05/29 -- Peace is the death of war; Memorial Day: Remembering the victims of government
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Thomas L. Knapp
May 29, 2012, 12:03:36 AM5/29/12
to Freedom News Daily
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Egypt: Violence flares after election results
2) Russia condemns ally Syria over massacre of 108
3) Iraq: Three killed, 36 wounded
4) Afghanistan: Three occupation troops killed
5) Pakistan: Six killed in US terrorist attack
6) Tibet: Two self-immolate vs. Chinese occupation
7) Peru: State of emergency after two killed in protest
8) Nepal fails to adopt blueprint, braces for turmoil
9) US official: American kidnapped in Benin
10) Quebec: Students, government resume negotiations
11) TX: Woman fatally shoots a cousin who broke into her house
12) Teenager solves problem, baffling since Isaac Newton
13) Flame: Massive cyber-attack discovered
14) MS: School district agrees not to handcuff students to objects
15) India, Myanmar regimes ink pact
16) FBI quietly forms secretive Internet surveillance unit
17) TX: Honor student jailed for truancy
18) Kenya: Nairobi blast wounds at least 15
19) Senate panel cuts Pakistan aid over conviction
20) Vegas grocer accused of war crimes, sent to Bosnia
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Peace is the death of war
22) Memorial Day: Remembering the victims of government
23) Government beneficence and other fairy tales
24) Against annihilation of the spirit: Let us all become cowards
25) Why corporate capitalism is unsustainable
26) What to remember on Memorial Day
27) Exploding the myth of racist kids
28) Should Romney go left on Wall Street?
29) The business of government
30) Conservative media try to reverse racial reality
31) High time to end corporate taxes
32) A rare admission that money trumps everything
33) Memorial Day Propaganda
34) The Bill of Rights Series, part 2: The First Amendment
35) Romney and Bain Capital
36) Founding fathers -- William Paca
37) Value in devaluation?
38) Romney is a disaster on education
39) Magical thinking in liberal land
40) Memories of freedom
41) Audits and principles-based regulation
42) Memorial Day: Soldiers and civic vice
43) There is no moral obligation to obey the regime in liberalism
44) Dusk falling on era of authority
45) Are we headed for a fight with China?
46) Should the bank's loss be the law's gain?
47) Wealth vs. job creation?
48) Labour is right: It's time for Plan B
49) The self is not an illusion
50) Church and state: They want it both ways
51) Abolish Memorial Day
52) Baby budget hawks of the GOP
53) The Constitution does not grant rights!
54) 9/11 as a threat to non-profits?
55) The moral case for organ markets
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FREEDOM NEWS
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1) Egypt: Violence flares after election results
Source: Albany Times Union
"A mob set fire late Monday to the campaign headquarters of one of the
two Egyptian presidential politicians facing each other in a runoff
that will decide a new leader after last year's popular uprising, the
first sign of unrest after the voting yielded divisive
candidates." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7ljcnnd
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2) Russia condemns ally Syria over massacre of 108
Source: Watertown Public Opinion
"A weekend massacre of more than 100 people emerged as a potential
turning point in the Syrian crisis Monday, galvanizing even staunch
ally Russia to take an unusually hard line against President Bashar
Assad's government. Analysts said Russia may be warning Assad that he
needs to change course or lose Moscow's support, which has been a key
layer of protection for the Syrian government during the uprising that
began in March 2011." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7xr2j7o
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3) Iraq: Three killed, 36 wounded
Source: Antiwar.com
"A bomb targeting Shi'ite pilgrims passing through Saqlawiya blasted
their bus and wounded 24 Pakistani pilgrims. ... Three civilians were
killed and four policemen were wounded in Ayyadiya when a grenade was
tossed at a police checkpoint within a popular market. Bombs blew up a
house under construction in Tikrit, wounding eight people and damaging
other buildings." (05/27/12)
http://bit.ly/KMgZ1r
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4) Afghanistan: Three occupation troops killed
Source: KTVL 10 News
"As Americans observe Memorial Day, three NATO service members have
been killed in Afghanistan. The U.S.-led coalition says a helicopter
crash killed two service members in the eastern part of the country,
while a third died in an insurgent attack in the south." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/JK7IVJ
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5) Pakistan: Six killed in US terrorist attack
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"A US drone strike has killed at least six people in north-west
Pakistan, officials say, the latest in a barrage of strikes on a
restive tribal region. ... Officials say those killed were foreigners,
but they were unable to identify their nationalities." (05/28/12)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18232018
-----
6) Tibet: Two self-immolate vs. Chinese occupation
Source: Times of India [India]
"Two men set themselves on fire to protest against the Chinese
government in Tibet's capital, Lhasa , in the middle of a large crowd
which had gathered to worship the Buddha on Sunday . One of them died
while the other is seriously injured. ... This is the first self-
immolation by Tibetans in Lhasa in recent times indicating that the
protest has spread deep in Tibet, thus mounting renewed pressure on
the Chinese government." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/KMgJiT
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7) Peru: State of emergency after two killed in protest
Source: Sacramento Bee
"Peru's government has declared a 30-day state of emergency in a
highlands province where authorities say two people were killed in
anti-mining demonstrations and protesters took a prosecutor hostage.
