Sunday, November 16, 2003

-------------------- READ THIS BOOK. Mugged By The State... [Discount Blogger] Michael at DB wants us to read this book and I think I will buy it for myself for Christmas. Captian Poopdeck Investigative reporter Randall Fitzgerald has traveled the country meeting ordinary, innocent Americans with horrifying stories of how they have lost their homes, land, businesses, bank accounts, cars, and other assets to federal, state, and local government. Thanks to out-of-control regulations, property can be seized, impounded, and sold without recompense to the rightful and innocent owner. And as Randall Fitzgerald points out, it could happen to you. This shocking book reveals: -How developer Donald Trump used a state agency to try to confiscate a widow's home whose land he coveted for a casino parking lot -How a family in New York was unable to move into their newly bought house because of a change in the state housing laws, costing them an eight-year battle and $700,000 -How the FDA shut down a Maine fish business because its processing methods were allegedly a life-threatening health hazard-but allowed Canadian firms to sell fish in the United States processed exactly the same way -How a Utah cattle rancher was threatened with fines after wild birds found nesting on his ranch were thought to be eating an endangered species of snail -Why few victims contest their treatment (and it's not because they're guilty) -Proof that enforcement quotas-and fundraising incentives-lead to unjustified property seizures -How corporate America cuts itself in on the racket -How to fight back effectively if you or someone you know becomes ensnared in the regulatory spider web Randall Fitzgerald chronicles a clear and disturbing pattern of government abuse that has gone woefully unchallenged. Mugged by the State is a warning, a call to arms, and a practical manual of self-defense. 8:17:55 PM    comment []

-------------------- It's Our Job. Editor's Note: This letter comes from Major Pain and was originally published on Magic in the Baghdad Cafe blog. Baghdad, 10/30 Hello from Iraq! Setting here waiting for March to get here so I can go home. Every day is... [Front Line Voices] 8:12:48 PM    comment []

-------------------- Left-Wing Mutineers Did In Davis and you thought the Republicans canned Gray. With Arnold Schwarzenegger set to take office Monday, Republicans have been congratulating themselves for engineering the first recall of an American governor in 82 years. But it wasn't disaffected conservatives who tossed Gray Davis from office. It was liberals. The real story of the recall lies in the collapse of support for Davis among the state's three pillars of Democratic politics — legislators, liberal interest groups, and left-leaning voters — who were so miffed by Davis' dogged centrism that they stood by while the right tore him to pieces. On election day, a quarter of self-identified liberals voted to oust their governor. And while Davis' machine-cold personality, mishandling of major crises and lack of a vision all contributed to his eventual fall, in the end, it was liberals who sealed his fate. This was a Democratic fragging. 8:08:31 PM    comment []

-------------------- BETTER THAN BEING THERE. Killer whales are viscious, terrible predators. For some reason people actually like them and think they're our buddies. Must be those shows at Sea World. Get an animal to jump through a hoop and all of a sudden it's cute... [Hell In A Handbasket] 4:22:12 PM    comment []

-------------------- Picture of the Day  Preparing 200 pound bombs for the Rags. 1:53:00 PM    comment []

-------------------- I got to have one of these.  Such a deal! 8:34:51 AM    comment []

-------------------- Hillary getting lots of attention today here and here. 7:36:09 AM    comment []