Happy Birthday America

I've struggled mightily over what to write regarding Independence Day, the "birthday" of the United States. Over the years, my view of it has changed from youthful jingoism, fireworks and cook-outs to a more jaundiced, reflective perspective tempered by my own experience and the actions of our government. Is this a day to celebrate or to mourn ? Participate in or ignore ? Like most things in life, I will attempt to take the middle path.

First, things to celebrate. The Declaration of Independence is one of the most radical documents ever written. We have become used to it over the years of school instruction and take it for granted without really recognizing how earth shattering it was. It symbolized a radical break with the past and the way in which governments had ruled to that point. In a world of despotic monarchies and "constitutional" monarchies, the Declaration was like a cannon shot. Not only did it spell out the individual rights of all men, it laid out a concise case against the King of England and the reasons that a break with his Empire was required.

The Declaration also presented a semi-anarchist view that government was created by the consent of the citizenry who retained the right to abolish it by revolution should it become abusive in its powers-

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Even over 233 years later, those words seem to jump off the page and hit you right between the eyes. Unfortunately, the average citizen of this country is blisffully unaware of the power that they hold. Better to buy a new IPod or flatscreen television than recognize that our individual liberties are slowly bleeding away. Now contrast these words against what the United States has become centuries after they were written and we have reasons to mourn.

The signatories of the Declaration would be horrified by what the government of the United States has become. Deeply in debt, it has traded the economic future of our grandchildren for political gain and expedience. It has curtailed our rights as free men and women, monitoring our speech and travel, eroding our protections against unlawful search and seizure and right to arm ourselves as the ultimate insurance policy against despotism. It has imposed a system of confiscatory taxes at every turn in our lives- our income, what we buy, what we sell, our property and even our estates when we die, it seizes our property under the auspices of eminent domain, and enforces its rules with the barrel of a gun. It has grown completely beyond what our founders intended and has become a monster of regulatory agencies and entrenched bureaucracies.

No wonder so many 4th of July celebrations are focused on what America once was.

I'll celebrate the 4th of July with a small "c" this year, like marking the birthday of an old friend that isn't around anymore- and probably is never coming back.

Utah reverses prior alcohol law.

I've never been to Utah although it's on my list of places that I would like to visit. From what I heard over the years, its a beautiful place to see although it has some quirky laws that are a result of the dominance of the LDS (Mormon) Church in the state. The governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman, has successfully repealed a 40 year old law that required bar patrons to complete a complicated process of membership forms and fees in order to get a drink. Huntsman, himself a Mormon, seems to have been motivated by a desire to increase tourism to the state.

This is a small victory against a theocratic system of government, masquerading as a democracy, which has imposed its religious beliefs upon its citizens (the article reports that 80 % of state lawmakers are LDS members.) It seems incredible that such a law would exist into the 21st century, but the LDS dominance of the Utah government has resulted in laws crafted for the "good" of its members, not the freedom of its citizens.

One troubling aspect of the repeal of the law is that the identification of bar patrons who appear to be under 35 will now be electronically scanned and saved in state databases. Ostensibly, this is being done so that state authorities can examine the records later on to see if any laws have been broken. The purpose of the original law was to shield LDS members from the evil of alcohol. This new scanning of identification could be a simple way for the LDS dominated legislature, working through the LDS dominated state police, to keep an eye on younger LDS members that may dare to venture from the flock.

Keep it in your pants.

I learned two things yesterday that I never knew. First, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail is actually in Argentina, not Georgia. Second, Mark Sanford, the Republican Governor of South Carolina, has admitted an affair after going AWOL from his post for the past couple of days. The emails exchanged between Mr. Sanford and his girlfriend are now public. I couldn't stop wincing as I read them and I imagine that Sanford's political opponents are going to have weeks of fun in dissecting them and eviscerating him in the press.

