some of the best propaganda devices we have that will help break the grip of radical Islam. People's opinions are formed for them, not by them. We should help form the opinions of the future generations of Muslims.

Bilbo Baggins

Why People Write Books

("Red Star Rogue". http://tinyurl.com/q99n8
"One of the great secrets of the Cold War, hidden for decades, is revealed at last. Early in 1968 a nuclear-armed Soviet submarine sank in the waters off Hawaii, hundreds of miles closer to American shores than it should have been. Compelling evidence, assembled here for the first time, strongly "suggests" that the sub, K-129, sank while attempting to fire a nuclear missile, most likely at the naval base at Pearl Harbor.")

Why do people write books? For three reasons; to make money, to influence the opinions of others, and self adulation. Some truly creative people write as a catharsis.

Kenneth R. Sewell is a co author of Red Star Rogue. Sewell is a nuclear engineer and a U.S. Navy veteran who spent five years aboard the USS Parche, a fast attack submarine that was the Navy’s most decorated ship.

I have not read "Red Star Rogue", only reviews. No where do the authors give conclusive evidence, only innuendoes, that the rogue sub was trying to launch a nuclear missile at the United States.

The authors probably wrote Red Star Rogue for money. I can surmise they also are trying to influence public opinion, for a strike against Iran. The authors are trying to scare the public and convince them a nuclear strike has been tried before, so it is only a matter of time before it happens again, so we must kill them first! Mr. Sewell is one of those who has contacts in the war industry and he makes his living from wars and fears of wars. Look for him to appear on the "Scare Factor".

Bilbo Baggins.

Iraq Oil Corporation

If Lions could talk, there would be two versions told of the hunt. African Proverb.

Part of the problems in the middle east is caused by U. S. foreign policy. Most terrorist acts are caused by young, single, Muslim males, many who are poor. Because of polygamy many of these young males do not have a prospect for a happy and prosperous future. Since oil revenues have poured into the oil rich middle east countries, the kings and princes who control the tribal assets have become very wealthy. It is time the oil revenue is shared by all of the people of the country who produces the oil. This will reduce poverty in the middle east, therefore reducing terrorism.

I believe a private corporation should be created that would own the oil production and refining in Iraq. This should be applied in other oil producing countries, like Venezuela. People in the west do not like refineries in their backyards. The Iraq Oil Corporation would be owned by the Iraqi males over age 18. Each Iraqi male would receive 1000 shares of the new company. As younger males reached the age of 18 they would receive 1000 shares of the Iraq Oil Corp. Each owner would be prohibited from selling the shares for 5 years. No person or group or organization will be allowed to own more than 5% of the company. Each share should pay a sizeable dividend.

This plan will help young Muslim men be competitive in finding a wife. Under polygamy a man may have three wives. These men who have wives are usually better off financially. I heard a news story that Osama Bin Laden's father had 20 wives! This meant 19 other men, in a 50/50 male female population, would not have a mate. The possession of 1000 shares of the Iraq Oil Corporation that pays a quarterly dividend will help young men attract a mate. This will go a long way towards eliminating poverty in Iraq. It will also take away the hopelessness in a life of a young male who cannot hope to have many sons because of polygamy.

Since the young males of Iraq will be owners of the oil infrastructure it will be in their self interest to preserve the assets instead of blowing them up. This new ownership society will weaken the hold Islam leaders have on the young men. Religious dogma has its strongest lure when presented to the poor who have no assets. The poor only have hope, even if it is a hope in something that is only in the imagination.

The civil war in Iraq is about dogma. It is also about who will control the vast wealth. In most oil rich countries, a few at the top live very rich lives. They will pose in front of the cameras with a state built hospital or school in the back ground and bloviate about how great the state is, then when they leave they will go to their private palace that cost ten times as much as the hospital cost.

Bilbo Baggins

Hyperbolic Fear

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them. Henry David Thoreau

On August 21, 2006, at a press conference President Bush made a statement about the war in Iraq, "If we leave [Iraq] before the mission is complete, if we withdraw, the enemy will follow us home." This is hyperbolic fear that has been used for centuries by leaders to encourage the cooperation of the group members. I'm sure there are members of the group who foresee hordes of Muslims landing on our shores, or coming across our borders, even though the hordes do not have a navy or airforce. The enemy was here before we invaded Iraq because we did not keep them out. If the government had done its job there would have been no enemies here.

There were 43,000 deaths on American highways in 2005. Why are Americans not afraid to drive? Their chances of dying on a highway are much greater than dying from a deranged Muslim.

The mission of our "Defense" department should be to secure our borders and keep "them" from "following us home". This would be much more cost efficient than invading other countries.

If the President wanted to really secure our ports and borders he could create a Civil Border Patrol, similar to the Civil Air Patrol. http://www.cap.gov/ Such a request by the President would have several million volunteers standing watch along our 75,000 miles of borders and coastline.

Every leader tries to instill fear in its group. The early Christian leaders knew this so they created Hell, presided over by the evil Satan. The group members became afraid, joined the church, gave their money to the con men, and that is how the Pope became rich.

