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24 NOVEMBER 2003

Click it or kick it?

By ROB PHILLIPS

The Northwest Herald

WOODSTOCK – Ken Prazak stood outside a McHenry County courtroom with his arms crossed and a huge smile across his face.

"It's a madhouse in there," he said of Judge Suzanne Mangiomele's traffic courtroom. "I bet a good minority of those people in there are for seat-belt violations. It's just crazy."

And it is exactly what he hopes to eliminate.

Prazak has filed two motions to dismiss a $25 seat-belt ticket on the grounds that the law is unconstitutional.

"I believe it is my constitutional and natural-law right for me to decide what is safe for me," he said.

One motion argues that the seat-belt requirement violates the Ninth Amendment, which allows someone to retain individual rights not circumscribed by the Constitution. Another motion was filed under the Fifth Amendment's due-process clause.

A motion to suppress evidence due to a lack of probable cause also was filed, Prazak's attorney Michael Noland said.

But an official with the federal National Safety Council said Prazak has little chance of winning.

See BELT, page 13

"There is no question about the constitutionality of [mandatory] seat-belt use," said Chuck Hurley, vice president of Transportation Safety Group National Safety Council. "It's always been upheld in every state in the United States."

The Illinois General Assembly passed the seat-belt law in 1986. Since July, police have been allowed to pull over a driver for not wearing a seat belt.

Drivers consent to obey traffic laws, which includes wearing a seat belt, when they accept their licenses, Hurley said. Driving is a privilege, not a right, he said.

"Seat-belt use is the single best use of getting fatalities down," Hurley said.

Illinois increased seat-belt use to 76.2 percent in 2003 from 73.8 percent the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The National Safety Council has campaigned for increased seat-belt use through the "Click It or Ticket" program.

The safety council claims that 1,900 lives would be saved and health costs would fall $3 billion each year if every state had a primary enforcement seat-belt law.

Noland said he and his client have a strong case "until you can convince me that not wearing a safety belt is harmful to others."

Prazak, 51, of East Dundee, said he was stopped by an Algonquin police officer in July for not wearing a seat belt. Prazak's motions were postponed Tuesday until March 8. It was the third time the hearing was delayed.

"Something like this takes a lot of time," said Ryan Johnson, the attorney representing the village of Algonquin. "They are arguing constitutional issues here."

Johnson said he had not begun to research what other states have done in such instances.

"I am of the opinion that a seat-belt law is certainly constitutional," he said.

But Prazak, and a small group of followers present at Tuesday's hearing, believe otherwise.

All said they are members or supporters of the Libertarian Party.

"I think the biggest freedom is the freedom of choice," said Okie Dotson, who drove from Crystal Lake to show support for Prazak at the hearing. "If you don't have that, then are you really free?"

Prazak has garnered support through his weekly radio show on WRMN 1410 AM.

"I consider it a ridiculous and stupid seat-belt law," he said.

There are others opposed to seat-belt enforcement. The Washington Seat Belt Coalition, based in Lacey, Wash., is trying to overturn seat-belt laws. The organization's Web site – www.clickitstickit.com – tells how to challenge a ticket in court.

The site also lists articles, including a judge refusing to enforce a seat-belt law and troopers having to fill a seat belt quota.

Prazak conducted a fund-raiser to cover his attorney's fees for the case. Friends also have been making donations, he said.

He said he will take the case as far as he is financially capable.

"I would rather be a poor free man than a rich slave," he said.

Questions or Comments? Contact us. Copyright - 1998-2002 Northwest Herald Newspapers - 7717 South Route 31 - Crystal Lake, Illinois 60014 - (815) 459-4040 - Subscription (815) 459-8118 or (800) 589-9363

Keep Your Laws off of My Body (store)

Subject: Presidential Candidate (Author Unknown).

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:

I attacked and took over two countries.

I spent the U..S. surplus and bankrupted the US Treasury.

I shattered the record for the biggest annual deficit in history (not easy!).

I set an economic record for the most personal bankruptcies filed in any 12 month period.

I set all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the stock market.

I am the first president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.

