Howdy Convict, It’s Your Lucky Day, We’re Too Crowded…You’re Outta Here!

Judges Order California Prisoners To Be Released

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A special panel of federal judges tentatively ruled Monday that California must release tens of thousands of inmates to relieve overcrowding.

The judges said no other solution will improve conditions so poor that inmates die regularly of suicides or lack of proper care.

The panel said it wanted the state to present a plan to trim the population in two to three years.

“There are simply too many prisoners for the existing capacity,” they wrote. “Evidence offered at trial was overwhelmingly to the effect that overcrowding is the primary cause of the unconstitutional conditions that have been found to exist in the California prisons.”

See ya later, suckers!

The three judges suggested a target prison population of between 100,800 and 121,000 inmates – down from the current level of about 158,000. More inmates live in conservation camps, community correctional facilities and private prisons in other states.

The proposed targets would require the state to reduce the prison population by between 36,200 and 57,000 inmates. Attorneys representing inmates had sought a reduction of about 52,000 inmates.

The state can change parole and other policies to cut the population of its 33 adult prisons without endangering the public, the judges said.

Reducing the number of inmates might have a positive effect as well, they said. “This is particularly true considering that California’s overcrowded prison system is itself … a public safety hazard,” the panel said in its order. (Read more.)

B.S. Report–At least business is booming in one industry.  The prison system doesn’t need more customers–they need a “stimulus” package to serve their growing customer base.  I don’t think building new prisons was a part of the “Obama Plan,” was it?  So we just are going to let crooks out because they’re not getting the kind of health care that the infamous 9th Circuit Court thinks they should get.  Amazing.

Mr. “Sky Is Falling” Says Catastrophe Looms If We Don’t Pass “Stimulus” Right Now!

President Obama Says The Plan Doesn’t Contain Pork

Washington (AP) – President Barack Obama pressed Congress Monday night to urgently approve a massive economic recovery bill, using the first prime-time news conference of his presidency to warn that a failure to act “could turn a crisis into a catastrophe.”  With the nation falling deeper into a long and painful recession, Obama defended his program against Republican criticism that it is loaded with pork-barrel spending and will not create jobs.

“The plan is not perfect,” the president said, addressing the nation from the East Room of the White House. “No plan is. I can’t tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis as well as the pain felt by millions of Americans.”

When the stimulus bill passed the House, not a single Republican voted for it. On Monday an $838 billion version of the legislation cleared a crucial test vote in the Senate by a 61-36 margin, with all but three Republican senators opposing it.

Obama said the federal government was the only power that could save the nation at a time of crisis, with huge spending outlays and tax cuts that he contended could save or create up to 4 million jobs.  (Read more.)

This is not an ordinary recession!

B.S. Report–We can’t just do nothing President Obama claims.  “With the private sector so weakened by recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources left to jolt our country back to life.”  That’s what he believes–he believes that government should run things. He is a socialist.

It’s the government intervening into the private sector that’s responsible for the financial mess we’re in.  When this bill passes, as well as the other items on Obama’s agenda, he will become the biggest spender in the history of mankind.  Congratulations!  Not bad for a month or two in office.

Recessions are a normal part of the business cycle.  Is this one worse–perhaps.  But that’s due largely to the government messing with mortgages and injecting themselves into financial markets.  When businesses are failing, they need to become more competitive if they are to survive.  Propping up failing businesses is not the job of the federal government.  And it’s certainly not the job of taxpayers!

In short, the President says we have to do this now–before anyone has a chance to think about it.  We were told the same things when they passed the first “stimulus.”  It didn’t do a thing–that is anything positive.  That’s all the more reason to take our time and assess the plan–because the plan is a lemon.

Here’s A Guy Who Needs To Be Rewarded, Not Prosecuted! Arizona Rancher Roger Barnett Is Doing The Job ICE Won’t Do!

Arizona Rancher On Trial For Defending His Own Property

He deserves a medal, not a trial.