Interior Minister Wilver Calle said in a news conference that 30
police officers were injured Monday in clashes with protesters near
Cuzco." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/6wfm9ke
-----
8) Nepal fails to adopt blueprint, braces for turmoil
Source: Macon Telegraph
"Nepal sank into political turmoil after lawmakers failed to agree on
a new constitution, leaving the country with no legal government. The
premier called new elections, but critics said he lacked the power to
do so. Security forces went on high alert Monday and riot police
patrolled the streets after several political parties called for
rallies to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai
and protest his unilateral decision to call elections for
November." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7mn53vr
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9) US official: American kidnapped in Benin
Source: CNN
"A U.S. citizen has been kidnapped in the West African nation of
Benin, a U.S. State Department official said Sunday. The official, who
asked not to be named given the sensitivity of the situation, said
that U.S. diplomatic officials are providing 'consular assistance' in
the case. Authorities have not indicated when or under what
circumstances the person was kidnapped, nor have they identified the
abductee." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7fsple8
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10) Quebec: Students, government resume negotiations
Source: Connecticut Post
"Quebec college and university students and the provincial government
returned to the bargaining table on Monday in an attempt to put an end
to a months-long dispute over tuition hikes that has led to clashes
with police and mass arrests." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/786md3r
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11) TX: Woman fatally shoots a cousin who broke into her house
Source: Houston Chronicle
"A woman fatally shot her cousin who was allegedly breaking into her
north Houston home. The incident happened about 12:30 a.m. at the 5900
block of Reid. A woman started shooting in the dark after two burglary
suspects sneaked inside her house, the television station reports. The
men had first turned off the home's electricity, trying to lure
residents out of the house. According to investigators, the woman
grabbed her gun and started shooting in the dark. She hit one of the
men and then turned on the lights and saw her cousin, bleeding on the
floor. Investigators told KTRK that the woman's cousin was attempting
to steal from her." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/JK89zk
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12) Teenager solves problem, baffling since Isaac Newton
Source: The Raw Story
"Sixteen year old Shouryya Ray denies being a genius, but he's being
hailed in news reports for having come up with the solution to a
problem that has baffled mathematicians ever since Sir Isaac Newton
first posed it over 300 years ago. The problem involved calculating
the path of a projectile that is subject to both gravity and air
resistance. ... Ray says his chief motivation was curiosity. 'When it
was explained to us that the problems had no solutions, I thought to
myself: well, there's no harm in trying,' he explained." (05/27/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7k9qted
-----
13) Flame: Massive cyber-attack discovered
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"A complex targeted cyber-attack that collected private data from
countries such as Israel and Iran has been uncovered, researchers have
said. Russian security firm Kaspersky Labs told the BBC they believed
the malware, known as Flame, had been operating since August 2010. The
company said it believed the attack was state-sponsored, but could not
be sure of its exact origins." (05/28/12)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18238326
-----
14) MS: School district agrees not to handcuff students to objects
Source: Reuters [UK]
"The Jackson, Mississippi, school district has agreed to stop
shackling students to fixed objects, after it was sued for handcuffing
pupils to railings and poles at a school for troubled children,
officials said on Friday. The Southern Poverty Law Center sued Jackson
Public Schools in 2011 over its treatment of students at the
district's Capital City Alternative School. Students at that campus
have been suspended or expelled from other schools." (05/26/12)
http://tinyurl.com/89psm7j
-----
15) India, Myanmar regimes ink pact
Source: CBS News
"India agreed Monday to provide Myanmar with a $500 million credit as
one of 12 deals signed during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's
visit to the Southeast Asian country. Singh is on a three-day visit
that underscores India's quest for energy supplies and concerns about
China's strong influence in Myanmar." (05/28/12)
http://cbsn.ws/KzEytw
-----
16) FBI quietly forms secretive Internet surveillance unit
Source: CNet News
"CNET has learned that the FBI has formed a Domestic Communications
Assistance Center, which is tasked with developing new electronic
surveillance technologies, including intercepting Internet, wireless,
and VoIP communications. ... The establishment of the Quantico, Va.-
based unit, which is also staffed by agents from the U.S. Marshals
Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency, is a response to
technological developments that FBI officials believe outpace law
enforcement's ability to listen in on private
communications." (05/22/12)
http://cnet.co/Kzycua
-----
17) TX: Honor student jailed for truancy
Source: Global Post
"Diane Tran, a 17-year-old Willis High School junior, was sentenced to
spent 24 hours in jail and pay $100 in fines for excessive truancy,
according to CBS Atlanta. She had broken a Texan law that makes it a
crime to miss more than 10 days of school in a six month period ....
She helps support two siblings with both a full time and part-time
job. Her parents were divorced and she lived with the family that owns
the wedding venue where she works on weekends." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/Kzwglo
-----
18) Kenya: Nairobi blast wounds at least 15
Source: Reuters
"A blast struck a shopping complex in Nairobi's business district
during Monday's lunch hour, wounding more than a dozen people, but it
was not immediately clear what had caused the explosion. ... Police
Commissioner Mathew Iteere said it was too early to determine the
cause of the blast. He said blackened wires inside the trading centre
indicated a possible electrical fault but did not rule out a
bomb." (05/28/12)
http://reut.rs/KzuroE
-----
19) Senate panel cuts Pakistan aid over conviction
Source: USA Today
"A Senate panel expressed its outrage Thursday over Pakistan's
conviction of a doctor who helped the United States track down Osama
bin Laden, voting to cut aid to Islamabad by $33 million -- $1 million
for every year of the physician's 33-year sentence for high treason.
The punitive move came on top of deep reductions the Appropriations
Committee already had made to President Obama's budget request for
Pakistan, a reflection of the growing congressional anger over its
cooperation in combatting terrorism." (05/24/12)
http://tinyurl.com/d7vur55
-----
20) Vegas grocer accused of war crimes, sent to Bosnia
Source: MSNBC
"A man accused of commanding a police squad that rounded up Bosnian
Muslims for slaughter in 1995 fashioned a new life in Las Vegas as a
modest grocery store owner before being arrested and deported to his
native country, a lawyer and U.S. officials said Thursday. Dejan
Radojkovic arrived in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, after an overnight
commercial airline flight from Las Vegas accompanied by federal
agents, Bosnian authorities and U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement officials said." (05/24/12)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47558788/ns/us_news/
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HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 05/29/12
Iraqi Deaths Due to US Invasion: 1,455,590
(source: justforeignpolicy.org/iraq)
US Deaths in Afghanistan: Bush 575, Obama 1310
(source: justforeignpolicy.org/obamavsbush)
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FREEDOM COMMENTARY
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21) Peace is the death of war
Source: Wrights 2012
by R. Lee Wrights
"Peace is the death of war. Peace is not the opposite of war. Peace is
not the absence of war. Peace is the death of war. Peace happens when
enough people decide they have had enough killing. Peace happens when
enough people say, 'I am not at war.'" (05/26/12)
http://wrights2012.com/2012/05/peace-is-the-death-of-war/
-----
22) Memorial Day: Remembering the victims of government
Source: Libertarian News Examiner
by Garry Reed
"People who have lost loved ones fighting in America's wars should, by
all means, honor them for their courage, but they should not honor
them for 'fighting for our freedoms' because they didn't. They fought
to secure the power lust, wealth accumulation, and ego fulfillment of
America's ruling class. America's leaders know this perfectly well,
but they don't want their victims, the young people who do the actual
fighting and dying and their loved ones who mourn them, to recognize
that reality." (05/27/12)
http://exm.nr/KzDTZ9
-----
23) Government beneficence and other fairy tales
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Sheldon Richman
"I admit I'm amused by the unceasing economic and political malarkey
that flows from the pundits at MSNBC. Many of these gems come during
its promos, which, as viewers of the network know very well, promote
not its programs but all-pervasive government." (05/25/12)
http://tinyurl.com/d3b6r6k
-----
24) Against annihilation of the spirit: Let us all become cowards
Source: The Power of Narrative
by Arthur Silber
"If we were genuinely concerned with honoring those who have died in
war, we would make it our sacred task to eradicate the causes of war.