Adultery sucks. It's one thing that Buddhists, Atheists, Christians, Jews and Muslims can all agree on. Many cultures have both oral and written prohibitions against it, rooted in the ancient knowledge of humanity that screwing around on your partner is damaging to all involved, especially children. Mr. Sanford should be roundly condemned for his actions and deserves to suffer the embarrassment he has caused himself and his family. Adultery is a sign of cowardice. If he really loved his girlfriend, he should have been man enough to divorce his wife first. Instead, like most egotistical politicians, he wanted to have the best of both worlds. If the guy has any honor at all, he will resign as governor and go play with the tractor he alluded to in his emails.

Other politicians will pile on, but this sorry episode illustrates the problem with many modern supposed "servants" of the state. The long list of politicians, of both parties, who have been caught in these types of affairs just reinforces the fact that we are governed by a childish, immoral, unethical and arrogant class of elites that feel they are entitled to do what they want, whenever they want regardless of the consequences. Power is an insidious, corrupting force that has slowly destroyed this country and its citizenry's faith in government. This sorry episode just further illustrates that the time has come to bring the government to heel.

One for the Road

The rights of citizens are not taken away by governments in one fell swoop. Instead, they are chipped away over time, rationalized as being for the common good and deftly propogandized to sell to the populace. When done correctly, the citizens of a nation should awake one morning to find that their individual liberties, granted not by the state or deity but by nature, have been marginalized, reduced and eliminated. One such assault on our rights as free citizens has been the use of DUI checkpoints by local law enforcement accross the country. It has been rationalized as being for our own good (after all, what idiot could support drunk drivers ?), propgandized by organizations such as MADD received the stamp of approval of the US Supreme Court despite its blatant violation of the 4th Amendment. (If you want the details you can research Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444 here (1990.))

Put aside the constitutional arguments for a moment. Ask yourself why we supposedly free Americans accept the fact that we can be stopped at a checkpoint, interrogated by the police as to where we have been and what we are doing ? Is this East Germany in the 1970's ? No, we have passively accepted the will of the state, not even with the test of the ballot, to stop us as we go about our legal, personal business. Now that the state has taken this right, it's not going to give it back. In fact, the state will use this entry to further encroach upon our rights as free beings. If you live in Florida, for example, you may even be required to give blood at a checkpoint.

Despite research showing that they are ineffective and cost prohibitive when compared to traditional policing, the DUI checkpoint has now become commonplace in the majority of U.S. states including Pennsylvania. The federal government supports this charade by granting tens of millions of dollars to local law enforcement to pay overtime to their officers and to buy new equipment to perform this heinous task. If you've ever seen your local law enforcement sporting a new trailer or warning lights for DUI enforcement, for example, it's a good bet that it was paid for with your fellow citizens tax dollars. Money too is the prime mover of Mother's Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) an organization with a multi-million dollar budget that supports DUI checkpoints and vilifies any politician brave enough to stand up and complain.

Should driving drunk be a crime ? Yes, of course it should be. Drunk driving endangers all citizens. The necessity of prohibiting drunk driving, however, cannot justify the routine impedance of free citizens going about their business whether in the day or night. It is time for all citizens to demand that this inefficient and expensive fascist attack on our rights be ended.

Hit me....

Faced with an enormous budget deficit, the government of Pennsylvania is now ready to approve table games (poker, blackjack etc.) at state casinos in order to generate more tax revenue. Story Here. As I stated in an earlier post, the government of Pennsylvania is in the running to become the largest organized crime syndicate in the world. It already controls liquor and gambling, and once the deficit becomes large enough I wouldn't be surprised to see state controlled prostitution up for discussion.

Casinos enable to the state to prey upon its own citizens, usually the ones that have little disposable income that can least afford to lose it. Verbal gymnastics are used to describe the losses suffered by gamblers as "revenue" totally ignoring the devastation that this brings to families across the state. The glitzy lights and excitement of the casinos entice bus loads of geriatrics to stream into their maws, eagerly shoving their meagre assets into the machinery that diverts that money back to the state. Occasionally, a winner will beat the odds stacked against the visitors, giving false hope to the masses that they too can feel the rush of victory.

