Since Ace opened it up I am going to post on something that has been bothering me all day, the blatant dishonesty contained in this Washington Post Article by Ellen Nakashima.

Terror Suspect List Yields Few Arrests - 20,000 Detentions In '06 Rile Critics.
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Posted by: Open Blog at 03:14 PM | Comments (54)
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Instapundit gives this post the Link of Silent Endorsement (as the left has it). It's about a guy stopped by cops and found to be traveling with $27,000+ in cash, for no apparent reason. There is no suggestion of a crime... except for that fact that he's traveling with $27,000+ in cash. The cops wish to investigate further. While there is no evidence of a crime, drug related or otherwise, there is that little business of traveling with $27,000+ in cash for no apparent reason.

One point I will concede: It seems unjust to me that the feds could confiscate his money for up to a full year while they try to puzzle this out. A year is too long. Either you can find evidence of a crime within a reasonably short period of time (say two weeks or so) or you can't. If you can't, you give the guy his money back.

But I'm rather astounded by Radly Balko's insistence (and Instapundit's Notorious Link of Silent Approval) that this is some extraordinary and tyrannical exercise of fascist power of the state. There are legitimate reasons for carrying such a large amount of cash on one's person-- but the list is fairly short. On the other hand, there illegitimate reasons for carrying such a large amount of cash, and that last is considerably longer. Perhaps he's just an eccentric who doesn't trust electronic bank transfers or a guy who gets off on just having a suitcase full of cash money on him. Perhaps. Or perhaps he's a mob bookie's ferryman, taking money from a local betting shop to a central mob headquarters. Or perhaps he's an income tax evader. Or perhaps a cash-mule for a drug kingpin.

I am simply baffled by the sometimes paranoid and, it seems to me, pro-criminal impulses of libertarians, and baffled by their bafflement that anyone but a fascist might see this sort of thing as rather suspicious and may wish to investigate it. I say "pro-criminal" because in many instances libertarians seem to exist largely to agitate for laws which make it easier for criminals to conduct their illicit business. They may not actually seek the result of helping criminals, but surely they know that their preferred rules have that effect, inevitably. To spare the 1% of people who just want to carry around large sums of cash on them for no particular reason but without any lawful purpose they wish to reduce the extent of police inquiry into the 99% of people who have far more obvious -- and obviously criminal -- motives for doing so.

And for the 1% inconvenienced or harassed for their suspicious, but altogether legitimate, behavior: Such inconvenience or harassment is temporary. If it's serious enough, there is always the recourse to a lawsuit to make one whole via monetary damages.

I don't get it. It seems to spring from some deeply paranoid belief that one day soon libertarians may find it necessary to "go off the grid" to avoid the jackboots of a fascist tyranny, and so they're fighting now to reduce police effectiveness in that coming dark future. The mindset seems to be of a sort of Yuppie Militiamen Auxiliary Committee. They're sort of quasi-militiamen who just don't like the woods and can't hack without a Starbucks nearby, but dig the basic philosophy of paranoid survivalism.

I see this same sort of thinking whenever a Real ID program is suggested. Right now we are required, basically, to have ID to do an awful lot of things, from getting a job (you need that social security card and sometimes a birth certificate) to boarding a plane (you can board a domestic flight without a passport, but be prepared for a lot more scrutiny by TSA officials). The problem is that all of our current ID types are extraordinarily weak and quite easily forged. So Real ID programs are simply suggesting swapping out the current regime, in which one needs an easily-forged ID to do most things, in favor of an ID which is not so easily forged.

What is the thinking behind this, exactly? Again, what occurs to me is that many libertarians envision a day upon which they will have to join the criminal class and go off the grid, so they want to make sure that when that day arrives, IDs are still as easily forged as ever. What else can explain a group of people who has no problem with the current ID regime, but is militantly, zealously opposed to an ID regime in which IDs actually accomplish what they're supposed to accomplish, i.e., ID the bearer by his actual name?

This of course is not simply a true libertarian deal; many civil-liberties-oriented, small (and ineffectual!) government championing conservatives share this set of beliefs and impulses.

I've got news for these guys: When Fascist Tyranny comes, the old order will be swept aside with a bureaucrat's signature, so whatever "checks against future tyranny" you think you're making now are nothing of the sort.

Drew Bothered To Read The Article: And he finds this part troubling--

DEA agents told Prieto he would receive a notice of federal proceedings to permanently forfeit the money within 30 days and that to get it back, he'd have to prove it was his and did not come from illegal drug sales.

I am not sure why the burden of proof suddenly falls on a person to prove they aren't a criminal because they have more cash on them then the government decides they need to.

Indeed, fair point, and certainly goes a long way towards explaining the Notorious Link of Silent Endorsement by Instapundit, and Balko's problem with the circumstances of the seizure.

That said, while the factual analysis of this particular case may be way off, my overarching narrative is yet true, and I'm only being a bit cheeky when I say that. Because this general mindset is often on display among libertarians and Bob Barr type conservatives.

I'm not sure what is meant by "proof" here, though. If the police are asking for him to explain why he's carrying around so much money, well, that seems pretty reasonable to me. I don't think they can lawfully seize the money absent carrying the burden of proof themselves, but I'm not surprised they're claiming they can in an effort to get this guy to simply say why he was cash-muling so much money.