Of course, many Americans -- including most notably our leading
politicians -- couldn't care less about truly honoring those whose
guts have been ripped out, whose limbs have been bloodily and
painfully mutilated, whose minds have been destroyed. For the state
and its enablers, the war dead are props used to purify and sanctify
the ongoing and future campaigns of slaughter, in an endless
procession of slaughters throughout history. The war dead are
especially useful, since they have been rendered forever mute; they
are unable to tell us the truth of what they endured, or about the
lies for which they died." (05/25/12)
http://bit.ly/KzBxtc
-----
25) Why corporate capitalism is unsustainable
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson
"In short, capitalism depends on ever-growing amounts of state
intervention in the market for its survival, and the system is hitting
the point where the teat runs dry. The result is a system in which
governments and corporations are increasingly hollowed out. And
meanwhile, growing up within this corporate capitalist "integument,"
things like open source software and culture, open-source industrial
design, permaculture and low-overhead garage micromanufacturing eat
the corporate-state economy alive." (05/25/12)
http://c4ss.org/content/10498
-----
26) What to remember on Memorial Day
Source: Pro Libertate
by Will Grigg
"'They were not subjects of fascism who clubbed to death infants in
the arms of Indian mothers,' writes historian John Upton Terrell in
his study Land Grab. 'They were not Nazis who shot running Indian
children to demonstrate their prowess as marksmen. It was not a
dictatorship which condoned the illegal appropriation of territory
awarded to Indians by solemn treaty for `as long as the waters run and
the sun rises. It was not ... a fuhrer or a duce who herded [Indians]
into prison camps and let them die of malnutrition, cold and
disease.... The bugle calls of American history proclaim not only
noble victories and morally justified accomplishments. They proclaim,
as well, base deeds and infamous triumphs.' Terrell's assessment is
worthy of our attention today, as we are barraged with admonitions
that we sing hymns of chastened gratitude to the memory of those who
killed and died on behalf of the State that rules us." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/JK7ZIa
-----
27) Exploding the myth of racist kids
Source: Spiked
by Adrian Hart
"Of course primary-school kids trade banter and insult each other. But
that doesn't mean they are racist." (05/28/12)
http://www.spiked-online.com/site/article/12493/
-----
28) Should Romney go left on Wall Street?
Source: The New Republic
by Noam Scheiber
"When JP Morgan announced its $2 billion trading loss a few weeks
back, a handful of smart conservatives saw an opportunity for Romney
to get to Obama's left: Call for an end to too-big-to-fail. As AEI's
James Pethokoukis put it: 'In one fell swoop, Romney would undercut
the charge that he's a creature of Wall Street and the financial super-
elite. And given how many hedge fund managers and other investment
pros dislike the mega-banks, Romney probably wouldn't even take a
fundraising hit. At the same time, he would outflank Obama on the
financial reform issue by portraying Obama-Dodd-Frank as a sop to the
big banks that failed to fix the problem.'" (05/25/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7bwatfe
-----
29) The business of government
Source: Liberty For All
by Henry George
"It is not the business of government to make men virtuous or
religious, or to preserve the fool from the consequences of his own
folly. Government should be repressive no further than is necessary to
secure liberty by protecting the equal rights of each from aggression
on the part of others, and the moment governmental prohibitions extend
beyond this line they are in danger of defeating the very ends they
are intended to serve." (05/28/12)
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=7654
-----
30) Conservative media try to reverse racial reality
Source: The Nation
by Ben Adler
"Conservatives must be feeling regretful. After nearly fifty years of
using appeals to white racial resentment to take over the South, win
presidential elections and control of Congress, conservatives are
realizing this might come back to bite them in the ass. As the right
wing has become xenophobic and anti-Latino, conservatives have watched
young Latinos and young Asian Americans join young African-Americans
in being overwhelmingly Democratic. ... All of a sudden, conservatives
see being the party of angry white males as a potential liability, and
they want to change their image." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/8x9acxf
-----
31) High time to end corporate taxes
Source: Orange County Register
by Lawrence Hunter
"In the latest installment of the long-running serial 'Super Rich Guy
Calls for Higher Taxes,' hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer made a $20
million donation last week to an initiative to raise California's
corporate tax rate. Steyer thinks local businesses aren't paying
nearly enough into the state's coffers. ... Corporate taxes are
inefficient. They're unfair. They smother economic growth. They exact
a heavy cost on the middle class. And, here's the real kicker, the
corporate income tax is such a drag on investment and economic growth
there is good reason to believe that getting rid of it would actually
raise total revenue to the government." (05/27/12)
http://tinyurl.com/76qrw7d
-----
32) A rare admission that money trumps everything
Source: In These Times
by David Sirota
"Headlines transmit information in its rawest form--and the best of
headlines crystallize indelible truths. Such was the case this week
when the New York Daily News blared this simple but iconic headline:
'Cuomo: Minimum Wage Harder to Get Than Gay Marriage.' The story
quoted New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) claiming that the effort to
raise wages for the poorest of his constituents represents a 'broader
and deeper' divide than the recent successful fight to legalize same-
sex matrimony in the Empire State." (05/25/12)
http://tinyurl.com/85n4leb
-----
33) Memorial Day Propaganda
Source: GaryBarnett .com
by Gary Barnett
"Every day since I was born, my liberty has continually been harmed.
Every war has caused a massive reduction in freedom, and since
September 11, 2001, almost all freedom has been destroyed. So the next
time someone without good sense says that we should all thank the
military forces for our freedom, ask them what freedom?" (05/26/12)
http://garydbarnett.com/GDBdaily/?p=755
-----
34) The Bill of Rights Series, part 2: The First Amendment
Source: The Libertarian Enterprise
by Neale Osborn
"The following is the third article co-written by Myself (Neale
Osborn) and Lee Norton. Remember, neither of us claim to be
Constitutional scholars or lawyers. As promised: First, we present the
1st Amendment, then we shall disect it. (05/28/12)
http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2012/tle672-20120527-06.html
-----
35) Romney and Bain Capital
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Sheldon Richman
"Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is
essentially playing one card in his quest for Barack Obama's job: his
business experience taught him how economies work. But Romney's own
pitch raises doubts about this." (05/25/12)
http://www.fff.org/comment/com1205r.asp
-----
36) Founding fathers -- William Paca
Source: Liberty For All
by staff
"Paca was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence
as a representative of Maryland, and later Governor of Maryland and a
United States federal judge. ... He was elected to the Maryland
legislature in 1771 and appointed to the Continental Congress in 1774.
He was reelected, serving until 1779, when he became chief justice of
the state of Maryland. In 1782 he was elected governor of
Maryland." (05/27/12)
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=7653
-----
37) Value in devaluation?
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Patrick Barron
"The euro is in trouble. That is not news. What is news is that people
with deep pockets are willing to pay for economists to provide a
solution. Lord Wolfson has offered a #250,000 prize for the best way a
country can exit the European Monetary Union (EMU). Five finalists for
the prize were announced in March. The winner will be announced in
June." (05/28/12)
http://mises.org/daily/6043/Value-in-Devaluation
-----
38) Romney is a disaster on education
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G. Hornberger
"What a disaster conservatives are. They preach their old 1950s mantra
'free enterprise, private property, and limited government' while
embracing every socialist and interventionist program that comes down
the pike. A recent example is Republican presidential candidate Mitt
Romney's plan to fix America's educational woes." (05/25/12)
http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2012-05-25.asp
-----
39) Magical thinking in liberal land
Source: OpenMarket.org
by Matt Patterson
"These are not your garden-variety fairy tales, however. Instead of
being told to -- and believed by -- children, these and countless
similar fables are told by -- and believed in -- by politicians of the
genus liberalis. Grownups holding the reins of power actually believe
these and similar notions, regardless of any historical or economic
proof to the contrary." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7walgvy
-----
40) Memories of freedom
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Andrew Napolitano
"What if Memorial Day reminds us of times when we had more freedom?