When you break it down, it really is sick (but not surprising) that politicians view their fellow citizens as cattle to be attracted by the bright lights, stripped of their money and then sent back out the door. At the same time, these same politicians will not abide any competition and will ruthlessly seek out and crush any gambling not approved, monitored and shared by the state. I'm all for freedom and believe that any adult has the right to gamble, drink, smoke pot- you name it. I just want the state to be honest and admit what they are really doing. Exploiting the citizenry, crushing competition and working in secrecy. Sounds like the mafia doesn't it ?

To the Barricades !

Ayatollah Ali Khameni has issued a stern warning that street protests in Iran must end-

• In his first public remarks after days of protests, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the outcome had to be decided at the ballot box, not on the street.

The Ayatollah has thrown his full support behind President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a move that could either calm the recent street protests or backfire with (hopefully) disastrous consequences for himself and Mr. Ahmadinejad.

While the U.S. media pontificates about the response of President Obama to the crisis, roundly lambasting him for a decidedly weak response, they seem to be missing the larger point. The street protests, met with gunfire by the regime and their supporters, is more about throwing out a corrupt theocracy than backing any particular leader. With a large, youthful and educated population yearning to be free, we can only hope that they will overthrow their government, drag the parasitic mullahs through the streets and build a new country based on individual rights rather than the oppression of the religious fascist class.

Jackasses please steer clear of the G20

Reg Henry is an opinion columnist with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. I usually like reading his pieces. They are often harmless little puff pieces full of local insight and humor, easily read and just as easily forgotten. In one of his latest articles, he takes a shot at anarchists, and other assorted "jackasses" that may be thinking about spoiling the G20 party this fall-

• Among jackasses, the anarchists are the worst type and not just because they are poseur men (and women) in black. Nobody would vote for anarchism, for the simple reason that it can be fairly defined as the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina. Er, no thank you.

Wow. Mr. Henry, a self admitted liberal and proponent of free speech, uses most of the article to bash those that would have the gall to protest at the G20 gathering. As for Hurricane Katrina, that was a poor example to use. The wave of crime that followed the hurricane was not the result of anarchy, nor can it be totally blamed on the government failing to respond quickly enough. People died in New Orleans because they, and their families, had been dependent upon the state for generations and were completely unprepared to fend for themselves. The state enslaves its citizens by use of law, taxes and hand-outs. If the government gives you something, it always takes something in return.

Mr. Henry does make a couple of valid points. Yes, Pittsburgh's citizens tend to be very proud and defensive of their home town. Trashing downtown is not going to win points in the hearts and minds of the average American sheep watching the evening news. For the first time in a generation, the combination of economic catastrophe, unemployment, disillusionment in government and the capitalist system has given the Anarchist voice some sympathetic ears to fall on.

I also agree that within any group of protesting Anarchists you will find a group of late teens, early twenties kids protesting for nothing deeper than the chance to be part of a group and break things. Hopefully, more mature voices will be heard in September and a more positive message can be sent to rouse the public from the stupor of the Obama enhanced nanny state.

G20 Leaders making their reservations

It was reported today that some of the G20 leaders will be staying at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort south of Pittsburgh. The resort is about 50 miles or so from Pittsburgh, located close to the small city of Uniontown. At $ 650 per night it's not cheap, but hey, why not when you're on an expense account being paid by the poor slobs paying their taxes back home ? For security purposes it makes sense too. There's only one major road leading to the resort and there is actually an airstrip next to the hotel which will be convenient for those bringing their own helicopters. Why stay in the confines of Pittsburgh with protesters beating drums and blowing whistles, when you can sip champagne in the mountains and decide which economy you want to wreck next ?

I've been to Nemacolin a number of times for business conventions. It was built by local boy made it big Joe Hardy who is famous for founding 84 Lumber, being a billionaire and marrying then divorcing hot young women. It's a nice place to visit but has a strange Disney World type feel to it. The main French Chateau inspired building looks jarringly out of place among the hills of Western Pennsylvania, but President Sarkozy might enjoy it. Plus he can compare notes with Mr. Hardy regarding their mutual taste in babes.