TUCSON – The trial is now under way in a civil-rights lawsuit against a southern Arizona rancher accused of holding a group of illegal immigrants at gunpoint near Douglas.

Attorneys for the 16 people who were trying to cross into the U.S. illegally accuse Roger Barnett of holding a gun on the group, threatening them with his dog and also threatening to shoot anyone who tried to escape, according to a news release from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

The group also said Barnett kicked one of the women in the group when she was on the ground.

The federal lawsuit charges Barnett, his wife, Barbara Barnett, and his brother, Donald Barnett, with conspiring to violate the plaintiffs’ civil rights, according to the release.

The federal lawsuit charges Barnett, his wife, Barbara Barnett, and his brother, Donald Barnett, with conspiring to violate the plaintiffs’ civil rights, according to the release.

U.S. District Court Judge John Roll in March rejected Barnett’s efforts to have the charges thrown out, ruling that sufficient evidence of a conspiracy existed, that the Barnetts denied the immigrants’ right to interstate travel and that the actions of the three were motivated by race.

Barnett’s attorney, David Hardy, had argued that illegal immigrants didn’t have the same rights of interstate travel as U.S. citizens do.  (Read more.)

B.S. Report–This is absolutely outrageous!  This guy is defending his own property from an assault from illegal aliens.  He owns a gun legally and he hasn’t harmed anyone.  He has detained over 12,000 illegals over the years who have used his property to enter the U.S. illegally.

In short, he’s doing the job that ICE is supposed to be doing but will not do because of political pressure.  Meanwhile, nothing has changed since 9-11.  It’s actually worse because the government is treating those citizens as criminals who dare to do one of the government’s few actually Constitutionally mandated jobs for them.  Instead of prosecuting this guy, we should put him in charge of ICE.

Obama Bumps His Head: Lets Hope It Knocks Some Sense Into Him

Obama Bumps Head Boarding Marine One

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama is still getting used to some details of his new life, including the fact he has to duck when boarding his presidential helicopter.The 6-foot-1-inch Obama bumped his head Monday morning when boarding Marine One on the White House’s south lawn. He misjudged the doorway and banged his head on the low doorway.

It was Obama’s fifth flight aboard the helicopter, which ferried him to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. He then flew on Air Force One to Indiana to promote an economic stimulus package that Congress is weighing.

B.S. Report–Maybe he’ll have amnesia and believe that this is free country and not a socialist state.

“I Did It,” A-Roid Comes Clean; Well, Kind Of…

This From ESPN

His voice shaking at times, Alex Rodriguez met head-on allegations that he tested positive for steroids six years ago, telling ESPN on Monday that he did take performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers during a three-year period beginning in 2001.

"I did not have sexual relations with that woman"... oops, wrong guy.

“When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure, felt all the weight of the world on top of me to perform, and perform at a high level every day,” Rodriguez told ESPN’s Peter Gammons in an interview in Miami Beach, Fla. An extended interview will air on SportsCenter at 6 p.m. ET.

“Back then, [baseball] was a different culture,” Rodriguez said. “It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time.

“I did take a banned substance. For that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful.”

Rodriguez’s admission comes 48 hours after Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez was on a list of 104 players who tested positive for banned substances in 2003, the year when Major League Baseball conducted survey tests to see if mandatory, random drug-testing was needed in the sport.

Sources who know about the testing results told SI that Rodriguez tested positive for testosterone and Primobolan, an anabolic steroid. In his ESPN interview, Rodriguez said he did not know exactly which substance or substances he had taken. In 2003, there were no penalties for a positive result.  (Read more.)

B.S. Report–This isn’t exactly a “shocker.”  It doesn’t destroy my faith in mankind or in baseball.  But Rodriguez was so adamant in his denial that it makes you cringe that a guy could look right into the camera and say, “Never, I’ve absolutely never used any performance enhancing drugs.”  He lied to me–to us!