Plato had it right when he described leaders;
"Quick intelligence, memory, sagacity, cleverness, and similar qualities do not often grow together. People who are high-spirited and generous are not built by nature to live in an orderly, peaceful, settled manner. Instead, they are driven every which way by their impulses and all firm principles leave them. On the other hand, those stable and steadfast and, it seems, more trustworthy natures, which in a battle are impregnable to fear and immovable, are equally immovable when there is anything to be learned. They are always in a torpid state and are apt to yawn and go to sleep over any intellectual toil." The Republic, Book 6 503c Benjamin Jowett 4th Ed.

We have heard that the Koran advocates violence against non Muslims. I support an amendment to the U. S. Constitution that would prohibit any religion that advocates violence. This might include Christianity since it also has a history of violence. This link is to a site that gives hundreds of examples in the Christian Bible that advocate violence. http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/cruelty/long.html Here's one, Exodus 31:15 "Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death." Here is another link that exposes the violence advocated by the Christian Bible. http://www.godlessgeeks.com/LINKS/BibleQuotes.htm#jckills

Why did Christian violence become illegal? It is because western ideas that man owns himself became more popular than the Muslim idea that Allah owns man. The ideas of the ancient Greeks, that the life on earth is as important as the after life, took hold during the renaissance. Despite the dark ages in Europe where Christianity tried to control critical thinking, the idea that man is free to reason began to control religion.

Why has Islam, especially Arabic Islam, not kept up with western ideas? I think it is because of the tribal nature of the Arabic world.

I knew an airline pilot who flew in WW II. Shortly after the war ended he was sent to Saudi Arabia to fly King Saud around in a DC-3. The pilot showed me an old photograph of him and the King in front of the DC-3. The pilot told me the king offered him women but the pilot refused because the women were so dirty. The pilot told me of the tribal culture that was so dominant in Arabia. Tribal culture has held back the Arabs because tribal cultures are communist. Communist and socialist cultures lag behind any free enterprise culture that allows property rights and rewards effort. The Arab world of Islam wants to blame the west for the poverty in the middle east. Envy and revenge is hurting the Arab world more than it is hurting the west.

Bilbo Baggins

Gay Marriage

If a person is free, they should be free to engage in voluntary contracts with another person, therefore gays should be free to marry.

I should also be free to decide whether I accept their marriage or not. I should not be forced to accept something of which I do not approve. People whose religion prohibits gay marriage should not have any right to force their religion on others, nor should they be forced to approve of acts that go against their religion.

The State should not meddle in the voluntary private affairs of individuals. Why do we need a license from the State to join into a voluntary union with another. George and Martha Washington did not have a marriage license. The State started to require a marriage licenses in order to prevent interracial marriages. The State later saw this as a way to raise revenue and keep track of individuals. It helped the State grow and become involved in divorces and community property settlements, all of which could be done much better by a simple pre marriage contract.

Bilbo Baggins

How to fight radical Islam

The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern.
Lord Acton, Letter to Mary Gladstone, 1881

I saw Mr. Robert Spencer's presentation on C-SPAN last night and thought it very informative. Mr. Spencer is the Director of Jihad Watch. I was hoping he would present a strategy for fighting Islam, but I did not hear any. There are plenty of strategies around, well, maybe not. There seems only two, kill all Muslims or do nothing. The choices seem political correctness run amok or our own Jihad against Muslims. Maybe I jest, but-

Throughout history no group has survived that lived by force and aggression. Islam has been around for centuries but it is a failure as far as advancing the living standards of its members. Islam is nothing but a form of government force and it will not survive the idea that each man is born free to do as he chooses. It is similar to the old Communist party in Russia where a few told the many how to live. Like the leaders of Russia under communism, the leaders of Islam live better than the masses. The Muslim sheep are socialists, thinking in group mentality, believing it is in their best interest, like people still believe Communism is in their best interest.

This is why Islam has been left in the dust of ideas and technical advancement. The Muslim leaders are now using envy and revenge against the west's successes as a motivation to keep their members agitated, and to keep the money donations flowing in, as the Muslims leaders enjoy more power, and a better standard of living than the masses.

If we did nothing it does not mean Islam would flourish. Quite the opposite. Radical Islam will collapse like all other oppressive organizations have collapsed.

We should amend our constitution to, prohibit any religion that promotes violence against others. This would create an outcry from Muslim leaders but it would make millions of Muslims rethink their dedication to an organization that promotes violence against others.

We should turn over airline security to the airlines. They should be allowed to profile their passengers. Private security will be more effective if a company's survival is at stake. Airlines want to alienate as few customers as possible. The airline that makes the most customers happy and secure will survive. The government on the other hand treats all airline customers as if they are all potential terrorists. They treat relatives of 9/11 victims the same as they treat young Muslim males. The government even treats Jews as if they are the same threat as young Muslim men! Absurd is an understatement.