Penguins win 3rd Stanley Cup

Way to go Pens !

Japanese Buddhist based party wants to drop pacifism from constitution

Kyoko Okawa, leader of the Buddhism based Happiness Realization Party in Japan, has called for Article 9 (outlining Japan's pacifist based defense stance) to be dropped from the Japanese constitution in a recent interview. Her husband Ryuho Okawa founded the party (and the religious sect it is based upon) and believes he is the reincarnation of the Buddha. While Mr. Okawa's statements seem to discount his reincarnation story, he says Japan needs to take a more militaristic stance in its region-

• "If you take the 'thou shalt not kill' precept too far, you cannot protect your country. Historical fact shows that weakness in Buddhism," Kyoko said. "That's why we wanted to develop Buddhist teaching."

The Okawa's also believe that external threats from Korea and China justify a more proactive stance in the defense of Japan. Far from a fringe group, the Party claims 10,000,000 members and could have some impact on elections in October.

Buddhists in Japan calling for militarization is not as crazy as it sounds. All of the Zen Buddhist sects in Japan supported the Emperor and the militaristic Japanese government in World War 2 which inflicted horrifying atrocities upon the people of China, Korea and many other countries that were the targets of their imperialistic ambitions. While many Buddhists like to describe their beliefs as being based upon peace and love, and abhorring killing in any form, they have yet to come to grips with the actions of Zen Buddhists in World War 2.

I don't believe that Mr. Okawa's statements in any way tarnish or devalue the message of peace spread by the Buddha. As with many other philosophies and religions, the message can become perverted over time as individuals attempt to spin the teachings for their own gain. I hope that Mr. Okawa finds his way back to the proper path soon.

Newspaper Article on size of Flight 93 Memorial

A local columnist from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is also asking why the Flight 93 Memorial needs to be so big at the expense of local landowners.

Russia willing to abandon nuclear weapons.

Wow. As if you needed any further proof of the global influence of "Confessions of a Buddhist Anarchist," Vladimir Putin signaled that Russia is willing to abandon nuclear weapons if other countries are willing to do the same. Story Here. Vladimir has been trying to add me as a friend on Facebook for months and I guess I better finally give in.

Russia is simply running into the same economic constraints that all nations owning nuclear weapons must face. These weapons are horrendously expensive to design, build and maintain. You don't simply drop a missile in a silo and forget about it. They need constant maintenance and testing, not to mention security. Given Russia's dependence upon oil prices, which have only recently started to move higher, it is no wonder that Putin wants to get rid of some of these useless Cold War toys.

Let them eat Plutonium

U.S. strategic and diplomatic efforts, along with those of the United Nations, have been geared towards the prevention of the development and proliferation of nuclear weapons by certain nations. Although the nuclear genie is apparently out of the bottle in North Korea, the U.S. government is hopeful that a mix of diplomatic, trade and military efforts will be enough to convince the Iranians to shelve their nuclear ambitions. Although it would be heresy to state it in Washington D.C., countries such as Iran should be free to develop any nuclear weapons that they want. Why ? Because they too will learn what a tremendous waste of money and national resources these weapons are.

It is estimated that by the year 1998, the United States had spent $ 5,800,000,000,000 ($ 5.8 Trillion- no, that is not a misprint) on developing and deploying nuclear weapons (and the delivery systems for them.) This figure is from a 1998 Brookings Report which estimated that annual maintenance was at least another $ 35 billion per year (so add another $ 350 billion or so to come up with the total price tag to date.) These numbers are staggering to say the least and do not include the amounts spent by the former Soviet Union, China, India, Pakistan, France and United Kingdom on their arsenals (not to mention Israel and possibly South Africa.) Taken in total, these numbers could easily double the amount spent by the United States.

