06/30 -- US troops withdraw from Iraq's major cities; Madoff sentenced to 150 years in Ponzi scheme
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Thomas L. Knapp
Jun 30, 2009, 2:17:59 AM6/30/09
to Rational Review News Digest
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In The News:
0) RRND/FND mid-year subscription drive
1) US troops withdraw from Iraq's major cities
2) Madoff sentenced to 150 years in Ponzi scheme
3) SCOTUS reverses Sotomayor panel in Ricci case
4) Iraq: 15 killed, 13 wounded
5) Obama holds gay pride reception, vows to overturn "unjust laws"
6) SCOTUS will rehear "Hillary" documentary case
7) US, Russia hold talks before Obama visit
8) Flow of "stimulus" funds still only a trickle
9) Exxon to pay interest on Valdez oil spill damages
10) Reputed Afghan drug lord held for trial in US
11) Karzai: Afghan guards employed by US killed police
12) UK: Warning: Britain faces new recession
13) NC: Dead man gets second jury duty summons
14) UK "must slash defence spending"
15) VA: Gun rights advocates say Coliseum staff challenged free speech
rights
16) PA: Harrisburg NAACP chapter urges martial law
17) AZ: Guns on campus OK'd by state Senate
18) KY: Guns at church draws big crowd
19) OK: Jewelry shop owner shoots robber
20) KS: Clerk kills would-be robber
21) TN: Cities rush to ban guns in local parks
22) Swiss banks shun American investors
23) Study: Generation gap is largest since '60s
24) MN: Pawlenty says he can fix GOP image
25) Mid-career metamorphosis: Kerry becomes a bridge-builder
Everybody Has An Opinion:
26) Is Barack Obama's realism better than George W. Bush's idealism?
27) Zelaya Agonistes
28) Cap and trade will lead to capital flight
29) Obama the healthcare reformer should grow up
30) The most corrupt nation on the planet
31) The case against involuntary government
32) "X-File" vet may be link to burn pit truth
33) ACES gone wild
34) Whose right is it, anyway?
35) Ethanol standards: Why federal policy is crazy
36) Building broken windows down under
37) ACES up her sleeve
38) Requiem for a revolution
39) Is the Fed juicing the stock market?
40) Secession and desertion
41) The last drug czar
42) Couples counseling for India and Pakistan
43) The Somalia crossroads
44) Iran today: 1979 revolution redux?
45) Bringing wellness to an insurance fight
46) Madoff: Small fry
47) The forbidding arithmetic of healthcare reform
48) Beginning of the end for Bernanke
49) Honduras coup: Challenges & questions for Obama & Congress
50) Seasteading: Homesteading the high seas
51) The consequences of the culture of death
52) Amanda Palmer's Twitter riches -- and journalism
53) Misplaced faith
54) Cutting government
55) HR1207 and the Law of Unintended Consequences
56) Iran's faux revolution
57) Caught on tape
58) Balance of power: Political power
59) Intro to secession
60) The state secession issue & Texas v. White
61) Why the GOP can't sink Sotomayor
62) Not doing what comes naturally
63) Why adultery is political suicide
64) Lowering the bar
65) Why do atheists have to talk about atheism?
See No Evil, Hear No Evil:
66) Dan Proft on Freedom Rings Radio, 07/06/09
67) Probably Uncalled For, 07/01/09
68) Motorhome Diaries: The Barenaked Family bares all
69) Free Talk Live, 06/29/09
70) Cato Daily Podcast, 06/29/09
What's Up In The Freedom Movement:
71) Today's events
WaYbAcK:
72) Four to prison, four to the gallows
***************
* In The News
***************
0) RRND/FND mid-year subscription drive
Update, 06/30/09: Thanks to long-time subscribing (by snail mail)
contributor LvS, whose semi-monthly $10 check arrived yesterday! No
new subscribing contributors.
Well, folks, here we are -- the last day of RRND/FND's mid-year
subscription drive. We started with an existing base of $237.50 per
month in "subscribing contributor" revenues, set a goal of $2,000, and
with less than 24 hours to go we're at $402.50.
We're far short of the goal, and I don't expect any "last-minute
miracles," but we at least bumped things up a few good notches. Thanks
to all of you who signed on or sent a "one-time" contribution, to
those who've been with us and remain with us ... and to those of you
who've waited until the last minute but may decide that today is the
day to start returning value for value.
