Vox Popoli

From WND:

A former IRS agent who believes citizens are not required to pay federal income taxes was acquitted today on charges he attempted to defraud the government.

Joseph Banister, a Certified Public Accountant in San Jose, Calif., had been telling his clients they don’t need to file federal income tax returns because the 16th Amendment, which gives Congress “power to lay and collect taxes on incomes,” was never properly ratified. A leading figure in the “tax honesty” movement, Banister was taken into custody Nov. 19 by IRS agents and released on $25,000 bond after pleading not guilty.

A jury in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento found him not guilty on a charge of conspiracy and on all three counts of aiding and assisting the filing of false tax returns for a client.

I don’t think Banister’s defense was entirely predicated on the 16th Amendment question, but in any case, it’s good news that the jury saw through the tax fraud on the part of the IRS. Still, it’s not much use being able to keep the money you earn if you can’t buy any property with it.

From WND:

Property-rights advocates condemned the Supreme Court’s split decision today allowing a local government to seize a home or business against the owner’s will for the purpose of private development.

“It’s a dark day for American homeowners,” said Dana Berliner, senior attorney with the Institute for Justice, which represented a group of Connecticut residents in the case.

“While most constitutional decisions affect a small number of people, this decision undermines the rights of every American, except the most politically connected,” Berliner said. “Every home, small business or church would produce more taxes as a shopping center or office building. And according to the court, that’s a good enough reason for eminent domain.”

I’m not surprised by this at all, but I am disappointed. This effectively ends all pretense of American property rights, since state and local governments now have the ability to hand over a desired property to anyone with the requisite political influence. This is a recipe for disastrous corruption, of course, as the redefinition of “public use” in the same manner as “interstate commerce” not only renders the language meaningless, but the law as well.

I have said it before, but I will say it again: there is no longer any law in America. W. Somerset Maugham had it right when he said “do what thou wilt, with due regard for the policeman around the corner”.

Jamsco argues eloquently:

Three reasons why Vox should go see Episode III

1. It’s got Darth!

I know that you don’t think that even “Return” was as good as the first two and I would have to agree. The Ewoks were too cute and so forth. But wouldn’t you agree that you enjoyed every scene that Darth Vader was in? My thought is that the Darth Vader thread, throughout the first three, was always strong and enjoyable to watch. He is a bad guy that we like. (And I don’t mean “Like to Hate.” In Ep’s 5 and 6 we really want him to come around. He is a good guy on the wrong side) From the beginning, when he found the Death Star Builder’s lack of faith disturbing, we thought – this is a guy who would be good to have as a friend. And now Ep 3 shows his creation. Although I disagree with a few of the choices in how this was portrayed and the fact that his actor is still a pretty boy, the manner of Anakin’s fall makes us empathetic to Darth, just like we were empathetic to him in Return. It’s worth it just to see the mask being put on.

2. It’s got Light Sabers.

Again, I state that Star Wars is the best of the six. But having said this, my thought is that of all six, it has the worst light saber battle. I think these battles between 2,3, or 4 people, in sharp contrast to pretty much every other facet of the six movies, is something Lucas got better and better at developing. Ep 3 shows the battle that we have wondered about since 1977, the fight between Kenobi and Skywalker. And yet you say no. You have stated publicly your disdain for Ep 1, but didn’t the Jinn/Kenobi/Maul battle stir your heart a little? Personally, I think it was the best part of that movie.

3. What about your 1977 self?

Every time I’m at a hotel where there is a swimming pool and, as an adult, I choose not to use it, the eight year old Me yells at the adult Me, calling me a fool to not take the opportunity. Have you completely shut down, or blocked out the call of the ten year old, who saw it five times, who knew all of the trivia, and all of the names of the actors? (Not just Han Solo and Artoo, mind you, I’m talking about the Grand Moff Tarkin, The Head Sandperson and several Jawas now. (And I bet you get the reference in that last sentence.)) I can’t speak for that boy, but the ten year old
me would be saying “You are a big loser. Don’t give me that big talk about cinematic quality, it’s got Chewbacca in it! Let me see it!”

The bad news is that if you see Ep 3, you should probably rent Ep 2 first, which is, depending on your point of view, worse than the first. But it’s only two hours of your life. I’ll pay for the rental if you don’t want to give Lucas money for it.

Big Chilly is lobbying me as well. I’m wavering, but let’s face it, it’s always fun to have an excuse to say: “you’re dead to me”.

I remain dubious, although that third point is a compelling one.

Doubts on National Review:

This has become the conventional wisdom (I mean, of the last month or so) among conservatives who support the admin. on Iraq: That if only the President and his people would get out there and explain their case, public support would firm up.

I beg leave to doubt this. The admin. case on Iraq is not hard to grasp, and is, if my own conversations with friends & neighbors can be judged by, widely understood: A secure & stable Iraq is essential to our nation’s long-term security.

I’m not sure the problem is that people haven’t heard this. It may be that people have heard it, but just don’t believe it.

Probably because it’s a crock of equine fertilizer. Iraq was secure and stable prior to the US invasion and occupation. Saddam Hussein was no more of a threat to the USA in 2003 than he was in 1983.

China is a serious threat to our nation’s long-term security and it is both secure and stable. The Congo is insecure and unstable, but it is no threat. As usual, the gap between the administration’s pronouncements and logical credibility is enormous, which is why people, even rock-solid Republicans, no longer believe anything that comes out of the Bush White House.

Peter King defends his critique of two Fathers of the Year:

FATHER’S DAY LEFTOVER. From Tim Novak of Pittsburgh: “Your Larry King and Donald Trump comments aside, I hope you are not classifying all divorced men as poor fathers. I would be very disappointed, if you were.”