Critics will argue that it was the very existence of these weapons that prohibited the Cold War from becoming a shooting war. They say the very deterrence based upon the threat of global annihilation was instrumental in creating one of the longest periods of peace in recent history. While global conflict may have been avoided, a new type of war by proxy was favored to keep the superpowers from conflicting head to head- as evidenced by Korea, Vietnam, the Arab-Israeli wars, Indo-Pakistani conflicts, Nicaragua and Afghanistan. Although the United States and Soviet Union faced no destruction on their own turf, many other nations were mercilessly destroyed in the game of global domination.

As nations like Iran and North Korea will learn, the deployment of nuclear weapons is easily countered by more nuclear weapons being deployed by your adversaries and so on, and so on. The rapid escalation in the sizes of the U.S. and Soviet arsenals matched this spiral as new generations of weapons were deployed leading to new weapons to counter them and so on. Eventually, the arsenal sizes far exceeded any possible strategic use and became the tremendous drain on national expenditures that they are. Moreover, they are tactically useless to these countries. They are vulnerable to adversaries first strike capabilities and guarantee virtual annihilation if unleashed.

Nuclear weapons represent the pinnacle in man's never ending quest to develop better ways to kill other men. Antiseptic terms like CEP, throw-weights, first strike and others totally ignore the horrific capabilities of these weapons which make them so appealing to the madmen who covet them. One document I read as a young intelligence analyst still sticks in my head twenty odd years later. It stated how the Soviets second strike on U.S. cities would utilize biological weapons, smallpox in particular, deployed by ICBM to kill off any survivors crawling around in the rubble. This wasn't fantasy concocted by anti-nuclear proponents, it was hard intelligence. The complete lack of humanity necessary to concoct such a plan (and probably the U.S. counter plan) is beyond frightening.

I would use a completely different diplomatic approach in dealing with these nations. First off, cut the U.S. nuclear arsenal by 90 % and encourage all other nuclear powers to do the same. Use the fuel for the peaceful generation of power and then negotiate to eliminate another 9%. Demonstrate to the wannabe nuclear powers how useless $ 5.8 Trillion worth of paperweights really are. Fears of proliferation can be countered by methods to track the origins of the materials used to make weapons. Every potential nuclear weapon has a return address. Make it clear that any use of such weapons by terrorists puts their host nation on the hook for retaliation. Keep 1% of today's weapons around as a safeguard. That is still adequate to annihilate anyone foolish enough to use them.

The enormity of the cost of nuclear weapons is not the only staggering part. The other is the way in which the U.S. government spent money with little or no oversight from the American people. We were sold a bill of goods by our elected officials based upon fear and propaganda in the same way the the citizens of the Soviet Union were. The entire sorry affair is yet another example of the innate corruption of governments and the economic rape of their citizenry which they indulge in. Imagine the good that these trillions of dollars could have done. The United States could stand, right now, completely debt free and funding the development of medicine, hospitals and transportation throughout the world. Instead, it was squandered in the name of the balance of power. What a different world it could have been.

Legalize It !

Gay marriage should be legally accepted in the United States. The government, state or federal, should have no role in dictating to free people whom they can, or cannot, marry. The government, state or federal, should not use religious definitions of marriage or justifications to allow, or not allow, marriage between consenting parties. Despite the efforts of the religious right to prove otherwise, we do not live in a theocracy and I refuse to accept non-secular arguments about how people should live their lives.

Ask yourself how complete acceptance of gay marriage would directly affect you. For the life of me, I cannot. It doesn't in anyway weaken, invalidate or cheapen my marriage to the woman that I love. It in no way encroaches upon my rights or civil liberties which, incidentally, were never granted by a state or religion to begin with. It does not prevent me from participating in the commerce at which I work or the pastimes at which I play. I could honestly care less what my neighbors do in their own homes and lives as long as they afford me the same consideration.

I have read many arguments against gay marriage from a religious perspective. I respect the views of others and the passion with which they feel them. However, the liberties that we are born with as free men and women trump all religious arguments against gay marriage. The Old Testament has prohibitions against homosexual behavior- as well as many other arcane laws that few modern Christians or Jews even know about, much less practice. Thank goodness in my own case, my parents didn't have a handy copy of the Old Testament lying around when I came home late on a Friday night-

• If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father and mother, who does not heed them when they discipline him, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the gate of that place. They shall say to the elders of his town, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard." Then all the men of the town shall stone him to death. So you shall purge the evil from your midst; and all Israel will hear, and be afraid. (Deut. 21:18-21.)