Tomorrow, I'll write the wrap-up and explain where we go from here
(short answer: Onward and upward!) - TLK
http://www.rationalreview.com/content/64484
-----
1) US troops withdraw from Iraq's major cities
ABC News
"Fireworks lit up the night sky over Baghdad tonight as Iraqis
celebrated the withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops from the country's
cities, the first milestone in a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement that
calls for the departure of all U.S. troops by the end of 2011. Under
the agreement, Iraqi forces were to assume formal control of security
in Baghdad and Iraq's major cities as U.S. combat troops withdrew to
areas outside the cities by June 30." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/nr4kpj
-----
2) Madoff sentenced to 150 years in Ponzi scheme
Chicago Sun-Times
"Convicted Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150
years in prison Monday for a fraud so extensive that the judge said he
needed to send a message to potential imitators and to victims who
demanded harsh punishment. Scattered applause and whoops broke out in
the crowded Manhattan courtroom after U.S. District Judge Denny Chin
issued the maximum sentence to the 71-year-old defendant, who said he
lives 'in a tormented state now, knowing all the pain and suffering
I've created.'" (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/n8resz
-----
3) SCOTUS reverses Sotomayor panel in Ricci case
Christian Science Monitor
"Officials in New Haven, Conn., illegally discriminated against white
members of the city's fire department when they refused to honor the
results of a civil service exam after no African-Americans qualified
for a promotion. The US Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 on Monday that the
Connecticut city violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by
using race as the key criterion in refusing to certify a group of
white and Hispanic firefighters for promotion. City officials said
they were afraid that if they promoted the white and Hispanic
firefighters but no African-American firefighters, the city would be
subject to a lawsuit by black firefighters. The high court
disagreed." (06/29/09)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0629/p02s04-usju.html
-----
4) Iraq: 15 killed, 13 wounded
AntiWar.Com
"At least 14 Iraqis were killed and 13 more were wounded in the latest
attacks. One U.S. soldier was killed in combat yesterday in
Baghdad. ... Nine people were killed and 11 were wounded in Hamdaniya
when a bomb near a police station exploded. ... A five-year-old later
died of his wounds. Two policemen were killed and two more were
wounded near Mosul in Hamamal-Aleel. They were attempting to defuse a
bomb set at a bridge, but the bomb was detonated remotely. In Ramadi,
a bomb planted on a car killed a senior Sunni politician who was
leaving a hospital. Gunmen killed a policeman in Jalawla." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/lzr3wh
-----
5) Obama holds gay pride reception, vows to overturn "unjust laws"
CNN
"President Obama honored Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride
Month with a White House reception Monday where he likened the
struggle for gay rights with the struggle of African-Americans for
civil rights. With first lady Michelle Obama at his side, the
president told the cheering crowd filling the East Room that his
administration would work to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage
Act and end the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy regarding gays in the
military." [editor's note: So far he's been beyond "all hat and no
cattle" ... when will he stop making promises and start keeping them?
- TLK] (06/29/09)
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/29/obama.gay.pride/
-----
6) SCOTUS will rehear "Hillary" documentary case
USA Today
"The U.S. Supreme Court, which has chipped away at limits on political
spending in recent years, opened the door Monday to a broad challenge
of the nation's campaign-finance laws. The court failed to reach a
decision on whether a critical documentary about Hillary Rodham
Clinton violated those laws. Instead, the justices ordered new
arguments and said they would consider overturning two rulings barring
corporations from underwriting election ads." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/lgjxr3
-----
7) US, Russia hold talks before Obama visit
MSNBC
"U.S. lawmakers and their Russian counterparts have met to discuss
arms control, North Korea and other international issues, setting the
stage for President Barack Obama's visit to Moscow next week. Few
details were announced of Monday's talks between a U.S. House Foreign
Relations Committee delegation and Russian foreign affairs
officials." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/mce8ty
-----
8) Flow of "stimulus" funds still only a trickle
MSNBC
"When the government enacted a $787 billion package of tax cuts and
new spending this spring, there was much talk about how all that money
would help pull the economy out of a deep recession. But readers are
asking: Just how much of this money has been actually spent? Turns out
the answer is not much. Confidence in the stimulus money is beginning
to wane. People are still waiting for billions of dollars to
reenergize the economy. How much of the stimulus money has actually
been doled out as of this week?" (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/nejvq5
-----
9) Exxon to pay interest on Valdez oil spill damages
Miami Herald
"Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. has decided not to appeal hundreds of
millions of dollars in interest on punitive damages resulting from the
1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The Irving, Texas-based company will pay
about $470 million in interest on more than $507.5 million in punitive
damages following the 11 million gallon spill of crude in Prince
William Sound, company spokesman Tony Cudmore said Monday." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ncfosg
-----
10) Reputed Afghan drug lord held for trial in US
CNN
"A reputed drug lord described as one of the biggest heroin suppliers
in eastern Afghanistan -- with suspected ties to the Taliban --
appeared in federal court in Washington Monday, where he was ordered
detained pending his expected drug trial. The defendant, identified as
Haji Bagcho, appeared before a federal magistrate to face an
indictment for a heroin trafficking conspiracy and for importing
heroin into the U.S." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/msehzj
-----
11) Karzai: Afghan guards employed by US killed police
Salt Lake Tribune
"President Hamid Karzai accused Afghan guards working for U.S.