Bring all troops home and station them along our borders and ports to help keep out terrorists. Using force against an ideology in its own country will never succeed. The longer we stay there the more we lose, and the more the insurgency wins. It will cost trillions of dollars and thousands of lives and the occupation will not end. The war against ideas of fear and superstition has been going on for centuries, and it will continue. How we fight this war should be sound and reasonable. It should not be a war of passion and fear.

Bilbo Baggins, -who is an expert on nothing, and reserves the right to be wrong, inconsistent, and hypocritical.

Islamic Mothers

Wild animal mothers will protect their offspring, but Islamic mothers will sacrifice their sons to Allah. Why do they do this? Human mothers have often offered their sons as human sacrifice to some other authority. In World War Two Japanese mothers offered their sons to the Emperor, who was considered a god.

I saw a news story about a Muslim mother whose son had died a martyr. The other village women were praising her for "her" sacrifice. The Islamic mothers may realize that in a polygamous society many of their sons will not find a mate, so, better to die a glorious death than to live a miserable life.

The following paste is another story about teaching dogma. Islamists schools for "boys" who spend hours each day learning to recite the Koran, pressured by their parents because the "belief" is that if the son dies he can take 10 family members to haven with him. Let's see, when I was in 12 years of school I had to memorize three things; the Gettysburg Address, the Pledge of Allegiance and,- I forgot the other thing.

"But the beauty of this country, Mrs. Sherwani said, is that her son is free to have it both ways, to be steeped in Islam and be whatever he wants." http://tinyurl.com/rfd5n

Wrong mom! Your son is brainwashed and controlled by others. You are part of the problem. He is not free to choose.

Bilbo Baggins, who reserves the right to be wrong, inconsistent and hypocritical.
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http://althouse.blogspot.com/2006/08/boys-subjected-to-9-hours-of-rote.html
Boys subjected to 9 hours of rote memorization a day in NYC.
The NYT has what seems meant to read as a charming human interest piece about "children" -- really, boys -- who are sent to school in New York City for 9 hours a day to work exclusively on the task of memorizing the Koran.
But this level of devotion to Islam has a way of causing suspicion these days. While parents whose children are in the schools said they were proud of them, they also worry about how they will be perceived. How they will be perceived? This isn't a matter of stimulating the supposed ethnic prejudice of Americans, it's blatantly violating the laws of compulsory schooling! The young boys are taught that if they memorize the entire Koran, they will gain admittance to heaven and the right to choose 10 persons to bring along with them. If believed, this is a powerful incentive. There is a sense that the entire family is relying on him. Meanwhile, these boys -- who must be quite smart to have a shot at memorizing the 6,200 verses -- are deprived of all other education, including instruction in Arabic, the language of the text they are memorizing phonetically. (Nor are they provided with a translation: they are learning only to pronounce sounds.)

By not offering instruction in other subjects, the school may be inadvertently running afoul of state law, according to city and state education officials. Private religious schools like the Muslim Center’s program are required to provide “substantially equivalent” instruction to that offered in public schools, they said. But tracking every school-age child who leaves the public school system can be difficult.Inadvertently? Inadvertently?! And how "difficult" can it be to detect schools that are completely out of line?

Several parents said they were not worried about their children falling behind because they are smart enough to make up the academic work. Some students from the class have, in fact, gone on to the city’s best high schools, parents and school officials said.Nevertheless, next year, the school plans to introduce two hours of instruction in math, science, English and social studies, said Mohammad Tariq Sherwani, director of the Muslim Center. The additional classes mean it will take longer for students to finish memorizing. “But it is worth it,” he said. I love that "nevertheless," as if it is just fine to subject a young child to 9 hours of rote memorization a day as long as "some" of them can make it to the best high schools. Presumably, those who do are unusually intelligent and have also spent their evenings doing remedial work in language and math. At what point do you stop romanticizing another culture and start to see child abuse and plain violations of compulsory schooling laws? Surely, a Christian private school that dispensed with academic study (or threw in two hours) would catch hell.

[The mother of one of the students] confessed that she sometimes questioned whether she was doing the right thing with her son, fretting that Thaha, who would have been entering the sixth grade this year if he had stayed in regular school, does not know his multiplication tables, for example.But the beauty of this country, Mrs. Sherwani said, is that her son is free to have it both ways, to be steeped in Islam and be whatever he wants. No. The beauty and freedom of this country does not include the right to deprive children of schooling.

posted by Ann Althouse at 7:47 AM

Profiling

I just want you to know that when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." George W. Bush

The big debate now is to profile, or not to profile, airline passengers. I am not going to choose for or against profiling. I will make a prediction that the American public will demand profiling. I am asking the question, why is profiling illegal?

There is some difference in a private business profiling and the government profiling. The government profiled during World War Two when it incarcerated the Japanese Americans. Of course there were many private individuals who would have killed the Japanese Americans if they had not been in a safe place.

We private individuals profile when we chose a mate, a business partner or purchase goods and services. So why is it illegal?