What if freedom is dying right under our eyes? What if the memory of
the past is more fulfilling than the reality of the present? What if
the federal government could write any law, regulate any behavior and
tax any event, no matter what the Constitution authorized? What if the
majority in Congress rejects the idea of limited government and views
the Constitution as granting it blanket power to do whatever it can
get away with?" (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/cyqn6ku
-----
41) Audits and principles-based regulation
Source: EconLog
by Arnold Kling
"One point that many people miss about principles-based regulation is
that it gives regulators an additional enforcement tool, other than
addressing actions that are improper. That tool is a process
audit." (05/28/12)
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2012/05/audits_and_prin.html
-----
42) Memorial Day: Soldiers and civic vice
Source: Bleeding Heart Libertarians
by Jason Brennan
"We shouldn't assume that the typical soldier has heroic motivations.
Many do. Many do not. Many join the military for less than noble
motives, and even when they are in the military, they do not develop
noble motives. However, for the sake of argument, let's just imagine
that all soldiers have a genuine and strong (de dicto) desire to
protect and serve their fellow citizens. Even if so, we then need to
ask about whether they actually count as having civic
virtue." (05/25/12)
http://bit.ly/KzEavd
-----
43) There is no moral obligation to obey the regime in liberalism
Source: Liberale et Libertaire
by dL
"The typical babble defense of the Liddy-Schumer moral obligation
begins with the premise of humans as a 'social product.' I won't
dispute the premise, but I will challenge the conclusion of the scope
of the social obligation. For starters, much of the component of
'social product' is social convention. But who exactly is supposed to
be the debt collector for social convention?" (05/27/12)
http://bit.ly/KzC4eG
-----
44) Dusk falling on era of authority
Source: Clovis News Journal
by Kent McManigal
"If you are in the group that doesn't care about liberty, then stay
alert. You may seem to be on the winning side right now, but dusk has
fallen on the era of authority. Its repetitious failures have awakened
a new generation to the promise of liberty, just as a previous
generation got a glimmer a couple of centuries ago, before their
descendants dropped the ball." (05/24/12)
http://bit.ly/KzzrcT
-----
45) Are we headed for a fight with China?
Source: Reason
by Steve Chapman
"Tensions and disagreements may be inevitable, but military clashes
and all-out war are not." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/Kzyrpd
-----
46) Should the bank's loss be the law's gain?
Source: Liberty Unbound
by Kyle Scott
"The great thing about laws is that they protect us when we are
unwilling and unable to do so on our own. Laws are great because they
make sure no harm is done. So when it came to our attention that JP
Morgan Chase just lost $2 billion because of risky investments and
hedging, it may have seemed that what was needed was more and better
laws, not personal responsibility. Of course this isn't
true." (05/26/12)
http://www.libertyunbound.com/node/813
-----
47) Wealth vs. job creation?
Source: A Passion for Liberty
by Tibor R. Machan
"When the wealth is spent, entrepreneurs figure out what it is that
those who spend it want to purchase and proceed to support enterprises
that produce this. That is how employment comes about, not from
fanciful government projects which may or may not fulfill the wants
and needs to people who go shopping." (05/27/12)
http://bit.ly/KzxqNT
-----
48) Labour is right: It's time for Plan B
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Ben Lodge
"It's not often that I consider the Labour Party to be right about
something, but they're spot on when they say that the coalition
government's approach to the economy is making the crisis even worse.
I believe that we do need to change course and pursue a radically
different approach." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/Kzvbdl
-----
49) The self is not an illusion
Source: The Moral Sciences Club
by Will Wilkinson
"The heart of the fallacy is to accept at the outset that the nature
of the self, for example, is precisely what an extravagantly
metaphysical, often religious, account says that it is. Then one
observes that there exists little or no evidence in support of that
account. One then concludes, having already simply assumed that the
self (or free will or consciousness or moral reasons) could not be
something less grand, that there is no self (or free will or
consciousness or morality)." (05/24/12)
http://bigthink.com/ideas/the-self-is-not-an-illusion
-----
50) Church and state: They want it both ways
Source: Authority!
by Timothy J Taylor
"Religious leaders in America have been whining a lot lately about the
government interfering with their churches and their beliefs. They
don't want the government telling their flocks that they have to do
something which is against their faith. They don't want government
meddling with their religion. ... On the other side of the coin they
desperately want the government to support and promote their
religion." (05/27/12)
http://bit.ly/KztKM1
-----
51) Abolish Memorial Day
Source: Antiwar.com
by Justin Raimondo
"Originally 'Decoration Day,' the last Monday in May has been the
designated time for us to remember the war dead and honor their
sacrifice -- while, perhaps, taking in the lessons of the many
conflicts that have marked our history as a free nation. In line with
the modern trend of universal trivialization, however, the holiday has
been paganized to mark the beginning of summer, when we get out the
barbecue grill and have the neighbors over for hamburgers and
beer." (05/28/12)
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2012/05/27/abolish-memorial-day/
-----
52) Baby budget hawks of the GOP
Source: Cato Institute
by Michael D. Tanner
"The conventional wisdom, pushed for very different reasons by both
Republicans and Democrats, is that Republicans in Congress, controlled
by radical tea-partiers, have been slashing government spending. Thus
it becomes a little hard to understand how, in the few short months
since last year's debt-ceiling deal, the federal debt has increased by
more than $1.5 trillion, roughly $13,000 per household. If Republicans
are such great budget cutters, how come we continue to spend more, run
more deficits, and accumulate more debt?" (05/23/12)
http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/baby-budget-hawks-gop
-----
53) The Constitution does not grant rights!
Source: LewRockwell.com
by Gary D. Barnett
"As I see it, the U.S. Constitution is one of the most misunderstood
documents in history. Even though it is filled with contradictions, it
is accepted and revered by most all in America. As I have said many
times in the past, it is literally worshiped in this country. This
attitude has obviously gone unrewarded, but it is also telling of the
success of the indoctrination process that has been going on for the
past 200 plus years. The most prevalent belief it seems is that the
constitution somehow miraculously limits the power of
government." (05/28/12)
http://lewrockwell.com/barnett/barnett53.1.html
-----
54) 9/11 as a threat to non-profits?