coalition forces of killing a provincial police chief and at least
four other security officers during a gunbattle outside a government
office Monday. In a harshly worded statement, Karzai demanded that
coalition forces hand over the private security guards involved. But
the governor of Kandahar later said 41 guards connected to the
incident had been disarmed and arrested by Afghan
authorities." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/lfqw9f
-----
12) UK: Warning: Britain faces new recession
Independent [UK]
"The world's central bankers have warned that the British economy
faces relapsing into another recession -- the much-feared 'ouble dip'
downturn. A continuing drought in bank lending, evidenced in the
latest figures from the Bank of England, and the threat that
spiralling public borrowing will feed through to higher interest rates
and inflation, are judged by international economists to be mortal
dangers to a sustained recovery. The Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD), which comprises the 30 most
advanced economies in the world, added to the gloom, saying that
Britain remained 'deep' in recession and faced a 'bleak short-term
outlook.'" (06/30/09)
http://tinyurl.com/km4csw
-----
13) NC: Dead man gets second jury duty summons
United Press International
"The North Carolina family of a man who died in 1995 said the deceased
has received his second post-mortem jury duty summons. Robin Lecin
said a jury duty notice for her father, Irving Lecin, arrived Friday
at her Greensboro home, which belonged to the patriarch before his
death .... another of Lecin's daughters, said she and her sister tried
to have her father's name purged from the jury rolls after he was
summoned for duty two weeks after his death, but the attempt
apparently was unsuccessful. 'And they spelled his name wrong,'
Polinsky said of the latest summons. The sisters said they plan to
visit the courthouse in person to make sure officials understand that
their father is dead." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/n5qz4a
-----
14) UK "must slash defence spending"
BBC News [UK]
"The UK should consider slashing defence spending by up to £24bn and
revisit plans to renew its Trident nuclear deterrent, a think-tank
report says. Britain cannot afford much of the defence equipment it
plans to buy, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) report
says." (06/29/09)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8125466.stm
-----
15) VA: Gun rights advocates say Coliseum staff challenged free speech
rights
Times Dispatch
"The Virginia Citizens Defense League is used to fighting for the
right to carry guns. But now it's having to defend the right to wear
stickers about carrying guns. The group says officials at the Richmond
Coliseum recently attempted to stop members from handing out blaze-
orange 'Guns Save Lives' stickers before an appearance by radio and
television talk-show host Glenn Beck. 'It's bad enough they're trying
to trample the Second Amendment. Then you come and attack the First,'
President Philip Van Cleave said, referring to the U.S. Constitution's
guarantees of the right to bear arms and to free speech." (06/27/09)
http://tinyurl.com/lkkkv6
-----
16) PA: Harrisburg NAACP chapter urges martial law
Patriot News
"The Harrisburg Chapter of the NAACP is calling on Pennsylvania Gov.
Ed Rendell to suspend some civil liberties and impose martial law in
the city to halt the wave of recent lawlessness. Chapter President
Stanley Lawson also called on Rendell to bring in the state National
Guard ... In June, there have been at least 12 shootings, many of them
in the daytime ...'The Guard is for floods and natural disasters. I
don't know any more of a natural disaster than of our young people
being killed,' he said ... 'It's time for some real action,' he said.