Ouch.

If the Old Testament was truly dictated by God to Moses, why would it include a prohibition against homosexual acts ? Without going into theological gymnastics, it would appear that this would argue for a Deist point of view- God created the world and all living things upon it. Humans were given free will to go about their business and therefore divine laws were needed to guide them to live their lives. First, most modern Christians, especially those that are born again and converse with God, would reject the Deist argument that the world is basically God's model train display that he gave life to and walked away. Alternatively, given evidence that homosexuality has a biological causation we must conclude that God created homosexuals. This begs the question of why God would create homosexuals and yet ban their behavior. Does he have a really bad sense of humor or does he enjoy the shame and persecutions that these people enjoy ?

I would choose answer "c." Something created the universe, name him, her or it whatever you want. This brings to mind the Buddha's famous parable about the man wounded by the arrow. The Buddha asked a man if he was shot by an arrow would he enquire into who shot the arrow, the composition of the arrow etc. or would he ask a doctor to remove it. He answered correctly and the best path was to address the immediate problem and pull out the arrow. Instead of sitting around all day thinking about who shot the arrow, and bleeding to death in the process, think in the here and now and save the man. If God does exist, his true intentions and way of thinking are unfathomable. If he is a just and loving God, then he created everything- heterosexuals, birds, thunderstorms, homosexuals, you name it. All created things are equal and deserve equal treatment and respect.

From a civil perspective, homosexuals need marital rights in order to codify their rights especially in terms of property, living wills, decedents estates and employer benefits. All citizens regardless of sexual preference deserve these basic rights protected by law. Protecting the rights of homosexuals in no way infringes or reduces the rights of heterosexuals. But, you say, what about polygamy ? Actually, that's fine by me as well. As long as marriage is between consenting adults I could care less if you marry 1 woman, 3 women or another man. Want to marry your cousin ? Fine by me too. This is better regulated by families than the government.

If the religious crowd is dead set against the word "marriage" I would hope the gay marriage supporters would concede and allow it to be called something else. Let's get on with our lives. There are far more pressing issues facing us.

More on the Flight 93 Memorial

The government has shelved plans to use eminent domain to acquire land for the Flight 93 memorial- for now.

• From an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. "The federal government backtracked today and decided not to seize the western Pennsylvania property needed to build a Flight 93 memorial, saying instead it would renew negotiations with landowners."

The federal government will attempt to negotiate with the landowners and pay them "fair value" for their properties in order to complete the memorial. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, however, does not rule out the use of eminent domain to seize the land stating that "I know that if we can't get it resolved, eminent domain is still a backstop." In other words, we will smile for the cameras and attempt to make nice, but make no mistake we are prepared to take your property if need be. Complicit in this scheme and present at the meetings with landowners was none other than Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Senator and political survivor extraordinaire. Thanks for standing up for your fellow citizens, Arlen.

The proposed memorial will consist of over 2,000 acres of land. For comparison, the Washington Monument occupies 106 acres and Arlington National Cemetery consists of a little more than 600 acres. Why is such an immense piece of ground needed to commemorate this event thereby necessitating the taking of land from private citizens ? Wouldn't a small park of say 10 or 20 acres and a monument be sufficient ?

Plans for the memorial design are here. Look, I'm no landscape architect and I have zero artistic ability but the design looks hideous to me.

Flight 93 Memorial

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported today that the Federal Government is hopeful that eminent domain proceedings will not be necessary to acquire the land for the proposed Flight 93 memorial. Story here.

So let me get this straight. You are going to build a memorial to individual heroism in the face of terrorism by kicking your fellow citizens off of their property ?