Source: Independent Institute
by Mary Theroux
"I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that non-profits are finding the
War on Terror a convenient excuse to increase their funding from
government. Nor surprising that our friends in Washington have been
happy to oblige in adding dependents to the gravy train." (05/24/12)
http://blog.independent.org/2012/05/24/911-as-a-threat-to-non-profits/
-----
55) The moral case for organ markets
Source: The Agitator
by Radley Balko
"There's nothing wrong with putting a high value on equality. But if
your vision of equality includes letting thousands of people die so we
can be confident the poor aren't being exploited by entering into
voluntary transactions in which they're paid for one of their kidneys,
I'd argue that you're putting far too much emphasis on equality. It's
true that we're all equal when we're dead. That doesn't mean it's a
desirable outcome." (05/24/12)
http://bit.ly/KzpuMB
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Egypt: Violence flares after election results
2) Russia condemns ally Syria over massacre of 108
3) Iraq: Three killed, 36 wounded
4) Afghanistan: Three occupation troops killed
5) Pakistan: Six killed in US terrorist attack
6) Tibet: Two self-immolate vs. Chinese occupation
7) Peru: State of emergency after two killed in protest
8) Nepal fails to adopt blueprint, braces for turmoil
9) US official: American kidnapped in Benin
10) Quebec: Students, government resume negotiations
11) TX: Woman fatally shoots a cousin who broke into her house
12) Teenager solves problem, baffling since Isaac Newton
13) Flame: Massive cyber-attack discovered
14) MS: School district agrees not to handcuff students to objects
15) India, Myanmar regimes ink pact
16) FBI quietly forms secretive Internet surveillance unit
17) TX: Honor student jailed for truancy
18) Kenya: Nairobi blast wounds at least 15
19) Senate panel cuts Pakistan aid over conviction
20) Vegas grocer accused of war crimes, sent to Bosnia
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Peace is the death of war
22) Memorial Day: Remembering the victims of government
23) Government beneficence and other fairy tales
24) Against annihilation of the spirit: Let us all become cowards
25) Why corporate capitalism is unsustainable
26) What to remember on Memorial Day
27) Exploding the myth of racist kids
28) Should Romney go left on Wall Street?
29) The business of government
30) Conservative media try to reverse racial reality
31) High time to end corporate taxes
32) A rare admission that money trumps everything
33) Memorial Day Propaganda
34) The Bill of Rights Series, part 2: The First Amendment
35) Romney and Bain Capital
36) Founding fathers -- William Paca
37) Value in devaluation?
38) Romney is a disaster on education
39) Magical thinking in liberal land
40) Memories of freedom
41) Audits and principles-based regulation
42) Memorial Day: Soldiers and civic vice
43) There is no moral obligation to obey the regime in liberalism
44) Dusk falling on era of authority
45) Are we headed for a fight with China?
46) Should the bank's loss be the law's gain?
47) Wealth vs. job creation?
48) Labour is right: It's time for Plan B
49) The self is not an illusion
50) Church and state: They want it both ways
51) Abolish Memorial Day
52) Baby budget hawks of the GOP
53) The Constitution does not grant rights!
54) 9/11 as a threat to non-profits?
55) The moral case for organ markets
------------------------------------------------------------------
FREEDOM NEWS
------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Egypt: Violence flares after election results
Source: Albany Times Union
"A mob set fire late Monday to the campaign headquarters of one of the
two Egyptian presidential politicians facing each other in a runoff
that will decide a new leader after last year's popular uprising, the
first sign of unrest after the voting yielded divisive
candidates." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7ljcnnd
-----
2) Russia condemns ally Syria over massacre of 108
Source: Watertown Public Opinion
"A weekend massacre of more than 100 people emerged as a potential
turning point in the Syrian crisis Monday, galvanizing even staunch
ally Russia to take an unusually hard line against President Bashar
Assad's government. Analysts said Russia may be warning Assad that he
needs to change course or lose Moscow's support, which has been a key
layer of protection for the Syrian government during the uprising that
began in March 2011." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7xr2j7o
-----
3) Iraq: Three killed, 36 wounded
Source: Antiwar.com
"A bomb targeting Shi'ite pilgrims passing through Saqlawiya blasted
their bus and wounded 24 Pakistani pilgrims. ... Three civilians were
killed and four policemen were wounded in Ayyadiya when a grenade was
tossed at a police checkpoint within a popular market. Bombs blew up a
house under construction in Tikrit, wounding eight people and damaging
other buildings." (05/27/12)
http://bit.ly/KMgZ1r
-----
4) Afghanistan: Three occupation troops killed
Source: KTVL 10 News
"As Americans observe Memorial Day, three NATO service members have
been killed in Afghanistan. The U.S.-led coalition says a helicopter
crash killed two service members in the eastern part of the country,
while a third died in an insurgent attack in the south." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/JK7IVJ
-----
5) Pakistan: Six killed in US terrorist attack
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"A US drone strike has killed at least six people in north-west
Pakistan, officials say, the latest in a barrage of strikes on a
restive tribal region. ... Officials say those killed were foreigners,
but they were unable to identify their nationalities." (05/28/12)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18232018
-----
6) Tibet: Two self-immolate vs. Chinese occupation
Source: Times of India [India]
"Two men set themselves on fire to protest against the Chinese
government in Tibet's capital, Lhasa , in the middle of a large crowd
which had gathered to worship the Buddha on Sunday . One of them died
while the other is seriously injured. ... This is the first self-
immolation by Tibetans in Lhasa in recent times indicating that the
protest has spread deep in Tibet, thus mounting renewed pressure on
the Chinese government." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/KMgJiT
-----
7) Peru: State of emergency after two killed in protest
Source: Sacramento Bee
"Peru's government has declared a 30-day state of emergency in a
highlands province where authorities say two people were killed in
anti-mining demonstrations and protesters took a prosecutor hostage.
