Vermont is home to one Democrat Senator (Patrick Leahy) and one self-called socialist independent (Bernie Sanders – no relation!) and one Democrat member of Congress.  It is one of the most liberal states in the Union.  But even here, there is signs of life:  Two great anti-ICLEI blogs. The first is Vermont for Evolution, a website that seems to transcend left and right and may be truly libertarian with a small “l”.  They have a great article on ICLEI.  Highlights: ICLEI’s website openly admits that its  Local Agenda 21 Model Communities Program will “aid local governments in implementing Chapter 28 of  Agenda 21 , the global action plan for sustainable development.” Former Clinton administration adviser J. Gary Lawrence later worried that there might be some who discover that the ICLEI effort constitutes “an attack on the power of the nation-state.” At a seminar in England, he told a British audience, The segment of our society who fear “one-world government” and a UN invasion of the United States through which our individual freedoms might be stripped away would actively work to defeat any elected official who joined [in our effort.] So, we’ll call our processes something else, such as comprehensive planning, growth management, smart growth . After commending Carroll County and Edmond, OK, the article concludes like this: While some Americans now realize that  Agenda 21 and its numerous stepchildren pose a danger to their communities and their nation, many more must be made aware. Far more than considerations about the cost and control associated with involvement, the more important overall threat posed by Agenda 21 is loss of independence at the community, county, state, and national levels. [...]

There is a new batch of liberty/sovereignty activists fighting ICLEI in their home town:  Las Cruces, NM!  According to the Las Cruces Sun-News, there is a move afoot to get their city OUT of ICLEI!  And they WON!  Here’s highlights: But that isn’t stopping concerned residents from demanding the city end its involvement in ICLEI. They want the city to resign its membership as quickly as possible because they believe it is a threat to the American concept of private property rights. “I am going to start a petition drive to cancel the city’s membership in ICLEI,” said Las Cruces resident Jim Harbison, who regularly attends city council meetings. “I know I can get at least 400 signatures in a week. … I’m planning on submitting the petition to the city in a few weeks.” Go Jim Harbison, go!  He has won already one huge victory – Las Cruces NM will quit ICLEI and not renew it’s membership: But [City Manager Robert] Garza said such a petition isn’t necessary because the decision was made “long before the current public debate” that the city will not continue its membership after its dues expire in about a year. [...]

I am hearing the Twilight Zone music right now.  Can I borrow Rod Serling’s voice when I need it?  I think I need it right now.  Let’s start with Sandy agrees with an European bureaucrat.  That alone might cause the EU to tremble in fright…here’s the scoop: A French advocate-general has reported (shout out to Real Clear Science ) to the European Court of Justice that it is illegal and unethical for companies to patent research derived from embryonic stem cell research.  Yes, that’s right.  A French lawyer/judge says embryonic stem cell research cannot be patented.  Here’s one article : A fledgling biosciences industry that promises to revolutionise medicine in the 21st century could be destroyed by a French judge who has declared it immoral to patent inventions based on cells derived from human embryos. I know; it’s tough to imagine a French judge working for a European court taking a stand on a moral issue.  Just when my head was beginning to get around this, I read about the suit:  It was brought, not by a tiny pro-life group, but by Greenpeace – that’s right – the pro-global warming, anti-nuclear power, occasional civilly disobedient environmental wacko group that is anathema to just about everything Sandy stands for! Here’s is what is reported about Greenpeace’s suit to stop the patenting of human embryos: The case was presented in November 2009 by the German Federal Supreme Court, which had requested clarification of the legal definitions of human embryos in relation to patentability after it had trouble adjudicating a challenge to Brüstle’s patent from the environmental organization Greenpeace, based in Amsterdam. Greenpeace said that the patent was unethical because hES cell lines are derived from human embryos.  (emphasis mine!) Sandy’s about to faint…catch me!  I had to find this in another place to believe it: “Our aim with this case was to clarify the scope of protection of human embryos,” Christoph Then, an adviser to Greenpeace, told Bloomberg. “This goes in the right direction and we have to wait for the court’s final decision now.” Could Greenpeace be going pro-life?  I think I better lay down for a few minutes.  Wait!  There’s more:  The advocate-general held that because the stem cells came originally from a human embryo, the results cannot be patented: The advocate general said so-called pluripotent embryonic stem cells, such as those Bruestle used, don’t fall under the definition of embryo because “they are no longer capable of developing into a complete human being.” Still, it isn’t possible to ignore the origin of these stem cells, he said. [...]

I was watching the Royal Wedding this morning and caught the very end of it.  It was a wonderful ceremony and my prayers for eternal happiness go out to Prince William and Princess Kate.  But there was a song – a hymn – at the very end of the ceremony, part of the recessional, that I immediately recognized from the end of Chariots of Fire – the final scene when Harold Abrahams returns in triumph to Sybil and the scene fades out to the end of the ceremony at the start of the movie – Abrahams’ 1978 funeral – and the choir and congregation are singing as they file out of the church.  A nice summing up.  I was wondering what the hymn was when the announcers answered it for me:  Jerusalem – a patriotic hymn that the royal couple placed in the ceremony because the people wanted it. Jerusalem is a beautiful and majestic hymn written by William Blake about 1808 with these words: Blake’s poem And did those feet in ancient time. Walk upon England’s mountains green: And was the holy Lamb of God, On England’s pleasant pastures seen! And did the Countenance Divine, Shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here, Among these dark Satanic Mills? [...]