Tennessee law enforcement is a smoke screen for fascism

Tennessee Department of Revenue agents are under orders to stop Tennessee motorists who have in their vehicles "large quantities of cigarettes" purchased out of state.

How will the 'Revenooers' know the cigs were purchased out of state? Easy-peasey.

Tennessee is dispatching under-cover agents to stake out stores selling cigarettes along interstate highways near the Tennessee border. When an agent spots someone with Tennessee tags buying cigarettes 'in volume' at a store in any one of the eight states bordering Tennessee, a radio call is made to a revenue officer who stops the car when it enters Tennessee.

And what happens then?

The stoppee, the schmuck whose car is weighted down with "large quantities of cigarettes," is arrested for bringing untaxed cigarettes into the state.

What is a large quantity of cigarettes, exactly?

More than two cartons, exactly. Namely, two cartons and one pack.

Toting untaxed cigarettes exceeding two cartons in measure is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in the pokey and/or a $500 fine.

Oh, a further little punishment may also be meted out, entirely at the arresting officer's discretion. Vehicles used to transport more than two cartons may be seized, since they are deemed contraband.

Now, you can bring up to 24 cartons and 9 packs into the state and get off with six months in the pokey, a fine of $500 bucks, and perhaps see your brand new used Buick hauled away to the auctioneer. But if you cross that "Welcome to Tennessee" line with just one pack more, 25 cartons in toto, you'll wish you were an illegal alien instead of a poor sap who likes his 'backy.

Bringing 25 or more cartons into Tennessee is a Class E felony. The punishment is a minimum of one year in prison (the maximum is six years) plus a fine of up to $3,000.

And, agents have been ordered to seize any vehicle carrying more than 25 cartons of cigarettes without Tennessee tax stamps.

Why has cigarette transport into Tennessee become a matter for the Gestapo?

On July 21, Tennessee’s cigarette tax jumped 40 cents, to 62 cents per pack. All eight states bordering Tennessee have lower tax rates, ranging from 17 cents in Missouri upwards. That means one carton (10 packs) is $4.50 cheaper in Missouri. Twenty-five cartons purchased in the Show Me state saves someone from the Volunteer State $112.50.

Is there, Dear Reader, a lesson to be drawn from this dreary dispatch? You betchum.

Proving Colombia University's Bollinger is a fool (as if proof were needed)

This news report from the Islamic Republic News Agency is quoted verbatim to demonstrate the damage done by Columbia's propaganda gift to Mahmoud Bonaparte.

Columbia President Lee Bollinger (who allows no ROTC on campus, nor steps forward to defend conservatives who are denied the same privilege enjoyed by the Iranian snipe) felt pressured to show his manhood by spitting a few verbal poniards at the guest speaker. But Mahmoud got what he wanted.

Glimpse the following report and ponder: jihadists must be heartened to know their little hero plays so well among the American rabble, er, elitists. And jihadists so heartened are less inhibited in their plans against the USA.

So, without further huffery puffery, here follows what jihadists throughout the Islamic world will read as they butter their breakfast muffins this morning.

- Lord Lunch, Hamsammich Castle, Worcestershiresauce, England

Despite entire US media objections, negative propagation and hue and cry in recent days over IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's scheduled address at Colombia University, he gave his lecture and answered students questions here on Monday afternoon.

On second day of his entry in New York, and amid standing ovation of the audience that had attended the hall where the Iranian President was to give his lecture as of early hours of the day, Ahmadinejad said that Iran is not going to attack any country in the world.

Before President Ahamadinejad's address, Colombia University Chancellor in a brief address told the audience that they would have the chance to hear Iran's stands as the Iranian President would put them forth.

He said that the Iranians are a peace loving nation, they hate war, and all types of aggression.

Referring to the technological achievements of the Iranian nation in the course of recent years, the president considered them as a sign for the Iranians' resolute will for achieving sustainable development and rapid advancement.

The audience on repeated occasion applauded Ahmadinejad when he touched on international crises.

At the end of his address President Ahmadinejad answered the students' questions on such issues as Israel, Palestine, Iran's nuclear program, the status of women in Iran and a number of other matters.

IRI President addresses students at Colombia University - Irna

A Distasteful Foretaste of HillaryCare

Wife gets apology over dying cancer patient's 8-month wait to see doctor

Lyndsay Moss - The Scotsman (lmoss@scotsman.com)

HEALTH bosses have been told to apologize to the wife of a cancer patient who was left waiting eight months to see a doctor.

Pauline Cheasley said her late husband Maurice's follow-up appointment was canceled twice by Stirling Royal Infirmary. When he was finally seen by a doctor, he was told his cancer was inoperable. He died eight months later, in March last year.

I'm With That Cuban Guy On This

That young feller, Mark Cuban, articulated my own thoughts perzactly. I would say he must have plagiarized me, except I don't remember ever putting quill to parchment on this matter. I should have. Now he gets all the credit. Here's what Cuban had to say in his blog September third:

What I would love to see is a candidate who says he/she is going to start removing laws and programs. Give me a candidate who's primary platform is to spend 4 years removing federal programs and laws. If it was a law or program worth anything the states or local municipalities will find much more creative ways to make them work.

I know its far easier said than done, but could it be any harder to remove an existing law or program than it would be to define, develop and implement another on top of what we already have in place ? Our government is so big, getting it to move in any direction is an incredibly difficult thing to do.