Interior Minister Wilver Calle said in a news conference that 30
police officers were injured Monday in clashes with protesters near
Cuzco." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/6wfm9ke
-----
8) Nepal fails to adopt blueprint, braces for turmoil
Source: Macon Telegraph
"Nepal sank into political turmoil after lawmakers failed to agree on
a new constitution, leaving the country with no legal government. The
premier called new elections, but critics said he lacked the power to
do so. Security forces went on high alert Monday and riot police
patrolled the streets after several political parties called for
rallies to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai
and protest his unilateral decision to call elections for
November." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7mn53vr
-----
9) US official: American kidnapped in Benin
Source: CNN
"A U.S. citizen has been kidnapped in the West African nation of
Benin, a U.S. State Department official said Sunday. The official, who
asked not to be named given the sensitivity of the situation, said
that U.S. diplomatic officials are providing 'consular assistance' in
the case. Authorities have not indicated when or under what
circumstances the person was kidnapped, nor have they identified the
abductee." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7fsple8
-----
10) Quebec: Students, government resume negotiations
Source: Connecticut Post
"Quebec college and university students and the provincial government
returned to the bargaining table on Monday in an attempt to put an end
to a months-long dispute over tuition hikes that has led to clashes
with police and mass arrests." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/786md3r
-----
11) TX: Woman fatally shoots a cousin who broke into her house
Source: Houston Chronicle
"A woman fatally shot her cousin who was allegedly breaking into her
north Houston home. The incident happened about 12:30 a.m. at the 5900
block of Reid. A woman started shooting in the dark after two burglary
suspects sneaked inside her house, the television station reports. The
men had first turned off the home's electricity, trying to lure
residents out of the house. According to investigators, the woman
grabbed her gun and started shooting in the dark. She hit one of the
men and then turned on the lights and saw her cousin, bleeding on the
floor. Investigators told KTRK that the woman's cousin was attempting
to steal from her." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/JK89zk
-----
12) Teenager solves problem, baffling since Isaac Newton
Source: The Raw Story
"Sixteen year old Shouryya Ray denies being a genius, but he's being
hailed in news reports for having come up with the solution to a
problem that has baffled mathematicians ever since Sir Isaac Newton
first posed it over 300 years ago. The problem involved calculating
the path of a projectile that is subject to both gravity and air
resistance. ... Ray says his chief motivation was curiosity. 'When it
was explained to us that the problems had no solutions, I thought to
myself: well, there's no harm in trying,' he explained." (05/27/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7k9qted
-----
13) Flame: Massive cyber-attack discovered
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"A complex targeted cyber-attack that collected private data from
countries such as Israel and Iran has been uncovered, researchers have
said. Russian security firm Kaspersky Labs told the BBC they believed
the malware, known as Flame, had been operating since August 2010. The
company said it believed the attack was state-sponsored, but could not
be sure of its exact origins." (05/28/12)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18238326
-----
14) MS: School district agrees not to handcuff students to objects
Source: Reuters [UK]
"The Jackson, Mississippi, school district has agreed to stop
shackling students to fixed objects, after it was sued for handcuffing
pupils to railings and poles at a school for troubled children,
officials said on Friday. The Southern Poverty Law Center sued Jackson
Public Schools in 2011 over its treatment of students at the
district's Capital City Alternative School. Students at that campus
have been suspended or expelled from other schools." (05/26/12)
http://tinyurl.com/89psm7j
-----
15) India, Myanmar regimes ink pact
Source: CBS News
"India agreed Monday to provide Myanmar with a $500 million credit as
one of 12 deals signed during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's
visit to the Southeast Asian country. Singh is on a three-day visit
that underscores India's quest for energy supplies and concerns about
China's strong influence in Myanmar." (05/28/12)
http://cbsn.ws/KzEytw
-----
16) FBI quietly forms secretive Internet surveillance unit
Source: CNet News
"CNET has learned that the FBI has formed a Domestic Communications
Assistance Center, which is tasked with developing new electronic
surveillance technologies, including intercepting Internet, wireless,
and VoIP communications. ... The establishment of the Quantico, Va.-
based unit, which is also staffed by agents from the U.S. Marshals
Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency, is a response to
technological developments that FBI officials believe outpace law
enforcement's ability to listen in on private
communications." (05/22/12)
http://cnet.co/Kzycua
-----
17) TX: Honor student jailed for truancy
Source: Global Post
"Diane Tran, a 17-year-old Willis High School junior, was sentenced to
spent 24 hours in jail and pay $100 in fines for excessive truancy,
according to CBS Atlanta. She had broken a Texan law that makes it a
crime to miss more than 10 days of school in a six month period ....
She helps support two siblings with both a full time and part-time
job. Her parents were divorced and she lived with the family that owns
the wedding venue where she works on weekends." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/Kzwglo
-----
18) Kenya: Nairobi blast wounds at least 15
Source: Reuters
"A blast struck a shopping complex in Nairobi's business district
during Monday's lunch hour, wounding more than a dozen people, but it
was not immediately clear what had caused the explosion. ... Police
Commissioner Mathew Iteere said it was too early to determine the
cause of the blast. He said blackened wires inside the trading centre
indicated a possible electrical fault but did not rule out a
bomb." (05/28/12)
http://reut.rs/KzuroE
-----
19) Senate panel cuts Pakistan aid over conviction
Source: USA Today
"A Senate panel expressed its outrage Thursday over Pakistan's
conviction of a doctor who helped the United States track down Osama
bin Laden, voting to cut aid to Islamabad by $33 million -- $1 million
for every year of the physician's 33-year sentence for high treason.
The punitive move came on top of deep reductions the Appropriations
Committee already had made to President Obama's budget request for
Pakistan, a reflection of the growing congressional anger over its
cooperation in combatting terrorism." (05/24/12)
http://tinyurl.com/d7vur55
-----
20) Vegas grocer accused of war crimes, sent to Bosnia
Source: MSNBC
"A man accused of commanding a police squad that rounded up Bosnian
Muslims for slaughter in 1995 fashioned a new life in Las Vegas as a
modest grocery store owner before being arrested and deported to his
native country, a lawyer and U.S. officials said Thursday. Dejan
Radojkovic arrived in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, after an overnight
commercial airline flight from Las Vegas accompanied by federal
agents, Bosnian authorities and U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement officials said." (05/24/12)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47558788/ns/us_news/
------------------------------------------------------------------
HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 05/29/12
Iraqi Deaths Due to US Invasion: 1,455,590
(source: justforeignpolicy.org/iraq)
US Deaths in Afghanistan: Bush 575, Obama 1310
(source: justforeignpolicy.org/obamavsbush)
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
FREEDOM COMMENTARY
------------------------------------------------------------------
21) Peace is the death of war
Source: Wrights 2012
by R. Lee Wrights
"Peace is the death of war. Peace is not the opposite of war. Peace is
not the absence of war. Peace is the death of war. Peace happens when
enough people decide they have had enough killing. Peace happens when
enough people say, 'I am not at war.'" (05/26/12)
http://wrights2012.com/2012/05/peace-is-the-death-of-war/
-----
22) Memorial Day: Remembering the victims of government
Source: Libertarian News Examiner
by Garry Reed
"People who have lost loved ones fighting in America's wars should, by
all means, honor them for their courage, but they should not honor
them for 'fighting for our freedoms' because they didn't. They fought
to secure the power lust, wealth accumulation, and ego fulfillment of
America's ruling class. America's leaders know this perfectly well,
but they don't want their victims, the young people who do the actual
fighting and dying and their loved ones who mourn them, to recognize
that reality." (05/27/12)
http://exm.nr/KzDTZ9
-----
23) Government beneficence and other fairy tales
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Sheldon Richman
"I admit I'm amused by the unceasing economic and political malarkey
that flows from the pundits at MSNBC. Many of these gems come during
its promos, which, as viewers of the network know very well, promote
not its programs but all-pervasive government." (05/25/12)
http://tinyurl.com/d3b6r6k
-----
24) Against annihilation of the spirit: Let us all become cowards
Source: The Power of Narrative
by Arthur Silber
"If we were genuinely concerned with honoring those who have died in
war, we would make it our sacred task to eradicate the causes of war.