'Right now the important thing is to stop this madness.'" (06/27/09)
http://tinyurl.com/mbys8g
-----
17) AZ: Guns on campus OK'd by state Senate
Sierra Vista Herald
"Saying it will make people safer, state senators voted Friday to let
people with concealed weapons permits carry them onto college and
university campuses where they are now forbidden. The 15-6 vote on the
provision in HB 2439 came after backers said they believe that having
people who are licensed by the state to have weapons should cut down
on the number of massacres that occur on campuses. ... He did not
refer by name to the 2002 incident at the University of Arizona where
three instructors at the College of Nursing were slain by student
Robert S. Flores Jr. who then turned the gun on himself. But
Huppenthal said the evidence shows that it makes sense, from a safety
standpoint, to let people carry guns." (06/27/09)
http://tinyurl.com/n9uhgn
-----
18) KY: Guns at church draws big crowd
WLKY News
"A southwest Jefferson County church opened its doors to guns as the
pastor makes a point about the Second Amendment to the Constitution.
At the New Bethel Church, Reverend Ken Pagano said the church is
celebrating the independence and freedom provided by the constitution
by raising awareness about being a safe and responsible gun owner.
Pagano said he felt he had a duty to teach that to his community and
congregation. He decided to do so by allowing everyone to carry guns
into the church." (05/28/09)
http://www.wlky.com/news/19884976/detail.html
-----
19) OK: Jewelry shop owner shoots robber
KOCO News
"A jewelry store owner in Oklahoma City opened fire on a would-be
robber on Thursday, sending him to the University of Oklahoma Medical
Center. ... Police said they believe the clerk pulled out a gun from
behind the counter just after the robbery began. They said the clerk
told them they thought he hit the would-be robber at least once. No
one else in the store was hurt. Officers said the would-be robber ran
out of the store and got into a vehicle that was waiting for him. The
driver of that car took the man to the hospital, where he was listed
in critical condition late Thursday." (06/25/09)
http://www.koco.com/news/19862255/detail.html
-----
20) KS: Clerk kills would-be robber
Kansas City Star
"Officers were called to the 5th Avenue Convenience Mart at Fifth
Street and Quindaro Boulevard shortly before 7 p.m., Officer Mike
Golden said. The clerk told them two men with long guns entered the
store and demanded money, Golden said. When one of the suspects fired
a shot, the clerk grabbed a handgun from behind the counter and shot
both suspects. One ran halfway up the block before collapsing,
dropping a gun in the middle of Quindaro. An ambulance took him to a
hospital, but he died before arriving, Golden said. The second suspect
made it slightly farther and went to the hospital in a private
vehicle. The clerk, mildly injured in the scuffle, was checked by
paramedics at the scene." (06/26/09)
http://www.kansascity.com/116/story/1289272.html
-----
21) TN: Cities rush to ban guns in local parks
Tennessean
"The handgun battle is heading from Capitol Hill to City Hall. Local
governments and advocates for firearms owners are gearing up for a
summer face-off over how far to take a new state law that lets people
with carry permits bring handguns into parks. City councils across
Tennessee, including Nashville and Hendersonville, are moving to
reaffirm their bans on handguns in parks following passage of a new
state law. But people opposed to handgun restrictions are mobilizing
to block their efforts. ... A state law signed earlier this month by
Gov. Phil Bredesen has touched off the debate. The law is meant to let
handgun permit holders carry their weapons into every park in the
state, wiping out local policies governing handguns." [editor's note:
Once again, the greatest value of the 2nd Amendment's affirmation of
the right to bear arms is in not knowing who might be packing in a
given situation; someone seeking to do wrong must consider the risks
-- which disappear instantly when law-abiding citizens (who've even
gone to the trouble of obtaining carry-permits?) become disarmed by
law! - SAT] (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/l2xeyg
-----
22) Swiss banks shun American investors
Bloomberg News
"Swiss banks are shutting the accounts of Americans as the U.S.
Internal Revenue Service accelerates the hunt for tax dodgers. UBS AG
and Credit Suisse Group AG, the country's biggest banks, have told
Americans to move their money into specially created units registered
in the U.S., or lose their accounts. Smaller private banks such as
Geneva-based Mirabaud & Cie. are closing all accounts held by U.S.