So if you want my vote in 2008, don't tell me what you are going to add, tell me what you are going to remove. Tell me how you are going to simplify the government. That's how you get my vote.

Jail for Fixing up His Property

Herewith a cautionary tale of letting Democrats rule unchecked. It comes from the Daily Breeze ("LAX to L.A. Harbor") in California.

Methinks, me friends, it's time for Conservatives to take up the cry: "Power to the People."

For Democrats, the cry is: "Power to the Government."

-Lunch

Man Gets Jail Time for Property Fixes

He built a fence, a retaining wall, a patio and a few concrete columns to decorate his driveway, and now Francisco Linares is going to jail for it.

By Megan Bagdonas
Staff Writer Daily Breeze August 28, 2007

Francisco Linares had been given six months to get final permits for the offending structures or remove them as part of a plea agreement reached in January, when he pleaded no contest to five misdemeanor counts of violating the Rolling Hills Estates building code.

On Monday, Torrance Superior Court Judge Sandra Thompson chastised the Farmers Insurance district manager for not completing what he agreed to do in January, then handed him the maximum sentence without possibility of house arrest or probation.

"I'm not scared," Linares said about spending time in jail. "It's just very unfair."

Richard Hamar, Linares' attorney, said he has never heard of anything like this.

"We're talking about fixing a fence that was on city property," he said. "He didn't build a Las Vegas casino. You put a guy in jail for six months because he repaired the city fence?"

The 51-year-old bought the nearly 1-acre property in 1998. After building a 3,000-square-foot French-style home, he began landscaping.

When Linares asked the city to repair the white three-railed fence behind his house, he was told it was on his property and his responsibility. So he replaced the termite-infested planks himself. Then the city reversed itself and said Linares had illegally built the fence on city property.

In October 2004, the city charged Linares with three misdemeanors: for not taking down the fence, having a retaining wall built higher than a 2-foot restriction and for erecting stone columns without a neighborhood compatibility analysis. Later inspections found eight other violations, including a lack of permits for plumbing and grading.

"He's had a couple of years to correct the problems," said Dean Pucci, a Fullerton attorney contracted as the city's prosecutor.

Linares lives in the house with his wife and three daughters. He contends that he didn't remove the structures because he believed the permits would be approved.

At the sentencing, Hamar said his client was a good Christian man who has never committed a crime and who worked diligently - 142 hours - to try to resolve the issues with the city.

And the only reason he was not able to complete the stipulations of the plea agreement, he said, was because of the city's confusing building codes and negligence in rendering a decision on his permit applications.

"We established that he did everything that was humanly possible to comply. And the un-rebutted evidence is that (the city) hasn't ruled on the permits," Hamar said. "To … do something as harsh as put a good man in jail for six months, you got to look at the impact on society. What will society gain if you put this man in jail?"

The prosecutor, however, said, "In virtually every city in every county a violation of the municipal code is a crime." [NB: In virtually every city in every county a violation of the municipal code is a civil matter, not "a crime." - Lunch]

Hamar said he plans to appeal.

"I'm praying that there will be an appeal and that my dad won't be sentenced to jail," said daughter Vanessa Linares, 18. "My dad is the backbone of our family. How would we be able to hold up if he's not here?"

http://www.blogger.com/megan.bagdonas@dailybreeze.com

I Just KNEW It Was Them Damn Meese All Along

GLOBAL WARMING FEARS

NB: The following news item is from Germany's Der Spiegel, so we mustn't quibble if it's dribble. Just eat your peas and shut up, bitte.

- Lord Lunch

Norway's Moose Population in Trouble for Belching

The poor old Scandinavian moose is now being blamed for climate change, with researchers in Norway claiming that a grown moose can produce 2,100 kilos of carbon dioxide a year -- equivalent to the CO2 output resulting from a 13,000 kilometer car journey.

DPA - Now poor moose are being blamed for global warming.

Norway is concerned that its national animal, the moose, is harming the climate by emitting an estimated 2,100 kilos of carbon dioxide a year through its belching and farting.

Norwegian newspapers, citing research from Norway's technical university, said a motorist would have to drive 13,000 kilometers in a car to emit as much CO2 as a moose does in a year.

Bacteria in a moose's stomach create methane gas which is considered even more destructive to the environment than carbon dioxide gas. Cows pose the same problem (more...).

Norway has some 120,000 moose but an estimated 35,000 are expected to be killed in this year's moose hunting season, which starts on September 25, Norwegian newspaper VG reported.

Perfect Transport Solution for Those 'That Care'

We know environmentalists often ride bicycles and I can see why bicycles suit them. The bicyclist is the exalte' of the road. The bicyclist is neither a pedestrian nor a driver. He cycles where he damn well wants to, on the sidewalk or on the street. He flashes by with his posterior in the air. Neither stop signs nor speed limits impede him -- and he is environmentally beneficent. Automobiles have to give him a wide berth and pedestrians leap aside as he pedals past. Environmentalists adore bicycles.

So the bicycle seems to be the ultimate green vehicle.

Yet I have yet another environmentally friendly vehicle to commend to our Democratic friends. Consider the Pogo Stick. It would certainly keep the candidates in the news. It is as independent of fossil fuel as the bicycle and frankly a hell of a lot of fun. Hillary would be a tremendous hit on a Pogo Stick and all the other candidates would dutifully follow. It would put bounce into their campaigns. The Secret Service might fear for the effectiveness of its officers, but what the hell. We are talking about preventing environmental nightmare. I pass on.

Excerpted from musings of R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.