Of course, many Americans -- including most notably our leading
politicians -- couldn't care less about truly honoring those whose
guts have been ripped out, whose limbs have been bloodily and
painfully mutilated, whose minds have been destroyed. For the state
and its enablers, the war dead are props used to purify and sanctify
the ongoing and future campaigns of slaughter, in an endless
procession of slaughters throughout history. The war dead are
especially useful, since they have been rendered forever mute; they
are unable to tell us the truth of what they endured, or about the
lies for which they died." (05/25/12)
http://bit.ly/KzBxtc
-----
25) Why corporate capitalism is unsustainable
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson
"In short, capitalism depends on ever-growing amounts of state
intervention in the market for its survival, and the system is hitting
the point where the teat runs dry. The result is a system in which
governments and corporations are increasingly hollowed out. And
meanwhile, growing up within this corporate capitalist "integument,"
things like open source software and culture, open-source industrial
design, permaculture and low-overhead garage micromanufacturing eat
the corporate-state economy alive." (05/25/12)
http://c4ss.org/content/10498
-----
26) What to remember on Memorial Day
Source: Pro Libertate
by Will Grigg
"'They were not subjects of fascism who clubbed to death infants in
the arms of Indian mothers,' writes historian John Upton Terrell in
his study Land Grab. 'They were not Nazis who shot running Indian
children to demonstrate their prowess as marksmen. It was not a
dictatorship which condoned the illegal appropriation of territory
awarded to Indians by solemn treaty for `as long as the waters run and
the sun rises. It was not ... a fuhrer or a duce who herded [Indians]
into prison camps and let them die of malnutrition, cold and
disease.... The bugle calls of American history proclaim not only
noble victories and morally justified accomplishments. They proclaim,
as well, base deeds and infamous triumphs.' Terrell's assessment is
worthy of our attention today, as we are barraged with admonitions
that we sing hymns of chastened gratitude to the memory of those who
killed and died on behalf of the State that rules us." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/JK7ZIa
-----
27) Exploding the myth of racist kids
Source: Spiked
by Adrian Hart
"Of course primary-school kids trade banter and insult each other. But
that doesn't mean they are racist." (05/28/12)
http://www.spiked-online.com/site/article/12493/
-----
28) Should Romney go left on Wall Street?
Source: The New Republic
by Noam Scheiber
"When JP Morgan announced its $2 billion trading loss a few weeks
back, a handful of smart conservatives saw an opportunity for Romney
to get to Obama's left: Call for an end to too-big-to-fail. As AEI's
James Pethokoukis put it: 'In one fell swoop, Romney would undercut
the charge that he's a creature of Wall Street and the financial super-
elite. And given how many hedge fund managers and other investment
pros dislike the mega-banks, Romney probably wouldn't even take a
fundraising hit. At the same time, he would outflank Obama on the
financial reform issue by portraying Obama-Dodd-Frank as a sop to the
big banks that failed to fix the problem.'" (05/25/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7bwatfe
-----
29) The business of government
Source: Liberty For All
by Henry George
"It is not the business of government to make men virtuous or
religious, or to preserve the fool from the consequences of his own
folly. Government should be repressive no further than is necessary to
secure liberty by protecting the equal rights of each from aggression
on the part of others, and the moment governmental prohibitions extend
beyond this line they are in danger of defeating the very ends they
are intended to serve." (05/28/12)
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=7654
-----
30) Conservative media try to reverse racial reality
Source: The Nation
by Ben Adler
"Conservatives must be feeling regretful. After nearly fifty years of
using appeals to white racial resentment to take over the South, win
presidential elections and control of Congress, conservatives are
realizing this might come back to bite them in the ass. As the right
wing has become xenophobic and anti-Latino, conservatives have watched
young Latinos and young Asian Americans join young African-Americans
in being overwhelmingly Democratic. ... All of a sudden, conservatives
see being the party of angry white males as a potential liability, and
they want to change their image." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/8x9acxf
-----
31) High time to end corporate taxes
Source: Orange County Register
by Lawrence Hunter
"In the latest installment of the long-running serial 'Super Rich Guy
Calls for Higher Taxes,' hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer made a $20
million donation last week to an initiative to raise California's
corporate tax rate. Steyer thinks local businesses aren't paying
nearly enough into the state's coffers. ... Corporate taxes are
inefficient. They're unfair. They smother economic growth. They exact
a heavy cost on the middle class. And, here's the real kicker, the
corporate income tax is such a drag on investment and economic growth
there is good reason to believe that getting rid of it would actually
raise total revenue to the government." (05/27/12)
http://tinyurl.com/76qrw7d
-----
32) A rare admission that money trumps everything
Source: In These Times
by David Sirota
"Headlines transmit information in its rawest form--and the best of
headlines crystallize indelible truths. Such was the case this week
when the New York Daily News blared this simple but iconic headline:
'Cuomo: Minimum Wage Harder to Get Than Gay Marriage.' The story
quoted New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) claiming that the effort to
raise wages for the poorest of his constituents represents a 'broader
and deeper' divide than the recent successful fight to legalize same-
sex matrimony in the Empire State." (05/25/12)
http://tinyurl.com/85n4leb
-----
33) Memorial Day Propaganda
Source: GaryBarnett .com
by Gary Barnett
"Every day since I was born, my liberty has continually been harmed.
Every war has caused a massive reduction in freedom, and since
September 11, 2001, almost all freedom has been destroyed. So the next
time someone without good sense says that we should all thank the
military forces for our freedom, ask them what freedom?" (05/26/12)
http://garydbarnett.com/GDBdaily/?p=755
-----
34) The Bill of Rights Series, part 2: The First Amendment
Source: The Libertarian Enterprise
by Neale Osborn
"The following is the third article co-written by Myself (Neale
Osborn) and Lee Norton. Remember, neither of us claim to be
Constitutional scholars or lawyers. As promised: First, we present the
1st Amendment, then we shall disect it. (05/28/12)
http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2012/tle672-20120527-06.html
-----
35) Romney and Bain Capital
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Sheldon Richman
"Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is
essentially playing one card in his quest for Barack Obama's job: his
business experience taught him how economies work. But Romney's own
pitch raises doubts about this." (05/25/12)
http://www.fff.org/comment/com1205r.asp
-----
36) Founding fathers -- William Paca
Source: Liberty For All
by staff
"Paca was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence
as a representative of Maryland, and later Governor of Maryland and a
United States federal judge. ... He was elected to the Maryland
legislature in 1771 and appointed to the Continental Congress in 1774.
He was reelected, serving until 1779, when he became chief justice of
the state of Maryland. In 1782 he was elected governor of
Maryland." (05/27/12)
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=7653
-----
37) Value in devaluation?
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Patrick Barron
"The euro is in trouble. That is not news. What is news is that people
with deep pockets are willing to pay for economists to provide a
solution. Lord Wolfson has offered a #250,000 prize for the best way a
country can exit the European Monetary Union (EMU). Five finalists for
the prize were announced in March. The winner will be announced in
June." (05/28/12)
http://mises.org/daily/6043/Value-in-Devaluation
-----
38) Romney is a disaster on education
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G. Hornberger
"What a disaster conservatives are. They preach their old 1950s mantra
'free enterprise, private property, and limited government' while
embracing every socialist and interventionist program that comes down
the pike. A recent example is Republican presidential candidate Mitt
Romney's plan to fix America's educational woes." (05/25/12)
http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2012-05-25.asp
-----
39) Magical thinking in liberal land
Source: OpenMarket.org
by Matt Patterson
"These are not your garden-variety fairy tales, however. Instead of
being told to -- and believed by -- children, these and countless
similar fables are told by -- and believed in -- by politicians of the
genus liberalis. Grownups holding the reins of power actually believe
these and similar notions, regardless of any historical or economic
proof to the contrary." (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7walgvy
-----
40) Memories of freedom
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Andrew Napolitano
"What if Memorial Day reminds us of times when we had more freedom?