taxpayers. While the banks declined to say how many people are
affected, more than 5 million Americans live abroad, including about
30,000 in Switzerland, according to estimates from American Citizens
Abroad in Geneva. Swiss banks must register with the Securities and
Exchange Commission to provide services for those
customers." (06/29/09)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a_8VwpO5m0WQ
-----
23) Study: Generation gap is largest since '60s
Arizona Republic
"American adults from young to old disagree increasingly today on
social values ranging from religion to relationships, creating the
largest generation gap since divisions 40 years ago over Vietnam,
civil rights and women's liberation. A survey being released today by
the Pew Research Center highlights a widening age divide after last
November's election, when 18- to 29-year-olds voted for Democrat
Barack Obama by a 2-to-1 ratio. Almost 8 in 10 people believe there is
a major difference in the point of view of younger people and older
people today, according to the independent public-opinion research
group. That is the highest spread since 1969, when about 74 percent
reported major differences in an era of generational conflicts over
the Vietnam War and civil and women's rights." [editor's note: The
funny part of this is, many of us "free love" Boomers are now becoming
the "old farts" ... standing in the way of youthful exuberance and new
ideas about self-expression - SAT] (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/kkw7at
-----
24) MN: Pawlenty says he can fix GOP image
Associated Press
"A potential White House contender in 2012 staked a claim yesterday to
rehabilitating the Republican Party after extramarital affairs by two
leading Republicans have damaged the GOP's family-values image. 'Any
time you have leading figures who are engaged in behavior that is sad
and troubling and hypocritical, other people are going to look at that
and say, 'Hmm, they don't walk the walk.' And so the words and the
actions don't ring true,' said Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. 'It
certainly hurts the brand.' He added: 'I think I can make a
contribution, in a positive way, for trying to rebuild this party. And
it needs it.'" (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/mk3cef
-----
25) Mid-career metamorphosis: Kerry becomes a bridge-builder
Boston Globe
"When the longtime mayor of North Adams, John Barrett III, picks up
the phone these days, he often hears a familiar deep voice that he
once acidly complained wasn't heard very much in his city or other
smaller venues in Massachusetts. John F. Kerry's voice. 'He'll say,
What do you need? What's going on back there? How can I help you?'
Barrett said. 'I've been all over him like a cheap suit when I think
he's wrong about something or not paying attention,' added Barrett, a
Democrat who snubbed Kerry to endorse GOP Senate candidate William
Weld in 1996. 'I would go through the wall now for John Kerry, and I
wouldn't have said that 10 years ago.'" (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/l4hd7o
*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 06/30/09
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 92,435 ... Max - 100,911
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 4,319
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************
****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************
26) Is Barack Obama's realism better than George W. Bush's idealism?
Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland
"Barack Obama's reaction to the mass protests and violence in Iran
shows he is following through on his pledge to be more like George
H.W. Bush rather than his son, George W. Bush. Obama has admired the
father's realism and has criticized the idealistic neo-conservatism of
the son. But is realism a better foreign policy for the United States?
The answer is a resounding 'yes!'" (06/29/09)
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2531
-----
27) Zelaya Agonistes
Center for a Stateless Society
by Thomas L. Knapp
"From an anarchist perspective, there's a lesson in the Honduras story
which may not be obvious. It's the same lesson emanating from Iran,
the same lesson to be found in Al Gore's decision to concede the 2000
US presidential election even though he could be reasonably sure that
he had won it (as was subsequently proven to a high degree of
probability to be the case). That lesson is this: The state,
regardless of whether its apparatus is controlled by 'left-wing' or
'right-wing' actors at a given moment, is organically conservative.
Its pieces and parts have evolved, through a sort of natural selection
process, toward the object of maintaining the status quo at all costs.