In my first year in office I set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history (tough to beat my dad's, but I did).

After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, I presided over the worst security failure in US history.

I set the record for most campaign fund raising trips by any president in US history.

In my first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their jobs.

I cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any other president in US history.

I set the all-time record for most real estate foreclosures in a 12-month period.

I appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history.

I set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president, since the advent of TV.

I signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution than any other US president in history.

I presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.

I cut health care benefits for war veterans..

I set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind.

I dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history.

I've made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable of any in US history.

Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history. (The poorest multimillionaire, Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.)

I am the first president in US history to have all 50 states of the Union simultaneously struggle against bankruptcy.

I presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world.

I am the first president in US history to order a US attack AND military occupation of a sovereign nation, and I did so against the will of the United Nations and the vast majority of the international community.

I have created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States, called the "Bureau of Homeland Security" (only one letter away from BS).

I set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any other president in US history.

I am the first president in US history to compel the United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission.

I am the first president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the Elections Monitoring Board.

I removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US history.

I rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant.

I withdrew from the World Court of Law.

I refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.

I am the first president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors access during the 2002 US elections.

I am the all-time US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations.

The biggest lifetime contributor to my campaign, who is also one of my best friends, presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).

I spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.

I am the first president to run and hide when the US came under attack (and then lied, saying the enemy had the code to Air Force 1)

I am the first US president to establish a secret shadow government.

I took the world's sympathy for the US after 9/11, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world (possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).

I am the first US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability.

I changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.

I set the all-time record for the number of administration appointees who violated US law by not selling their huge investments in corporations bidding for gov't contracts.

I have removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any other president in US history.

I entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less than two years turned every single economic category heading straight down.

RECORDS AND REFERENCES:

I have at least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine (Texas driving record has been erased and is not available).

I was AWOL from the National Guard and deserted the military during time of war.

I refuse to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use.

All records of my tenure as governor of Texas have been spirited away to my fathers library, sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

All records of any SEC investigations into my insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

All minutes of meetings of any public corporation for which I served on the board are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

Any records or minutes from meetings I (or my VP) attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.

GEORGE W. BUSH

The White House,

Washington, DC

This information should be useful to voters in the 2004 election. Circulate to as many citizens you think would be helped to be reminded about this record.

(AUTHOR UNKNOWN)

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16 NOVEMBER 2003

Dear friends and colleagues,

The fund raising fall party for my seat belt case was a success. Everyone seemed to have a great time--listening to a great blue grass band, even thought their second set was underneath the tent canopy as the rain came down. And we still pulled off a great bonfire with the on and off again drizzle--we had protection from another canopy as Dan, the folk singer, sang libertarian style originals.Thanks to Ward and Kathleen for hosting the party. I netted $600 for the cause. Thanks to all for your support.

This coming Tuesday, my attorney, Mike Noland and I go back to court to argue a motion to suppress--a probable casue Fourth Amendment challenge. With this motion we give the judge a chance to dodge the complete fight we have in store. If this motion is denied we are presenting a motion on Tuesday that would be heard at a later date with the meat of my arguements, especially the Ninth Amendment---the freedom to choose for oneself ones own safety choices, or to choose not to be safe as long as respecting all others for the same.

The hearing is Tuesday, at 1:30 PM, at the McHenry County Judicial Center on Route 47 in Woodstock, room A160.

warm regards,

Ken Prazak

1 NOVEMBER 2003

Freedom Rings and Seatbelt Case Fundraiser

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07.07.03

A message from Alan Perlman: "On July 19, I'll be performing with my jazz quartet at Pops Highwood (on the North Shore) from 8:30-12:30. For more information, go to www.popschampagne.com and click on Location."

Sister 121, by the Dream Theatre Company, Chicago

On the way to see Sister 121, I saw a car with the license plate, "LOGIC," and thought that was fitting, given that I was going to see a play that I knew would be heavily influenced by Ayn Rand, who claimed to formulate her epistemology and live her life based upon the principles of logic.