His apology is also kind of weak.  Using steroids were part of the “culture of that time period.”  Yes, he apologized, to be sure, but he wrapped it up in a whole bunch of excuses.  “I was young and naive.”  “It was a different time.”  “I had just signed an enormous contract and I was feeling a great deal of pressure to perform.”  How about, “I was wrong and I’m sorry I let a lot of people down.”

Personally, I’m so hurt that I’ll never watch baseball again…during the off-season.  Unless, of course, that World Baseball Classic is on…I think it starts next week.  Hey, I might even go to the final–it’s at Dodger Stadium, isn’t it!

Arod seems honest enough…here’s what he told Katie Couric.

Burger Power! McDonald’s January Sales Up Over 7%

Dollar Menu golden for McDonalds

NEW YORK (AP) — Cash-strapped consumers kept buying McDonald’s burgers and breakfast items in January, helping the fast food company post a 7.1 percent worldwide increase Monday in same-store sales for the month.

The nation’s No. 1 hamburger chain has been posting strong sales as the economic downturn in the U.S. spreads overseas and people turn away from pricier restaurants to grocery stores and fast-food outlets.

In the U.S., sales at locations open at least a year rose 5.4 percent. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based chain said strong sales of its breakfast offerings and “value across the menu” boosted the U.S. results.

Those results proved “the ‘recession-resistant’ mantra is still strong,” Stifel Nicolaus analyst Steve West said in a note to investors.

Internationally, same-store sales rose 7.1 percent in Europe, led by sales in the U.K., France and Russia. They rose 10.2 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa.

“McDonald’s continues to appeal to customers as we offer high-quality, affordable meal options and unparalleled convenience,” Chief Executive Jim Skinner said in a statement.

The 7.1 percent rise in worldwide same-store sales came on top of a 5.7 percent rise in January of 2008.

B.S. Report–I’m glad that McDonalds is doing well, but it’s no thanks to me.  I haven’t eaten there in many years.  But, I have to admit, 2 Big Macs for $3.50 is pretty tempting…but not quite tempting enough.

Today In History

1909     Indianapolis Motor Speedway, “The Brickyard” is built.

1963     The Boeing 727 is launched and becomes the “backbone” of commercial aviation.

1971     Pitcher Satchell Paige is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

1992     Magic Johnson Returns for the All Star Game after taking time off after revealing that he had the HIV virus that causes AIDS.  He was the MVP of the game.

Global Warming “Education” Is Causing Some Kids To Flip Out…

Climate Change Takes A Mental Toll

Schools are turning our kids into quivering jello.

Last year, an anxious, depressed 17-year-old boy was admitted to the psychiatric unit at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. He was refusing to drink water. Worried about drought related to climate change, the young man was convinced that if he drank, millions of people would die. The Australian doctors wrote the case up as the first known instance of “climate change delusion.”

Robert Salo, the psychiatrist who runs the inpatient unit where the boy was treated, has now seen several more patients with psychosis or anxiety disorders focused on climate change, as well as children who are having nightmares about global-warming-related natural disasters.

Such anxiety over current events is not a new phenomenon. Worries about contemporary threats, such as nuclear war or AIDS, have historically been woven into the mental illnesses of each generation. But global warming could have a broader and deeper effect on mental health, even if indirectly.

“Climate change could have a real impact on our psyches,” says Paul Epstein, the associate director for the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School.

Over this century, the average global temperature is expected to rise between 1 degrees and 6 degrees Celsius. Glaciers will melt, seas will rise, extremes in precipitation will occur, according to scientists’ predictions. (Read more.)

B.S. Report–Me, I’m sleeping like a baby because I don’t believe one wit of these “so-called” scientific predictions.  And it’s not like these scientists’ predictions have ever been wrong!

Lets see, they predicted a massive outbreak of heterosexual AIDS in the United States.  Hmmm, how did that prediction turn out?  Thirty years ago we were told that a coming “Ice-Age” was imminent.  Nope.  Now it’s global warming–but wait, temperatures are again cooling.