A Tale of Two Cities (With Apolgoies to Dickens)

I love hockey. Sorry that I may disappoint my more radical Anarchist friends but give me a hockey game at any level, a beer and I'm one happy Buddhist camper. Right here in Pittsburgh we have game 4 of the Stanley Cup about to start. I love the Penguins. Sorry again. As Anarchists we are supposed to be sullen, moody individualists cursing such institutions that advocate mandatory dress codes in the form of the dreaded "white out." Sorry to my Buddhist pals, we are not supposed to be attached to anything, right ? Well, Nirvana just might be a little closer if # 87 hoists the cup over his head.

The Pittsburgh Penguins were born the same year as me, 1967. Like me, they've undergone a few changes in ownership, close brushes with bankruptcy and a will to fight on despite the fact that their fan base had dwindled. We've both been locked-out, cursed-out and nearly knocked-out by forces beyond our control but still we soldier on.

Many local, and national, news sources are starting to pick up on the whole "rust belt" Stanley Cup finals between two declining industrial towns. They point to Pittsburgh as what Detroit should aspire to, since Pittsburgh is (by their definition) so much further ahead. Here's a story from Detroit. And here's another from....Fort Worth ?? Pittsburgh is no longer a steel town, Detroit is no longer a car town. On and on and on.

What nobody wants to point out is that both cities were killed by the same gun- globalization. Pittsburgh's mills and Detroit's car manufacturing were both killed by political decisions. Both were done in by cheaper foreign labor and a government lacking the resolve to protect industries of national importance. I know, I know, you are screaming right now and jumping up and down- it was the unions that were paid too much, management that was paid too much, not enough innovation etc. etc. Believe it or not, I have an MBA and understand these things. In fact, I'm looking at it right now. Huh, nice. And where has globalization gotten us to ? Cheap Hyundais, and empty main streets in Detroit and Pittsburgh.

I remember when I was a kid heading home from the arena. On the right side of the road, sitting against the Monongahela River were massive steel works. Fire and smoke belched into the night sky. A vision of Hell but in some ways comforting as well. Roll down your window and hear the mill's roar, smell the stink. The slag piles were massive cliffs with burning saplings as new hot slag was dumped down the hill. I still remember that, small burning bushes in the night.

Ride up the River and the mills are gone. Redevelopment of office parks and technology companies. Mill towns are a shadow of their former selves. The Churches speak the names of where the workers were from- England, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Ireland, on and on. Except there are no parishoners. The kids have moved on. They are now living in enemy territory- home of the Atlanta Thrashers, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes. Towns with no hockey history, undeserving of even having a franchise. The homes of the suits and the fur coats, the place to be seen. But now that you can't win anything the pretty boys and girls have left the building.

Bring the teams back to where they belong. Working towns like the Original Six and their expansion brethren of 1967. We are the idiots still hanging on to a hope and a belief, a fierce love of where we are from and witnesses to how a team can briefly bring us all together. Pittsburgh is a strange place that way. A Bermuda Triangle of loyalty that can have have atheists hugging priests, conservatives hugging liberals and myself telling everyone to go fuck themselves. Good luck Pens, bring it on home.

Here Comes The Judge - Sort of

The June 3rd, 2009 issue of the Pittsburgh City Paper contains an excellent article entitled "Bench Strength" by Chris Young. The article examines one of the leftovers of Pennsylvania's English past namely the local magisterial (or district judge) system. As many citizens may (or may not) be surprised to hear, all you need to become a judge in this state is enough votes and completion of a training course.

I've stood in front of a couple of these stooges over the course of my life, not for anything major but for annoying inconveniences such as parking tickets, speeding and once in handcuffs (charges dropped later, but that's another story.) If you've ever paid a fine in one of these offices and taken the time to look at your receipt, you will see a long list of beneficiaries making money off of your transgressions. Therein lies the answer to why this system exists- to make money. Any political hack, regardless of legal training or lack thereof, can aspire to this well paid position ($ 75,000.00 plus) and enjoy all the benefits of wearing the black robes and being called "judge."