Sister 121 is a very good second draft of a play. Or, if you are a Rabid Randroid (someone who thinks that Ayn Rand may be the most important philosopher in history, or at least the greatest literary artist in the 20th Century), you may think that it is the best play of 2003.

Jeremy Menekseouglu wrote, acts in, and co-directs this apocolyptic play, set in the not-too-distant future of the United States, after a Great Class War reduces society to the level of (not-so) noble savages who hate any notion of individuality and place the will of the state above any personal desires.

Menekseouglu sprinkles the piece with a few witty insights: before the play begins, a collectivist announcer, who sounds like a mix between Franklin Delano Roosevelt and a Kennedy, repeatedly breaks into the 1950's bubble-gum-pop background music to propagandize ("Kill or Be Killed"); the mobs who hunt and kill the rich eat their prey, in the ultimate collectivist act (killing and eating others for nutritional support is a logical extension of stealing at gunpoint (taxing) to feed, clothe, and house the mob).

Brother Harmony (Menekseouglu), leader of the Harmonious Army (a death squad) dresses in a bloodied butcher's smock. Sister 121 and the sisters in her charge (women who are disfigured, spouseless and childless, or who have been molested) dress in bloodied, Eisenhower-era diner waitress smocks.

Mostly, though, the play is a montage of scenes directly inspired by the works of Ayn Rand, with the names and places changed to attempt to add some art to Rand's polemics. Sister 121 could do well with some serious editing. The play suffers from repetition of ideas (as does Rand's work), and from some over-the-top writing.

Menekseouglu obviously has talent, but could benefit from some basic writer's workshop advice (for example, if the writer LOVES a scene or line he wrote, he should probably remove it.) Sister 121 could be half as long and twice as good.

The directing (the other co-director is John Reents) is very good, transparent. There is a bit too much yelling in the play, to the point where it looses it's impact and is just annoying, but this may be more an issue with the writing than the directing.

All of the acting is very strong (Rebecca Lincoln is Sister 121, Theresa Ro is Sister 58, Anna Weiller is Sister 11, Kyle Carroll is Gladys Amelia Slaughter), even if some of the characters more philosopical principles than characters (much like the worst of Rand's work). Gladys Amelia Slaughter and Brother Harmony, in particular, suffer from being flat, philosophical principles rather than characters, and the attempts to add emotional depth to those characters seem melodramatic, at best.

Unfortunately, the strong acting cannot overcome the fact that the audience is not presented with a character it can like. Even Slaughter, who seems to be presented as a sort of heroine, comes across as nothing but a little rich girl who only has principles because her father has them. All of the sisters undergo transformations under Slaughter's tutelage, but none of it is moving enough for us to care about on other than the intellectual level.

The play is very strong technically, and is very well produced. Rebecca Lincoln is the Producer; Tanya Kim is the Stage Manager; Brandy Peeler is the House Manger; Anna Weler is the Lighting Designer; Menekseouglu is the Sound Designer, and Lou Rocco Centrella did an excellent job on the media and web design. I appreciated the bottle of ice-cold water everyone was offered at intermission.

Like the works of Ayn Rand, Sister 121 is play with an important message about individual liberty and responsiblity. Unfortunately, like some of the works of Ayn Rand, it's secondary, unintended message is that logic alone does not make art.

The Journeyman Theatre, Sister 121's venue, is in the sanctuary of Holy Covenant Church, on Diversey east of Sheffield. The church was founded in 1869 (immediately after the Civil War/War of Northern Aggression), and includes a stained glass window with a United States flag and the words "For God, Our Country, Our Church." I found this especially fitting, given that Menekseouglu, in the program, gives special thanks to "The New Intellectual Forum, Chicago's Objectivist discussion group," a group whose membership mostly, despite their anti-collectivist claims, seemed in favor of Operation Iraqi Oil. I thought that such "Objectivists," who supported the tyrant Bush, would feel at home in a sanctuary with such an honor to the legacy of the tyrant Lincoln.

Please don't criticize the President

Google considers "Regime Change Begins at Home & 'Don't Tread on Me' Items," and "Impeach Bush / No WMD's, but people died. Spread / the word with these products," to be "Language that advocates against an individual, group, or organization". (sic) (They also don't understand FATMOUSE.) Fascism.