What if freedom is dying right under our eyes? What if the memory of
the past is more fulfilling than the reality of the present? What if
the federal government could write any law, regulate any behavior and
tax any event, no matter what the Constitution authorized? What if the
majority in Congress rejects the idea of limited government and views
the Constitution as granting it blanket power to do whatever it can
get away with?" (05/28/12)
http://tinyurl.com/cyqn6ku
-----
41) Audits and principles-based regulation
Source: EconLog
by Arnold Kling
"One point that many people miss about principles-based regulation is
that it gives regulators an additional enforcement tool, other than
addressing actions that are improper. That tool is a process
audit." (05/28/12)
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2012/05/audits_and_prin.html
-----
42) Memorial Day: Soldiers and civic vice
Source: Bleeding Heart Libertarians
by Jason Brennan
"We shouldn't assume that the typical soldier has heroic motivations.
Many do. Many do not. Many join the military for less than noble
motives, and even when they are in the military, they do not develop
noble motives. However, for the sake of argument, let's just imagine
that all soldiers have a genuine and strong (de dicto) desire to
protect and serve their fellow citizens. Even if so, we then need to
ask about whether they actually count as having civic
virtue." (05/25/12)
http://bit.ly/KzEavd
-----
43) There is no moral obligation to obey the regime in liberalism
Source: Liberale et Libertaire
by dL
"The typical babble defense of the Liddy-Schumer moral obligation
begins with the premise of humans as a 'social product.' I won't
dispute the premise, but I will challenge the conclusion of the scope
of the social obligation. For starters, much of the component of
'social product' is social convention. But who exactly is supposed to
be the debt collector for social convention?" (05/27/12)
http://bit.ly/KzC4eG
-----
44) Dusk falling on era of authority
Source: Clovis News Journal
by Kent McManigal
"If you are in the group that doesn't care about liberty, then stay
alert. You may seem to be on the winning side right now, but dusk has
fallen on the era of authority. Its repetitious failures have awakened
a new generation to the promise of liberty, just as a previous
generation got a glimmer a couple of centuries ago, before their
descendants dropped the ball." (05/24/12)
http://bit.ly/KzzrcT
-----
45) Are we headed for a fight with China?
Source: Reason
by Steve Chapman
"Tensions and disagreements may be inevitable, but military clashes
and all-out war are not." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/Kzyrpd
-----
46) Should the bank's loss be the law's gain?
Source: Liberty Unbound
by Kyle Scott
"The great thing about laws is that they protect us when we are
unwilling and unable to do so on our own. Laws are great because they
make sure no harm is done. So when it came to our attention that JP
Morgan Chase just lost $2 billion because of risky investments and
hedging, it may have seemed that what was needed was more and better
laws, not personal responsibility. Of course this isn't
true." (05/26/12)
http://www.libertyunbound.com/node/813
-----
47) Wealth vs. job creation?
Source: A Passion for Liberty
by Tibor R. Machan
"When the wealth is spent, entrepreneurs figure out what it is that
those who spend it want to purchase and proceed to support enterprises
that produce this. That is how employment comes about, not from
fanciful government projects which may or may not fulfill the wants
and needs to people who go shopping." (05/27/12)
http://bit.ly/KzxqNT
-----
48) Labour is right: It's time for Plan B
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Ben Lodge
"It's not often that I consider the Labour Party to be right about
something, but they're spot on when they say that the coalition
government's approach to the economy is making the crisis even worse.
I believe that we do need to change course and pursue a radically
different approach." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/Kzvbdl
-----
49) The self is not an illusion
Source: The Moral Sciences Club
by Will Wilkinson
"The heart of the fallacy is to accept at the outset that the nature
of the self, for example, is precisely what an extravagantly
metaphysical, often religious, account says that it is. Then one
observes that there exists little or no evidence in support of that
account. One then concludes, having already simply assumed that the
self (or free will or consciousness or moral reasons) could not be
something less grand, that there is no self (or free will or
consciousness or morality)." (05/24/12)
http://bigthink.com/ideas/the-self-is-not-an-illusion
-----
50) Church and state: They want it both ways
Source: Authority!
by Timothy J Taylor
"Religious leaders in America have been whining a lot lately about the
government interfering with their churches and their beliefs. They
don't want the government telling their flocks that they have to do
something which is against their faith. They don't want government
meddling with their religion. ... On the other side of the coin they
desperately want the government to support and promote their
religion." (05/27/12)
http://bit.ly/KztKM1
-----
51) Abolish Memorial Day
Source: Antiwar.com
by Justin Raimondo
"Originally 'Decoration Day,' the last Monday in May has been the
designated time for us to remember the war dead and honor their
sacrifice -- while, perhaps, taking in the lessons of the many
conflicts that have marked our history as a free nation. In line with
the modern trend of universal trivialization, however, the holiday has
been paganized to mark the beginning of summer, when we get out the
barbecue grill and have the neighbors over for hamburgers and
beer." (05/28/12)
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2012/05/27/abolish-memorial-day/
-----
52) Baby budget hawks of the GOP
Source: Cato Institute
by Michael D. Tanner
"The conventional wisdom, pushed for very different reasons by both
Republicans and Democrats, is that Republicans in Congress, controlled
by radical tea-partiers, have been slashing government spending. Thus
it becomes a little hard to understand how, in the few short months
since last year's debt-ceiling deal, the federal debt has increased by
more than $1.5 trillion, roughly $13,000 per household. If Republicans
are such great budget cutters, how come we continue to spend more, run
more deficits, and accumulate more debt?" (05/23/12)
http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/baby-budget-hawks-gop
-----
53) The Constitution does not grant rights!
Source: LewRockwell.com
by Gary D. Barnett
"As I see it, the U.S. Constitution is one of the most misunderstood
documents in history. Even though it is filled with contradictions, it
is accepted and revered by most all in America. As I have said many
times in the past, it is literally worshiped in this country. This
attitude has obviously gone unrewarded, but it is also telling of the
success of the indoctrination process that has been going on for the
past 200 plus years. The most prevalent belief it seems is that the
constitution somehow miraculously limits the power of
government." (05/28/12)
http://lewrockwell.com/barnett/barnett53.1.html
-----
54) 9/11 as a threat to non-profits?
Source: Independent Institute
by Mary Theroux
"I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that non-profits are finding the
War on Terror a convenient excuse to increase their funding from
government. Nor surprising that our friends in Washington have been
happy to oblige in adding dependents to the gravy train." (05/24/12)
http://blog.independent.org/2012/05/24/911-as-a-threat-to-non-profits/
-----
55) The moral case for organ markets
Source: The Agitator
by Radley Balko
"There's nothing wrong with putting a high value on equality. But if
your vision of equality includes letting thousands of people die so we
can be confident the poor aren't being exploited by entering into
voluntary transactions in which they're paid for one of their kidneys,
I'd argue that you're putting far too much emphasis on equality. It's
true that we're all equal when we're dead. That doesn't mean it's a
desirable outcome." (05/24/12)
http://bit.ly/KzpuMB
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