I believe it started when the egalitarians gained credibility and wanted everyone to be equal. Egalitarians want the poor to live as well as the rich. They want the willing to be equal to the unwilling. They want the weak to be equal to the strong. They want each to have the same pleasure, and therefore they want the suffering to be equal. They want us all to share the pain of airport lines and degraded screening. So some of the problems facing airlines are created by some government laws that try to make everyone equal.

Another reason profiling is illegal, groups were discriminated against in the past. Laws against profiling were passed by elected officials who were trying to buy votes in an attempt to assuage the fears of those groups who felt discrimination. As groups gain power in a democracy, laws soon become perverted. Anti discrimination laws require United Airlines to interview a young Muslim male if he applies for a job as a pilot. Profiling may be unethical or immoral, but governments should not try to legislate morality. Good leaders do not have to use force to teach morality.

If an airline could be freed from all government regulations it could screen only those they suspected of causing harm to their property and customers. They could even hire former special ops men to serve as armed flight attendants. However, they cannot do that. Why? Because of another government law, the Railway Labor Act, which protects the current unionized flight attendants. Most of the current flight attendants are no match for even a weak terrorist or a disturbed 59 year old woman.

The free market would tell if profiling is a good policy or a bad policy. A private business wants to satisfy their customers so they will try to alienate as few as possible. They want your money, but liability laws, in a real free market, will require them to be diligent instead of negligent when it comes to security. The government on the other hand treats all airline customers as if they are all potential terrorists. They treat relatives of 9/11 victims the same as they treat young Muslim males. The government even treats Jews as if they are the same threat as young Muslim men! Absurd is an understatement.

Americans were conditioned by the political correctness run amok prior to 9/11 in America as shown by what passenger agent Michael Tuohey said;
<*Michael Tuohey saw two of the hijackers on the morning of 9/11 and had the same instinct. Tuohey worked the ticket counter at the airport in Portland, Maine for US Airways. He'll never forget that particular day amongst his 34 years of employment. At 5:43 a.m. on a bright Tuesday morning, two men wearing sport coats and ties approached his ticket counter with just 17-minutes to spare before their flight to Boston. He thought this pair was unusual. "It was just the look on the one man's face, his eyes," Tuohey told me. In front of him were Mohamed Atta and Abdul Aziz al Omari. "I looked up, and asked them the standard questions. The one guy was looking at me. It sent a chill through me. Something in my stomach churned. And subconsciously, I said to myself, 'if they don't look like Arab terrorists, nothing does'." "Then I gave myself a mental slap. In over 34 years, I had checked in thousands of Arab travelers and I never thought this before. I said to myself, 'that's not nice to think. They are just two Arab businessmen'." And with that, Tuohey handed them their boarding passes. >

http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20060817/cm_huffpost/027443


Bilbo Baggins

Man's Desires

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who overcomes his enemies. Aristotle

Socrates said, "To want nothing is divine". Probably true, but also impossible. I would add; to want what one has is contentment, to want what one does not have is frustration, and to want what one cannot have is torment.

Man's desire to be right in his beliefs and subjective opinions brings him torment. His beliefs cannot be proven, so he becomes angry and afraid when someone points out alternative opinions and beliefs. Notice how angry one becomes in social conversations when their subjective beliefs are challenged. Men become so passionate about their desires to be right that they are willing to kill.

Utopia is defined as an imaginary place existing only in the mind, therefore it cannot exist in the real world. I have no illusions that a near utopian world will exist by implementing my hope for a smaller government. I believe individual men will continue to kill because of their desires. I just believe groups, (states) have a better kill rate.

Man is a complex and amazing creation. He has made incredible discoveries in science, created marvelous tools, and given us beautiful art. Despite man's ability to do advance calculus and send a man to the moon, he still cannot control his passions to kill each other.

Confucius told a young protégé to avoid looking at a beautiful woman because it would create desire in the young man and he would be lost. Men must learn which desires are good for them and which are bad. Man must learn to control his desires instead of being a slave to his desires.

My ego is too old and tattered to care if I am right. I am like a First Officer who inquires, advocates, and critiques a decision the Captain has made. My hope is the Captain will make the right decision.

Bilbo Baggins

Spousal Terrorism

WN News Service August 16, 2006 by Bilbo Baggins

During the past 10 years there have been around 130,000 Americans killed by other Americans. During that time there were around 3,000 Americans killed by foreign terrorists. An American's chance of being killed by an American they know is much greater than their chance of being killed by a foreign terrorist. Why is there such hysteria about foreign terrorist?

Many murders are committed by an intimate partner, spouse, family, or acquaintances. Murders by strangers are 15% and undetermined relationships are around 35%. (Does this mean 35% of murders are unsolved?) http://www.benbest.com/lifeext/murder.html

These startling statistics has changed the Department of Homeland Security's focus on making Americans safer. Surveys have shown Americans are willing to give up a little privacy for a little safety, so the DHS has for several weeks been monitoring phone conversations of married people.