While an individual state actor may press for change (good change or
bad), or articulate a desire for change (honestly or dishonestly), the
machinery of an established state is big enough, it's heavy enough,
and it has enough momentum that it's usually going to roll right over
that actor unless that actor has hitched his wagon to forces that have
amassed considerable weight and momentum of their own -- in other
words, revolutionary forces external to and in competition with the
status quo." (06/29/09)
http://c4ss.org/content/717
-----
28) Cap and trade will lead to capital flight
Campaign For Liberty
by US Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)
"In my last column, I joked that with public spending out of control
and the piling on of the international bailout bill, economic collapse
seems to be the goal of Congress. It is getting harder to joke about
such a thing however, as the non-partisan General Accounting Office
(GAO) has estimated that the administration's health care plan would
actually cost over a trillion dollars. This reality check may have
given us a temporary reprieve on this particular disastrous policy,
however an equally disastrous energy policy reared its ugly head on
Capitol Hill last week." (06/29/09)
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=124
-----
29) Obama the healthcare reformer should grow up
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Sheldon Richman
"Barack Obama insists he does not want the government to run the
medical system. He insists that he wants only to fix what's broken
while leaving what works intact. Taking him at his word, this is
typical of Obama. His desires are a primary, things that can be
achieved if only we want them badly enough. All that prevents
fulfillment are the obstacles created by uncooperative, ideological,
and perhaps evil people." (06/29/09)
http://www.fff.org/comment/com0906l.asp
-----
30) The most corrupt nation on the planet
CounterPunch
by Patrick Cockburn
"Iraq is the world's premier kleptomaniac state. According to
Transparency International the only countries deemed more crooked than
Iraq are Somalia and Myanmar, while Haiti and Afghanistan rank just
behind. In contrast to Iraq, which enjoys significant oil revenues,
none of these countries have much money to steal.Iraqis resent paying
a bribe for almost everything, but do not see what they can do about
it. Nor will they believe that the government is serious in its claim
to be clamping down on corruption until senior officials are
punished." (06/29/0(0
http://counterpunch.org/patrick06292009.html
-----
31) The case against involuntary government
LewRockwell.Com
by William H. Peterson
So Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., founder, CEO, thinker, of the Ludwig
von Mises Institute opens his highly successful daily email newsletter
on literally the largest nonprofit website in the world. This opening
also sets the theme for his own selected articles and speeches
reprinted here, displaying a leading liberatarian taking on critics of
libertarianism. E.g., he cites then Vice Pesident Richard Cheney
saying 'one of the things that's changed so much since Sept. 11 is the
extent to which people do trust the government big shift and value it,
and have higher expectations for what we can do.' Dream on, Mr. Vice
President. Or, adds Mr. Rockwell, the triumph of hope over
experience!" (06/30/09)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/peterson/peterson21.html
-----
32) "X-File" vet may be link to burn pit truth
AntiWar.Com
by Kelley B. Vlahos
"Yesterday, Edward Adams was an X-File, but tomorrow he might be the
critical link between the toxic plumes rising recklessly from U.S.
Army installations in the war zone and the growing number of veterans
crippled by unexplained nerve, heart, and respiratory damage back
home. That's because unlike any other known case, according to
advocates, Adams was recently told by a board of military doctors at
Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii that his health anomalies --
including the appearance of countless holes or 'cysts' riddling the
tissue around his lungs and an aorta that has shrunk to half its
normal size in three months -- 'probably is related to the exposure to
burn pits in Iraq.'" (06/30/09)
http://original.antiwar.com/vlahos/2009/06/29/x-file-vet/
-----
33) ACES gone wild
Liberty For All
by Peter Orvetti
"On Friday evening, the House of Representatives passed the American
Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), a well-intentioned but
misbegotten Frankenstein monster of a bill intended to combat climate
change. Republicans Mary Bono Mack, Mike Castle, Mark Kirk, Frank
LoBiondo, John McHugh, Dave Reichert, and Chris Smith joined 211
Democrats to put the bill over the top 219-212. Showing the profiles
in courage typical to elected politicians, about three dozen Democrats
hung back during the roll call until passage was certain, waiting
until they could safely vote no without riling their party's
leaders." (06/29/09)
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=2779
-----
34) Whose right is it, anyway?
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Art Carden
"Recently, the Shelby County Commission passed an ordinance that would
make it illegal for employers and firms that contract with the county
to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation.
Unfortunately, the discussion got bogged down in questions about
whether homosexuality is or is not moral. It was assumed that the
government can intervene on behalf of favored groups in order to
correct the perceived injustice of discrimination." (06/29/09)
http://mises.org/story/3467
-----
35) Ethanol standards: Why federal policy is crazy
Hawaii Reporter
by Harry de Gorter and David R. Just
"Farm state Democrats are threatening to vote against climate change
legislation unless the EPA excludes emissions generated by the
indirect changes in land-use that follow from ethanol subsidies in
their calculation of a 'sustainability standard.' This standard
requires ethanol to emit at least 20 percent less CO2 relative to
gasoline as a condition for federal mandates and subsidies. While
ethanol subsidies as a general matter are not a good idea, these
legislators are right: The EPA standards at issue make no sense and
should be scrapped. Ethanol is sustainable by definition." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/m8c525
-----
36) Building broken windows down under
Freedom Politics
by Chris Brown
"It turns out that Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is going
around town breaking windows by, well, demanding they be built. There
are over 35,000 construction and maintenance projects planned across
Australia over the next 12 months. This includes AU$49 (US$39.4)
billion dedicated to 'nation building infrastructure,' or crudely AU
$2,200 in taxes for every man, woman, and child residing in Australia.