Here's the email they sent me:

From: adwords-support@google.com

To: webmaster@mythofsisyphus.net

Subject: Your Google AdWords Approval Status

Hello XXXXX,

Thank you for advertising with Google AdWords. After reviewing your account, I have found that one or more of your ads or keywords does not meet our guidelines. The results are outlined in the report below.

-------------------

Campaign: 'Campaign #1,' Ad Group: 'Ad Group #1'

-------------------

AD TEXT:

RegimeChangeBeginsAtHome

Regime Change Begins at Home &

"Don't Tread on Me" Items

www.mythofsisyphus.net

Action taken: Suspended - Pending Revision Issue(s): Unacceptable Content

~~~~~~~~~

SUGGESTIONS:

-> Content: At this time, Google policy does not permit the advertisement of websites that contain "Language that advocates against an individual, group, or organization". As noted in our advertising terms and conditions, we reserve the right to exercise editorial discretion when it comes to the advertising we accept on our site.

----------------

Campaign: 'Campaign #2,' Ad Group: 'Ad Group #1'

----------------

AD TEXT:

Impeach Bush

No WMD's, but people died. Spread

the word with these products.

www.mythofsisyphus.net/

Action taken: Suspended - Pending Revision

Issue(s): Unacceptable Content

~~~~~~~~~

SUGGESTIONS:

-----------------

Campaign: 'Campaign #3,' Ad Group: 'Ad Group #1'

-----------------

AD TEXT:

FATMOUSE

FATMOUSE + YOU + THESE

PRODUCTS = FATMOUSE

www.mythofsisyphus.net

Action taken: Suspended - Pending Revision

Issue(s): Unacceptable Content, Grammar, Capitalization, Repetition

~~~~~~~~~

SUGGESTIONS:

-> Ad Text: The following phrases do not meet our grammar requirements: "FATMOUSE + YOU + THESE", "PRODUCTS = FATMOUSE". We suggest using "FATMOUSE - You & These", "Products is FATMOUSE" instead.

-> Ad Text: Your ad(s) contain excessive or unnecessary capitalization e.g. "FATMOUSE + YOU + THESE", "PRODUCTS = FATMOUSE". You may wish to consider using "FATMOUSE - You & These", "Products is FATMOUSE" instead.

-> Ad Text: The following word/phrase is unnecessarily repeated in your ad: "FATMOUSE". The limited text space should be used for concise, informative language that will entice users to click on your ad.

---------------------

Please read below for definitions of the issues we found:

Unacceptable Content: Google believes strongly in freedom of expression and therefore offers broad access to content across the web without censoring search results. Please note that the decisions we make concerning advertising in no way affect the search results we deliver.

Grammar: Your ad text must be in logical sentence or phrase form and cannot contain numbers, letters, or symbols in place of words. Thefollowing are examples of guideline violations:

1.) Deals 4 U

2.) shop @ Google for low $

Capitalization: We do not permit excessive or unnecessary capitalization in your ad text, title, or display URL. The following are examples of guideline violations:

1.) GOOGLE ADWORDS

2.) www.GOOGLEADWORDS.com

Repetition: Our Editorial Guidelines do not permit words or phrases to be repeated throughout your ad text, even if the word or phrase appears on separate lines.

---------------------

If a keyword has been disabled, your ad(s) will no longer be displayed for searches on this keyword.

If an ad has been suspended, please edit it based on our suggestions, and then save your changes to automatically resubmit the ad for review. We're confident that these changes will improve your ad performance and increase your return on investment.

Our goal is to help you reach your target audience and maximize your investment. All ads are reviewed by AdWords Specialists to ensure that our advertisers create successful, high-impact advertising in keeping with our program’s Editorial Guidelines.

For more information about our ad requirements, please read the AdWords Editorial Guidelines at: https://adwords.google.com
/select/guidelines.html

Please feel free to email us at adwords-support@google.com if you have any further questions or concerns. We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.

Sincerely,

The Google AdWords Team

*****

I've gone back to using Dogpile

07.03.03

Grasping the Nettle

C.L.A.W. (Community Liberty Activists Whatever)

Bill of Rights Defender

ISIL's "New Declaration"

July 4 Flyers

July 4 poster "Not everyone can celebrate the 4th"

The upside down flag

"Declare Your Independence" radio show

"Freedom Rings" Freedom Radio Show

PUT THE "INDEPENDENCE" BACK IN INDEPENDENCE DAY--THE FORGOTTEN MEANING OF AMERICA

America's cities and towns will soon fill with parades, fireworks, and barbecues. They will be celebrating the Fourth of July, the 227th birthday of America. But one hopes that--on this second post-September 11 Independence Day--the speeches will contain fewer bromides and more attention to exactly what is being celebrated. The Fourth of July is Independence Day, but America's leaders and intellectuals have been trying to move us further and further away from the meaning of Independence Day, away from the philosophy that created this country.

What we hear from politicians, intellectuals, and the media is that independence is passé, that we've reached a new age of "interdependence." We hear demands for mandatory "volunteering" to serve others, for sacrifice to the nation. We hear demands from trust-busters that successful companies be punished for being "greedy" and not serving society. But this is not the message of America. It is the direct opposite of why America became a beacon of hope for the truly oppressed throughout the world. They have come here to escape poverty and dictatorship; they have come here to live their own lives, where they aren't owned by the state, the community, or the tribe.

"Independence Day" is a critically important title. It signifies the fundamental meaning of this nation, not just of the holiday. The American Revolution remains unique in human history: a revolution--and a nation--founded on a moral principle, the principle of individual rights. Jefferson at Philadelphia, and Washington at Valley Forge, pledged their "lives, fortunes, and sacred honor." For what? Not for mere separation from England, not--like most rebels--for the "freedom" to set up their own tyranny. In fact, Britain's tyranny over the colonists was mild compared to what most current governments do to their citizens.

Jefferson and Washington fought a war for the principle of independence, meaning the moral right of an individual to live his own life as he sees fit. Independence was proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence as the rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." What are these rights? The right to life means that every individual has a right to his own independent life, that one's life belongs to oneself, not to others to use as they see fit.

The right to liberty means the right to freedom of action, to act on one's own judgment, the right not to have a gun pointed at one's head and be forced to do what someone else commands. And the right to the pursuit of happiness means that an individual may properly pursue his own happiness, e.g., his own career, friends, hobbies, and not exist as a mere tool to serve the goals of others. The Founding Fathers did not proclaim a right to the attainment of happiness, knowing full well that such a policy would carry with it the obligation of others to make one happy and result in the enslavement of all to all. The Declaration of Independence was a declaration against servitude, not just servitude to the Crown but servitude to anyone. (That some signers still owned slaves does not negate the fact that they established the philosophy that doomed slavery.)

Political independence is not a primary. It rests on a more fundamental type of independence: the independence of the human mind. It is the ability of a human being to think for himself and guide his own life that makes political independence possible and necessary. The government as envisaged by the Founding Fathers existed to protect the freedom to think and to act on one's thinking. If human beings were unable to reason, to think for themselves, there would be no autonomy or independence for a government to protect. It is this independence that defines the American Revolution and the American spirit.

To the Founding Fathers, there was no authority higher than the individual mind, not King George, not God, not society. Reason, wrote Ethan Allen, is "the only oracle of man," and Thomas Jefferson advised us to "fix reason firmly in her seat and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God." That is the meaning of independence: trust in your own judgment, in reason; do not sacrifice your mind to the state, the church, the race, the nation, or your neighbors.

Independence is the foundation of America. Independence is what should be celebrated on Independence Day. That is the legacy our Founding Fathers left us. It is a legacy we should keep, not because it is a legacy, but because it is right and just. It has made America the freest and most prosperous country in history.

Michael Berliner is the former executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute (www.aynrand.org) in Irvine, Calif. The Institute promotes the philosophy of Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.

Thomas Paine: The Rights of Man

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