After an early study of phone wire taps by the National Security Agency it has discovered that millions of wives are having an elicit affair. As a result of this new data the DHS has increased the threat level to husbands from yellow to orange. A news release from DHS says with millions of wives having affairs it is only a matter of time before thousands of innocent American husbands will be killed.

The White House released a statement from President Bush saying people should go about their normal lives and let the government deal with all unfaithful wives who are a threat to freedom loving American husbands.

Bilbo Baggins is a news reporter for Whacko News. He monitors world events from his hobbit hole in Erebor
Copyright (c) 2006 Whacko News

Muslims must tame Muslims

"Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon." E.M. Forster

An August 15,2006 online article from the Wall Street Journal was written by Mr. Farrukh Dhondy. The article was about how the Muslim community has to tame the radical Muslims. I couldn't agree more. In order to help the moderate Muslims change the minds of the radicals the United States must make itself invisible in the middle east. Any aid to the moderate Muslims should come from free trade. Private companies will sell ipods and cell phones to the younger Muslims. Movies and music will cross borders. The U. S. Government should do nothing except help these goods and ideas cross borders.

I saw a recent news story about young Iranian girls who were getting tattoos, discreetly. Tattoos are forbidden in the Muslim religion. The point proves that each generation rebels against the previous generations in order to create their own identity. Young people compete with history. When they hear about the honor or suffering previous generations have gone through, the current generation cannot relate to that, therefore they want to create their own history and identity.

Young Iranian women should have powerful and independent females as role models such as; PepsiCo's CEO Indra K. Nooyi, Avon Products' CEO Andrea Jung, and Archer Daniels Midland's CEO Patricia Woertz. Muslim women would prefer to have fewer children if their culture permitted such practice. Show Muslim women how liberated they can be if they have the birth control pill. This change in a generation of Muslim women will began to shatter the support for Islam.

Man's desires always torment him so I try to control my desires instead of letting them be in control. I have no desire to be right in my advocacy of foreign policy. I simply hope the right policy prevails.

Update Feb 5, 2011- Women are playing a role in the Egyptian protests. One young woman who has become the face of the uprising is 26-year-old Asmaa Mahfouz. Approximately 2 weeks ago, Ms. Mahfouz posted a video online that soon went viral. In the video Ms. Mahfouz states, “As long as you say there is no hope, then there will be no hope, but if you go down and take a stance, then there will be hope.”

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Egyptian women play a large role in conflict - National women's issues | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/women-s-issues-in-national/egyptian-women-play-a-large-role-conflict#ixzz1D6rpbfzN Bilbo Baggins

Democracy's Survival

Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true. Demosthenes

Democracy has come under fire lately. Many democracies have failed. Will democracy survive as a form of government? In Palestine there was an election and the enemy of the United States, Hamas, won. In Iraq one religious majority won a democratic election over another group. In Europe there are fifteen million Muslims who can vote but some of their countries, England for one, still helps kill their Muslim relatives in Arab countries. What do these frustrated Muslims do? They live in a democracy but their recourse is to resort to violence. What would happen to democracy in the United States if 60% of the voters become non Christian?

If all the members of a democracy are the same the democracy has a greater chance of working. If one majority group tries to impose their dogma or agendas on the minority groups the democracy is in trouble. Even if all members are of the same race and religion, democracy is one group plundering another. People will vote their fears and then their vices before they vote their virtues. This legal plunder will eventually cause the demise of the democracy.

Winston Churchill said, "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." Like physics and science, forms of government may yet be discovered that we cannot imagine, much like masses of people 2000 years ago could not imagine democracy. Most people used to think kings were gods and people were destined to be ruled by kings. No one thought the individual had rights.

Wild animals have learned to protect their offspring. The better the genes for protection the greater the chance the young will survive. After millions of years of evolution this desire for protecting the young in wild animals is strong. Humans in a democracy do the opposite. Mothers in a democracy will offer their young to the state for indoctrination in the state's schools. Then the parents of the young will offer their young to the state as cannon fodder in some foreign adventure that will benefit the state. The bad genes survive better in a democracy.

The only way for a democracy to survive is if the members have the freedom to declare their independence from the majority group. As long as there is a threat of secession of some members who will form their own state or join another state the majority group will be less likely to impose laws that oppress the minority group. Why not allow individual companies to offer government services?

People should be free to declare their independence from one state and join another state much like customers are free to shop at the company that provides the best service. Some large companies could provide all the government services and people could join any company and pay for protection and court services, automobile licenses, credit reports, identification, hospitals, etc.

Bilbo Baggins

Wild dogs and domestic dogs

I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time. -Friedrich Nietzsche, (1844-1900)

If you asked a person from all political persuasions if they would rather live free as a wild dog or kept as a household pet, most would prefer to be a kept as a household pet.

Each person would agree the freedoms a wild dog has is not worth the price of the responsibility in trying to find food and shelter each day and the other difficulties freedoms bring. Most people prefer to give up their freedoms for the comfort and safety of being on a leash and being fed good food regularly.