Maybe it’s warming, maybe it’s cooling, that’s not the issue.  The issue is that the “experts” say that it’s human beings that are responsible for the present weather patterns.  Yet they have no reliable data to support their claims.

Look what they’re doing to the young kids who aren’t yet smart enough to realize that they’re being fed a load of bull.  They’re creating a generation of wacked-out, hysterical little wimps.  We’re going to pay a price for that if these kids turn into wacked-out hysterical adults.

We’re presently starting to pay that price right now, as our 60’s generation of radicals is now running the country, and instituting the nonsensical policies that they were fed in grad school.

Freedom Quote Of The Day

With the “stimulus” bill in the process of being crammed down our throats, I thought this quote would adequately explain our government’s rightful role, especially since it comes directly from the author of the Constitution.

(In 1794, when Congress appropriated $15,000 for relief of French refugees who fled from insurrection in San Domingo to Baltimore and Philadelphia, James Madison stood on the floor of the House to object saying),

“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.”

–James Madison

Speak For Yourself…I Don’t Envy The Rich, I Want To Become One Of Them!

You can do more good when you spend your own money than when you hand it over to Washington.

Alan Brinkley

Wall Street Journal Online

The Great Depression of the 1930s created hardship and suffering among millions of Americans. It also created populist resentment of elites. Among the many signs of this anger was the astonishing popularity of Huey P. Long, governor of Louisiana and then U.S. senator, a figure so dominant in his own state that his enemies called him a dictator. But to the ordinary people of Louisiana — and later to millions of ordinary people across the U.S. — Mr. Long was a heroic figure, fighting for the “common man” and challenging the right of elites to monopolize power and wealth.

Starting in 1933, Mr. Long created a national organization called the “Share Our Wealth Society.” He publicized it through his frequent national radio broadcasts (with time provided free by timid network executives), and through his many speeches before many audiences. His goal, he claimed, was a radical redistribution of wealth. Every needy American would receive a “household estate” of $5,000 (almost $80,000 in 2008 dollars), an annual wage of $2,500 ($40,000 in 2008 dollars), and other benefits. This great boon would be financed by high taxes on people making over $1 million. There would be an $8 million cap, with everything above that confiscated for redistribution.

The plan was economically, and probably politically, impossible. But the inability of a wealthy nation to provide jobs and support to millions of citizens made Mr. Long’s proposal appealing and persuasive. “Let no one tell you that it is difficult to redistribute the wealth of this land,” he told a radio audience in 1934. “It is simple.”  (Read more.)

B.S. Report–Democrats make a living “railing against the rich and inciting class warfare.”  I understand–that’s their constituency.  It’s hypocritical and also a bunch of malarky.  Which Democrat do you point to in the House or Senate as your example of the “common man?”   Just about the “poorest” one you can name is worth several millions of dollars.

Most of them, of both parties, are financially loaded.  But Democrats in government are even wealthier than the Republicans.  Personally, I don’t care in the slightest.  Of course, I do have more respect for the man or woman who earned their money themselves unlike, say, Teddy Kennedy and his family, whom are still living off of Papa Joe’s “ill-gotten” gains.

Nonetheless, it’s their wealth and I believe they should be able to use it however they wish.  Private wealth, honestly earned, should not be confiscated and redistributed.  Even our new president is no pauper.  He enriched himself in local government (with some questionable financial dealings) before hitting the big stage.

Money is not intrinsically evil.  In fact, you can do a lot of good with it by using it to help others.  You can do far more good when you, as an individual, use your wealth to directly affect your local community, than by handing it to Washington and allowing them to spend it for you–that is, after they take their very large and substantial slice of the pie.  That’s just another reason why we should all be for lower taxes and less government spending.

We are witnessing government waste right now in the trillions of dollars with these “stimulus” bills.  Who spends your money more efficiently–you, or a Washington bureaucrat? These bills are loaded with money for individuals who don’t need it, and, are only receiving money because they are a powerful political bloc. Politicians are simply using our money for vote-buying.  That is, after all, what they care about most–staying in office.