Hmmmm... As this argument has raged on all day, I'm a lot less sure of my initial take than I was.

Maybe the pot-heads and perverts have a point.

Posted by: Ace at 01:10 PM | Comments (398)
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Remember when all the states were rushing to move their primaries earlier? Sure you do -- it was about as fascinating as watching paint dry. Absolutely riveting stuff. Well, now its time to pay the piper.

[UPDATE2]
Florida Democratic Party officially declares FL voters will be "disenfranchised" on state web site

...Florida Democrats believe any approach other than a Jan. 29 election would disenfranchise voters...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 12:26 PM | Comments (17)
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Paul, you could have just asked:

Q: Is there a key to your continued success?

A: "Surrounding myself with the best people -- musicians, arrangers -- is certainly part of it. That's something that was reinforced for me by Sinatra. Once you have that base, and if you've got focus and integrity in what you're doing, then you've got a shot as a creative person. I've been a creative person first -- not just a singer and a performer."

The very funny Paul Anka rant. If you're new to this site, a lot of catchphrases are from this.

And once you've internalized the Zen of Paul, you might want to see if you've attained integrity Nirvana by taking this quiz. Reposted below is the Integrity SAT.

Thanks to MonicaB.

Retired Geezer... always asks that I link the Forgotten Paul Anka Post. The one where Retired Geezer announced to the world, or at least to me, that he had, in fact, been one of Paul Anka's lighting guys during the period of the rant. (Though not actually present at this particular rant.)
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Posted by: Ace at 11:38 AM | Comments (30)
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If you want.

Posted by: Ace at 11:26 AM | Comments (13)
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Larwyn tips me to this big report posted earlier in the day by Bablu. Worth reading, just for the what might have been aspect.

However, he's now updated to say Miami news from Cuba reports no big moves of troops or the like which would suggest Castro's death.

Damnit.

Posted by: Ace at 06:42 PM | Comments (36)
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"Let me repeat. I am not a conspiracy theorist. Spare me the ravers."

Posted by: Ace at 05:19 PM | Comments (32)
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In their defense, the bar only instituted the policy because they feared Amanda Marcotte needed material. There are only so many ways to write the same "I Demand The Right To Be Considered Pretty!" post.

Thanks to Andrews Dad.

UPDATE [JACK M.]: Ace's objections notwithstanding, I believe we have found the perfect bar to host the first ever Jack M-Stock! Or as I like to call it "Jackfest". Say, the 3rd weekend in September? Does that work for everyone? Don't answer that, fat chicks.

Posted by: Ace at 03:08 PM | Comments (34)
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Which is not for life. But it will take some positive step -- remorse, etc. -- by Vick to undo the ban, presumably.

The NFL has suspended Michael Vick indefinitely.

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Friday afternoon, a letter to Vick from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said, in part:

"Your admitted conduct was not only illegal, but also cruel and reprehensible. Your team, the NFL, and NFL fans have all been hurt by your actions."

"Your plea agreement and the plea agreements of your co-defendants also demonstrate your significant involvement in illegal gambling. Even if you personally did not place bets, as you contend, your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL Player Contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player."

Goddell writes he will "review" the suspension at some later date, after all legal matters are resolved.

I'm not sure how such a review can wind up excusing the illegal gambling thing.

Posted by: Ace at 02:21 PM | Comments (38)
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Still three days left on the auction. Bid early, bid often. Bid like a Viking.

What? You're not interested in a $10,000 $40,000+ iPhone? Pussies. This is a unique piece of techno-net-compu-trashbin-history! I'm willing to sell the contents of my garage for the low, low price of $10,000 $50,000 to anyone who appreciates the real historical value of this iPhone.

The same guy selling it will tell you how to unlock the internet connection on yours here.

[UPDATE2]
The fun police showed up last night and the bid is way down to just under $40,900 now. Looks like eBay just did some cleaning up of the fakers overnight and didn't cancel it outright. That's good. We might yet be able to see another run at $1,000,000,000 before the bidding ends.

It is a legitimate item, not like he was selling the Brooklyn bridge, and their commission on a high priced item is pretty substantial, so I'm guessing eBay is going to be watching this one closely as they want the commission.

I would bet his hack is some sort of violation of Apple's terms of use though when the fine print is read. Most are slipping in prohibitions on reverse engineering and disassembly even though they're often hard to enforce in court. If anyone out there has an iPhone and kept the licensing paperwork could you take a look at the fine print and post in the comments?

[UPDATE1]
I've been "live blogging" the bid price on this iPhone for a while now and we've seen the price go from $10K up to $100M. I'm pretty sure $1B is within reach by midnight now.

Since this is Ace's "very first" live blogging of an auction, I'm pretty sure this blog post is worth some serious jack as an "AoS original". I would like to start the bidding for ownership of this particular blog post at a paltry $100M a bag of Cheetos. A bargain at twice the price!

Well, the iPhone is now $99,999,999.00 -- which is pretty close to $100M, so midnight was a pretty pessimistic outlook. more...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 01:28 PM | Comments (34)
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