Sometimes I see a dog off leash and running free. I marvel at the beauty. It reminds me of the dogs I had on the farm who could run like the wind and come back, panting with delight. Now I see other dogs inside a small condo who wish to run free. I wonder if the dog in the condo would give up its comfort and safety to be free.

I kept a dog while its owners were away for a few days. The dog was a work dog and was very nervous and high strung. I took it for many walks and gave it some training and worked with it. The dog seemed to respond to the world of work and order. When I took it home the dog did not want to go. I found out later the owners do not walk the dog. It just stays in the house and they put it on a long leash in the common area for the dog to relieve. The point is this dog is kept safe and comfortable, but, it cannot run like a dog loves to run.

Many people will choose the life of a domesticated dog. People always assume their master will be the kindest and most caring owner. Little do people realize that most masters of people have always been cruel tyrants. Cruel tyrants always said they had good intentions, as they did evil. Good people become bad people when given power.

When people think of complete freedom they think they will have to live like wild dogs. People are willing to give up a "little" freedom for a "little" safety. They think they can have both. They cannot as long as they voluntarily give up freedoms, slowly, a little at a time, one election at a time. After a few generations they have no freedoms, but, like the domestic dog, they cannot imagine surviving in freedom.

Humans do not have to fear freedom. Humans who are completely free will not have to live like wild dogs. Humans know how to grow and produce food and shelter. Humans love to create beautiful art and music. Humans have a brain that allows them to develop free trade and written rules, such as the Golden Rule. Humans can make rules with a pen instead of their fangs. Unfortunately most people make too many written rules thinking they will benefit from the rules. Instead they slowly lose. All people living with too many rules will soon suffocate from the rules. Then their lives will be much worse than the life of a wild dog.

Bilbo Baggins

Freedom vs Protection

When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing you may know that your society is doomed. Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged.

My friend Denis said, "There are all kinds of unwanted casualties of war, Bilbo, and one is always some civil rights."

Which is why leaders love war Denis. The constitution is ignored as they consolidate power.

Denis- "You sacrifice to protect, and later you hope to regain those rights."

I do hope for the freedoms the constitution promises Denis, but, I suspect I will be long dead before we get free from the powers of our own government. For two hundred years Americans have said they would not mind giving up a little freedom for a little protection. Giving up a little freedom here and there has added up to millions of pages of laws, rules, and regulations on the federal register. So where is our protection? To give up a little freedom for safety is a one way contract. You give up your freedoms but you have no way to force the government to deliver protection. When they fail to follow tips and protect us, as in 9/11, they just collect their government pensions (guaranteed better than ours), with a cost of living raise, and retire to Florida, or become a Washington lobbyists.

Denis asked, "What the are the options?" (to giving up some freedoms).

Denis, my list of options are too long for this post so I will just start out with the idea that a search warrant should be required to listen on private phone conversations of American citizens. (The 'alleged' London plot was not detected by illegal wire tapping. It was old fashion tips and infiltration.) The best option is to require the government employees to follow the constitution, and stay out of other countries. The constitution will not enforce itself. Men and women who love liberty are required to enforce the constitution.

The argument that one should comply and cooperate with authority if one has nothing to hide is the argument kings and Caliphs have always made. The new Communist party started out that way. After the revolution in Russia in 1917 most of the population was happy and cooperative. Soon millions were killed simply because they dissented. Dissent soon becomes illegal in an authoritarian society. The communist party finally consisted of only 6% of the population telling the other 94% what to do. Everything became illegal. People who act like cattle end up in the slaughter house. I prefer to be a deer who will jump over the fence and roam free, even if I have to fight off predators.

Denis said, "It is wishful thinking to believe complete freedom can be available to terrorists and we remain safe."

That's Orwellian obfuscating. I'm not in favor of giving a terrorist complete freedom. Far from it. I think they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But let us make sure we are making a distinction between an alleged terrorist and one that is convicted of a terrorist act. During the recent thwarted "alleged" London terror plot I have not heard one government employee or media reporter refer to the suspects as "alleged terrorist". The fear mongers have already convicted and sentenced the alleged perpetrators, much like a black man in the south in 1930 would be hung as soon as a white woman said he did something bad to her.

I think Islam is the worst of the religions and I would be in favor of a constitutional amendment that would prohibit any religion that was not tolerant of another religion, or would not let its members convert to another religion, or leave said religion.

Our meddling creates enemies. The terrorists of future generations have not been conceived, but the propaganda to motivate them has been and is being created each day by our foreign policy. Our unborn children will be targets of unborn terrorist.

When I am forced to chose sides in Israel's religious war, or any other dispute, the other side hates me. For my whole adult life, 50 years, I have been forced to support Israel. I had no say in the partition of Palestine nor did my elected representatives. It was decided by a bunch of United Nations bureaucrats. The Jews should have their own country for security, so I vote to give them part of New Jersey, or give them some of our federal land. Yellowstone Park is almost as big as Israel. If people want to voluntarily support Israel, as millions do, go ahead, but their support should not be forced on others.