Are such decisions financially wise during economic recessions? Let's
put Keynesianism aside and instead rely on common sense." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/kt8k54
-----
37) ACES up her sleeve
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Jeremy Lott and William Yeatman
"Well before Barack Obama brought hope to the White House,
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was adamant that something new and
different and wonderful had arrived. In 2006, the incoming Speaker
pledged that hers would be the 'most honest, most open, and most
ethical Congress in history.' At the time, we were skeptical -- to say
the least. Our refusal to accept her rhetoric was roundly vindicated
last week. That was when Madam-Speaker used every dirty trick at her
disposal to coldly ram a 1,500 page global warming bill through the
House of Representatives." (06/29/09)
http://cei.org/articles/2009/06/29/aces-her-sleeve
-----
38) Requiem for a revolution
Asia Times
by Pepe Escobar
"In the end, the sound and fury of the 'Tehran spring' led to neither
reform nor revolution. The army didn't support the people, and the
merchants and workers didn't go on strike. Still, to believe that
Iran's national interest and the aspirations of its disenchanted
masses will be defended by the new dictatorship of the mullahtariat is
to completely miss the point. " (06/29/09)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KF30Ak03.html
-----
39) Is the Fed juicing the stock market?
Information Clearinghouse
by Mike Whitney
"Why has the stock market been on a 3-month tear when the economy is
undergoing the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression?
The S&P 500 has shot up 40% from its low on March 9 and the Dow Jones
Industrials have followed close behind. Is this a typical bear market
rally or is the invisible hand of the Fed goosing the
markets?" (06/29/09)
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22943.htm
-----
40) Secession and desertion
The Libertarian Enterprise
by Russell Longcore
"I've read some great articles lately about secession. William
Buppert, Gary Barnett and Tim Case have posted thoughtful articles at
LewRockwell.com and DumpDC.com. They speak of the military and law
enforcement obedience of Federal orders to detain, imprison and even
fight secessionists." (06/29/09)
http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle525-20090628-06.html
-----
41) The last drug czar
The American Prospect
by Eli Sanders
"In late May the new leader of America's fight against illegal drugs,
Gil Kerlikowske, returned to Seattle, the dope-tolerating city where
he'd previously served as police chief. As part of the visit, he
stopped by a local morning radio talk show, where right off the bat he
declared, 'I'm ending the phrase, the war on drugs.' As far as
statements from high government officials go, it was a radical
declaration. Kerlikowske, and by extension Barack Obama, was rejecting
four decades of federal government marching orders. ... But even more
striking than his announcement was the reaction: crickets. ... There
was no immediate outcry, no conservative clamor for Kerlikowske's
head, not much of anything except expressions of gratitude from drug-
policy-reform advocates. It's easy to figure out why Kerlikowske's
statement has been such a notable nonevent. ... Recent polling found
that more than 75 percent of people in this country think the drug war
has not worked and will not work in the future." [editor's note: One
can only hope and pray the title's prediction comes true; however,
there may just be too many elements of society who profit big-time
from Prohibition Redux - SAT] (06/29/09)
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_last_drug_czar
-----
42) Couples counseling for India and Pakistan
San Francisco Chronicle
by Deepak Chopra & Salman Ahmad
"Suspicions over a cooked election in Iran have brought a glimmer of
hope for real reform. It takes glimmers in the long, fractious fights
that hold societies in thrall. Can we find one in the toxic fight that
has plagued India-Pakistan relations for six decades? We've already
had a Camp David moment. When the two heads of state met to shake
hands in mid-June, Manmohan Singh of India and Asif Ali Zardari of
Pakistan obeyed some new forces. One was the force of economics, which
has cut both ways. Economics promises to make India a prosperous
player on the world scene. With money has come the expectation of
rational behavior, and India can see rationally that a stable,
nonaggressive Pakistan is the kind of neighbor it wants to have. The
other side of economics is the downturn. The mini-Cold War that has
raged between the two countries keeps draining much needed resources
that neither side can afford to squander." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/n5fgp2
-----
43) The Somalia crossroads
In These Times
by William Minter & Daniel Volman
"In October 2008, Human Rights Watch rated Somalia the most ignored
tragedy in the world. Almost 1.5 million Somalis are internally
displaced, and an additional half million are refugees. Two decades of
instability, including a U.S.-backed intervention by Ethiopian troops
in December 2006, have failed to put Somalia on the map. If the
American public has thought about Somalia at all this decade, it was
as the setting of the popular 2001 movie Blackhawk Down, based on the
October 1993 battle in Mogadishu between U.S. troops and Somali
militia, rather than as a real place where Washington's policies were
fueling conflict and prolonging suffering." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ksrsfx
-----
44) Iran today: 1979 revolution redux?