I am classifying two men with a total of 10 marriages as highly, highly questionable choices as Fathers of the Fear. I understand divorce happens. But don’t tell me if you’re divorced six times, as King was, you could qualify as a father of the year. Part of fatherhood is staying around. One divorce, I can see it. Two, well, starting to go over the line. Six? Gimme a break.

It does bring to mind the Oscar Wilde quote about losing more than one parent, doesn’t it? My theories about fatherhood are inchoate, but I believe Chris Rock has the right of it when it comes to daughters. While I have no lack of respect for dancers of any sort and have probably been acquainted with more than is the norm, I nevertheless think his fathering imperative is a wise one.

“You’ve got to keep them off that pole!”

In any event, Donald Trump and Larry King should not even be mentioned in the same sentence as fathers of repute, unless the adjective preceding the last word is “ill”.

The Right Wing News reports on who is screwing up America:

10) Nancy Pelosi (13)
8) John Kerry (14)
8) Barbara Boxer (14)
7) Dick Durbin (17)
6) Hillary Clinton (19)
4) George Soros (23)
4) Harry Reid (23)
3) Ted Kennedy (24)
1) Michael Moore (26)
1) Howard Dean (26)

So apparently the right wing blogosphere believes that two men whose highest political attainment is the governorship of Vermont are to blame for the current state of America. This might as well have been a poll to list “people that you think are poopyheads”. Why not throw Tom Cruise and Michael Jackson in there while you’re at it?

I noticed that neither of my top nominees, Alan Greenspan and George W. Bush, didn’t even make the top 23. I’m officially embarrassed for the blogs.

G fancies himself an armchair general:

Business “is” war young fellow, and not because Sun said so; it has always been that way. The law of business that is never taught in business school is “eliminate the competition.” The ideal of “mutually benefiting agreements” is window dressing for the dull mass; you are smarter than that.

This is absurd, given that the vast majority of a company’s interactions are with its customers, not its competition. Business, (or trade, exchange, call it what you will), exists regardless of whether there is competition or not, and especially at the most crucial point in a company’s life, the beginning, there usually isn’t any significant competition.

Even when competition exists early in the cycle, the market is usually expanding faster than one single company can grow anyhow. EBay, Amazon and Google are moving into competition with each other now, but coexisted quite amicably in their separate market niches until they had grown into the giants they are today and needed to expand their markets in order to continue their revenue growth.

Competition is the hallmark of a mature industry, which is the least important aspect of the business cycle. Sun Tzu has literally nothing to say about the postive and entrepeneurial elements of business; the fact that this is where the venture capitalists and investors concentrate their best minds and greatest assortment of talent lends support to my position.

The Sports Guy gets much better email from his readers than I do:

Q: I fully expect that after Clemens wins his 333rd game, in his press conference, he will take off his cap and will pull back his hair – revealing an identical 333 burned into his scalp; thus fulfilling the prophecy. This will immediately be followed by all the reporters in the room melting away, with their bones exploding like in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
–William S., New York

SG: The best part about this would be Wilbon and Kornheiser discussing the incident on PTI the following day.

Kornheiser: “All right, Wilbon, some sad news last night, we found out that Roger Clemens was indeed the anti-Christ, as nearly 50 reporters – including some of the best this business had to offer – were melted to death after the prophecy was fulfilled. Wilbon, you were there, but you were able to get out of the room in time … how does this affect Roger Clemens’ legacy?

Wilbon: “Oh, it absolutely affects his legacy! There’s no question! Tony, he killed 50 media members! He melted them to death!”

Kornheiser: “But he’s still the greatest pitcher of the last 50 years!”

Wilbon: “Tony, he’s the anti-Christ!”

Kornheiser: “I don’t see how that affects his Hall of Fame resume – 333 wins, over 4,500 strikeouts, 7 Cy Youngs … “

Wilbon: “Tony, he’s a mass murderer! Pete Rose isn’t in the Hall of Fame for gambling on baseball, this guy melted 50 people! He almost killed me!”

Kornheiser: “Well, that shouldn’t affect what he accomplished on the field. Ty Cobb wasn’t a nice guy either. [We hear a bell in the background.] Moving to the NBA Finals … “

All right, well, I couldn’t have run with that one anyhow.

To have a father, even to have known a father, is to be dwarfed. No matter what we achieve, we can never scale the unthinkable heights of the giant of our childhood vision. God makes Man in His image, but we see Him through the filter of our fathers, the man that is creator, provider and protector all in one from the first moment of our memory.

It is strange, but I always feel most secure when I know that my father is nearby. It doesn’t matter that I may be stronger, faster and more dangerous now, I always sleep better in the knowledge that no matter what may come, the same man who taught me that there was nothing to fear from thunder and the dark will be there to tell me that it’s all right, there’s no reason to be afraid, everything is under control. Even when it isn’t true, even when it can’t possibly be true, I still believe it.

The need for fathers is most apparent in the eyes of those who have never known one. Such unfortunates seem to lack something in their foundation, that innocent capacity for faith. It is a terrible sadness to have never known the surety of safety in mighty arms that shield far better than any armor.

Fathers cast great shadows; it is daunting to step out from them and for the first time clearly see the man behind the role. It is both a disappointment and a relief, but it is necessary. And if we cannot hope to match the giants of our youth, we can still walk in their footsteps.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad.

And yes, I’m quite fine, thanks very much. I merely had to do a little work-related travel which, along with a new book idea, absorbed most of my available synapses.