Bilbo Baggins

The Desire for Revenge is Harmful

"A tyrant... is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader." -- Plato - "The Republic" (c. 380 B.C.)

Revenge is part of one of the seven deadly sins, wrath. It affects our reasoning. We will kill for revenge, even if we only believe. We will seek satisfaction against any innocent member of a group who we believe someone from that group has harmed us.

It a tribe is wronged it is easy for the tribal chief to accuse another tribe he does not like of the wrongdoing. This false accusation will enrage his own tribe and raise their wrath. His tribe will be willing to go to war to seek revenge, even if it means the killing and torture of innocent members of a distant tribe.

After the 9/11 highjackers died in their own crime, Americans were not satisfied. They wanted revenge, even if it meant killing innocent women and children.

We tend to hate all members of a race if one member from that race has harmed us. If a white person has wronged a black person, the black person tends to want revenge against all white people.

If a Jew harms a Muslim, the Muslim tends to want revenge against all Jews.

Some men become serial killers and kill innocent women simply because they perceive they were harmed by one woman.

A woman who is raped by a black man may identify an innocent black man as the rapist just so she can get revenge. She cares only that a black man is punished.

I suspect if the world was all one race, religion, gender and tribe, the desire for revenge would still exist in the human psychic.

The desire for revenge is harmful.

Bilbo Baggins

Why no photos of dead American soldiers?

The instinctive need to be the member of a closely knit group fighting for common ideals may grow so strong that it becomes inessential what these ideals are. - Konrad Lorenz

Why does the Pentagon not allow publications of images of dead American soldiers killed in Iraq? The enemy is happy to show images of their dead soldiers. Why the difference in policy?

Each side will have a policy that is supposed to benefit their cause. When the Iraqi resistance fighters show images of their dead it will help their recruitment and gain support from the populace. When images of dead American soldiers are shown, the opposite effect happens. Recruitment becomes difficult and popular support wanes when Americans see images of dead American soldiers. This happened in the Vietnam war. Its what happens in an open society. In a dictatorship it is easy to control the information received by the masses. In a democracy that allows free speech the masses discuss issues among themselves. This is why wars of a democracy state cannot last as long as wars of a totalitarian state. Images of dead soldiers will create emotions among the people that will create dialog which will ask questions. People in leadership positions get asked often to explain their decisions. This is why many people do not like to become leaders, they have to explain their decision.

Why does one side gain support and another side lose support from the same policy? It is easy for the local Iraqi people to see the American soldier as the enemy and part of the problem. After seeing their dead Iraqi neighbors the Iraqi populace wishes the enemy to go away.

When Americans see images of dead American soldiers they start asking questions about why our men are dying in a foreign country. Americans simply start assessing the costs of the dead. If they never see images of the dead they do not realize all the cost.

Crowds go crazy, quickly, as a group. They come to their senses slowly, one at a time. This is evident by the frenzied crowd support for the war in Iraq in March 2003. In August 2006 only 40% of Americans supported the war. Democracies do not like long wars. Americans get bored easily. They want the game to be over so they can look for their next entertainment. They want a winner. They do not like ambiguity.

Bilbo Baggins

Unreliable Intelligence

Rob the average man of his life-illusion, and you rob him of his happiness at the same stroke. - Henrik Ibsen

The New York Times on July 19, 2006 questioned the reliability and competence of the CIA and Israel intelligence to detect weapons shipments. No we cannot rely on our government intelligence. Still, this failure will only cause an increase in their budget. The intelligence was wrong about WMDs in Iraq and thousands of Americans have died in Iraq and more continue to die each week. The nation is plunged into debt that unborn children will have to pay. Yes, I would say our bad intelligence has been a Catastrophe.

I do not trust our government or any other government. I don't believe anything the CIA or Israel says. Whatever they say it is to protect their careers and evoke empathy or some other outcome. Still people will go to war over beliefs, instead of facts, which is why I would be cautious about believing anything my government says. Each government tries to say they want to protect us from that other evil government. Tribal chiefs and witch doctors have used fear for centuries to say the tribe in the next valley is about to attack. What each government wants is to control their own populace. All of the fear mongering is to make government necessary. Imagine if the world was all at peace and free trade prevailed. Governments would create a villain, even if it was space invaders! War is the health of the state. There is a defense contractor or sub contractor in each congressional district. Labor and anti war liberals promote war. The two liberal senators in Washington state vote for more and more defense and they claim to be liberal. People vote their fears and vices instead of their principles and virtues. Many people love the safety of authoritarian governments, thinking the authority will only be used on others.

If you ask most people if they were a dog, would they want to live wild and free, or would they prefer to live as a house pet. Most people would chose the ease and safety of being a house pet because people chose what will give them more pleasure than pain. They assume their master will be benevolent. They assume the government will also be a benevolent master. Little do they suspect their kind master will turn into a cruel master.