Working hand in hand with the magistrate system is another anachronism which should be put to rest- the constable system. These soldiers of misfortune work for the magistrate system serving warrants and bringing the accused before their magisterial masters. Like their legal counterparts, these individuals are not the most highly trained or intelligent fellows but they too like the perks of wearing a uniform, having cool flashing lights on their cars and the legal right to carry a weapon in the course of their duties. If you ever see a fat, disheveled and armed man in a wrinkled uniform, it's a fair bet it's your local constable.

I once received a parking ticket in Washington County. I didn't pay it. They wanted $ 5.00 for being 10 minutes late on a 0.25 meter. Sometime later I received a notice of a bench warrant. A local constable mailed me a badly spelled letter that looked like it had been copied twenty or thirty times over at the local gas station. It stated that "time had run out" and I was facing imminent arrest. I even found his business card taped to my garage door. Wishing to avoid a Ruby Ridge type scenario over a $ 5.00 ticket, I caved into the Man and paid $ 60.00 to take my name off of America's most wanted.

On another adventure to magistrate land, I found myself in the office of another one in Westmoreland County. I noticed that there was a helpful sign in the office that promised discounts at the local hot dog shop to local law enforcement (the magistrate also owned the hot dog establishment.) Seeing that my fate could be decided by a discounted hot dog and fries, I plead guilty and took my lumps. Incidentally, I had eaten at the hot dog shop some time earlier. It sucked. I mean, how hard is it to make a good hot dog ? Especially if your primary business is selling hot dogs ? Anyways, I digress.

The state should not be able to sub out its functions to district judges, constables, for profit companies which collect local taxes, privately owned prisons or any other entity without direct civilian oversight (such as police review boards.) This entire sorry system should be scrapped. Barring that, district judges should be lawyers in the hope that they at least didn't sleep through some ethics training and their constable counterparts should be held to a higher training standard as well. Maybe we can start with how to wear a uniform properly.

Say it ain't so Osel !

Well, this is a timely article given my recent tirade about religion. The boy chosen by the Dalai Lama as a reincarnation of a spiritual leader has renounced any such connection to Tibetan Buddhism. For those not familiar with Buddhism, there are many schools of thought regarding this belief and Tibetan Buddhism is but one. As someone studying Theravada Buddhism, I respect the Dalai Lama as a person who has quietly fought injustice in his homeland and abroad but I have no real belief in some of the more supernatural aspects of the Tibetan belief system.

One aspect of the article that caught my eye regarded what the young lad was allowed to watch on television-

• Yesterday he bemoaned the misery of a youth deprived of television, football and girls. Movies were also forbidden – except for a sanctioned screening of The Golden Child starring Eddie Murphy, about a kidnapped child lama with magical powers. "I never felt like that boy," he said.

Forcing anyone to watch that movie should be investigated as a violation of basic human rights.

Another, far more troubling quote from the article-

• By 18, he had never seen couples kiss. His first disco experience was a shock. "I was amazed to watch everyone dance. What were all those people doing, bouncing, stuck to one another, enclosed in a box full of smoke?"

I don't know what's more frightening- the fact that this kid was basically imprisioned by a bunch of rabid monks or the fact that disco still exists somewhere in this world.

Oh No Canada- Part Deux

Here is a follow-up opinion piece to the article posted yesterday regarding free speech in Canada. Apparently, governmental entities will now classify such activities as anti-police graffiti as deserving definition as a hate/bias crime and will be investigated as such.

From the article-

• It would seem the police are in the business of monitoring any type of protest, march or activity that could possibility result in a hate crime incident. That means protests about native land claims, environmental protection, poverty, public debt and homelessness; issues that have been raised before during economic summits and Olympics are now fair game to be classified as potential “hate crimes.”

I've long thought it a bad move for Anarchists to align themselves with Leftist and Progressive thinking regarding free speech issues. This is the boomerang that we now face. The State, Left or Right, is the enemy of the people. Anarchists that fought for hate crimes legislation now risk being hoisted by their own petard as the State uses the same laws to target all of us. By the way, what exactly is a bias crime in Canada ? Does professing a love for Molson over Moosehead get you shipped off to the Arctic Circle ?