If a dirty bomb kills a million people that will be about 1/3 of 1% of the population. The Civil War killed 2% of the population! We should get out of foreign involvements and reduce the chance of another terrorists attack. I fail to see how our support of a theocracy in Israel is making us safer. Don't let them scare you into compliance. They want us fearful. I saw how a union can instill fear among its members and galvanize them for a strike, a strike that was unnecessary. The government wants us compliant. They want us to let them do the thinking and they want us to stop asking questions. They gain power, glory, and good pensions from our compliances and fears.

My friend Don said Christians do not kill other Christians like Muslims kill other Muslims. Christians killing Christians happened all over Europe during the past centuries. And the Christians in our civil war killed each other as they prayed for their god to make them victorious. Lucky for us god did not answer all their prayers.

Preemptive strikes are rarely justified. Real self defense is justified. If I choose to make a preemptive strike against my neighbor who points a gun at me, it is likely I will be arrested. There will be an investigation to see if I was justified in my action. There is no such investigation when one state attacks another just because the other state has missiles. We just have the word of the attacker, who may be lying.

Charles Tolleson

The Longest War

When I feel the hand of power lie heavy on my brow, I care but little to know who oppresses me; and I am not the more disposed to pass beneath the yoke because it is held out to me by the arms of a million men. Alexis de Tocqueville

The Israeli conflict in the middle east is entering the its seventh decade or more, depending on where on starts to count, and still no peaceful or military solution is in sight. It may end up surpassing the Hundred Years War between England and France, starting in 1337. Since the Israel theocracy was founded in 1948, Israel has been at war or in a defensive state. I expect it will continue as long as both sides fight over dogma. Most of my adult life I have been forced to support this religious war.

You may say the fight is not over dogma. Pretend all Jews are Muslims, or all Muslims are Jews, or pretend all people in the Middle East are Buddhists, and the fight would be over. Then you say the Muslims kill each other. True, but they kill over dogma because of their different interpretation of the Koran. Religions always have their splinter groups fighting for power based on a belief.
If Jewish babies were exchanged with Muslim babies at birth and raised in the religion opposite the one they were born in, the Jewish babies could become a terrorists suicide bomber who would blow up their own families, all because of the beliefs and opinions others formed for him, not the beliefs he formed for himself based on reason.

For years many Jews immigrated to Israel. This immigration has diminished in recent years. The Jewish birthrate has declined. Many Jews are starting to ask if religion is worth dying for. Jews are asking why one Israeli soldier's life is more valuable than the lives of a hundred Lebanese women and children. Many will choose the safety of another country over dogma.

Jews have a history of intellectual and moral thought. They have discussed moral philosophy for centuries. This has created a conscience in the Jewish mind which is now starting to dissent from what many see as an excessive use of force.

The many choices available to Jews may be the demise of the Jewish state. Some Jews will say the elimination of the PLO led to Hezbollah and the elimination of Hezbollah will only lead to another guerilla group, so why should I keep fighting for the Rabbis and the Zionists State when I can live peacefully in New York or Los Angeles. The Jews who once saw their race as weak and vulnerable now see themselves as the most powerful military in the Middle East who has enough weapons of mass destruction to wipe out millions of Arabs. The hunted have become the hunters. The story is one that has been told over and over. Power corrupts. The moral dogma of Zionism is becoming the political dogma of the State.

Even without religious dogma, humans will go on killing each other. Humans ignore the reason they enjoy killing each other, they just make up excuses for their killings. Humans, unlike other animals kill over mythical beliefs. Humans, also unlike other animals, kill for revenge.

The war profiteers will continue to exploit the human weakness for war. Lockheed Martin, a defense contractor has seen its profits increase significantly in the past few years. Most all congressional districts have a defense contractor or sub contractor. The labor groups and even liberals make a profit from their labor. They call it patriotism, but, if they were truly patriots and the war was just and moral the war profiteers would work for nothing. Washington's senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both Democrats representing Washington, often vote for more war weapons because of the Boeing employees in Washington state.

I have the greatest respect and admiration for the Jewish people. They have brought the world great art and scientific discoveries. But science is not dogma, and art has its own soul.

When Israel was founded the Jews did not feel safe in any place so they said why not create a state based on their history. The Jewish people should have their own homeland for their security. I think their homeland should be in a place that does not create conflict for so much of the world. I would support a constitutional amendment that would give the Jewish people a country in the United States with an equal amount of land area as they have in Israel. Yellowstone National Park is almost the same size as Israel. If the Jewish homeland was in North America the conflict in the middle east would be mitigated. Islam would continue to foster hatred of those who do not practice Islam. I would support a constitutional amendment that would prohibit any religion that was not tolerant of other religions.

People have a right to form alliances with each other. If any Jew has legal title to their land which they received in exchange for goods or services, they have a right to be left alone. I also have a right to decide whose disputes I will get involved with. There are too many conflicts between states, groups, and individuals for me to choose sides based on one side's view over the other side. If I take sides with one, the other will become my enemy. I have too many enemies in the world today because my government forced me to support one side over another.

Charles Tolleson