Christian Science Monitor
by Lydia Khalil
"The events we are witnessing in Iran are not the makings of another
revolution, but rather a continuation of the struggle for reform that
began in 1979 and has not yet ended. This is the latest installment in
Iran's unresolved revolution. The shorthand narrative of the 1979
revolution tells us that the Iranian people, under the charismatic
leadership of Ayatollah Khomanei, rose up against an unpopular shah, a
dictator whose misguided reforms alienated large swaths of his
country. But it is important to remember what happened after the shah
was overthrown. There were two phases to the revolution that began in
1979. After Iran's diverse segments from both rural and urban classes
-- students, professionals, the religious establishment, the bazaaris
(Iran's commercial class) -- came together to overthrow the Pahavli
dynasty, another, more meaningful, struggle began." (06/29/09)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0629/p09s02-coop.html
-----
45) Bringing wellness to an insurance fight
Our Future
by Tom Sullivan
"Twice now, when asked his position on single-payer healthcare or a
public option, our congressman launched into a dissertation on the
problems of junk food and childhood obesity, and how wellness must be
part of any healthcare reform. ... The first time, it just seemed like
a pretty odd segue. ... The second time wellness made an appearance,
it was head-scratching strange: Constituents come to talk about
insurance, and end up hearing about fat kids and eating more fruits
and vegetables. ... So, what's going on? Why are we bringing wellness
to an insurance fight? The wellness meme has been circulating widely
on Capitol Hill of late. It pops up with talking-point regularity in
House and Senate hearings on healthcare reform, among insurance CEOs
and among politicians in the habit of calling for 'clean' bills
uncluttered by side issues." (06/28/09)
http://tinyurl.com/myqhb9
-----
46) Madoff: Small fry
KN@PPSTER
by Thomas L. Knapp
"Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison today, and also ordered
to forfeit $170.1 billion, representing the total proceeds/property of
the specific crimes he was sentenced for. Madoff's a piker: The Social
Security scam's take in 2008 alone was more than four times as much
($805 billion). It turned an annual profit of $180
billion." (06/29/09)
http://knappster.blogspot.com/2009/06/madoff-small-fry.html
-----
47) The forbidding arithmetic of healthcare reform
Boston Globe
by Joan Vennochi
"The fuzzy math behind the Massachusetts universal healthcare law is
starting to add up -- just as Washington studies the law as a possible
model for the nation. Because of a recession-related drop in state
revenues and a surge in enrollment by the recently unemployed, the
truth is emerging at an inconvenient time. Massachusetts doesn't have
enough money to pay for the coverage envisioned by the law. In June,
state officials announced they are cutting $100 million from
Commonwealth Care, which subsidizes premiums for needy residents. The
poorest residents, along with the newest -- legal immigrants -- will
take the hit. This outcome is not surprising, but it is instructive as
President Obama pushes for a national healthcare plan." (06/28/09)
http://tinyurl.com/mhtg2w
-----
48) Beginning of the end for Bernanke
Cato @ Liberty
by Mark A. Calabria
"Fed Chairman Bernanke's term as Chair ends in January 2010. So far
President Obama has offered Bernanke praise for his performance, but
little else. After last week's House Oversight Committee hearing
focusing on Bernanke's role in Bank of America's purchase of Merrill
Lynch, it is now readily apparent that the Chairman has few supporters
on Capitol Hill. While his nomination will not be subject to the
approval of the House of Representatives, or any of its Committees,
the Senate Banking Committee's reaction to Treasury Secretary
Geithner's plan to extend the Fed's power serves as a useful proxy in
gauging that Committee's view of the Fed's recent
performance." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/lohm4u
-----
49) Honduras coup: Challenges & questions for Obama & Congress
The Nation
by John Nichols
"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered a reasonably muscular
condemnation of the military coup in Honduras, where elected President
Manuel (Mel) Zelaya was kidnapped and flown out of the country by
soldiers bent on blocking an advisory vote on constitutional reform in
the country. ... President Obama's statement was softer and in
tone. ... Senior aides to the Obama administration tell reporters that
U.S. diplomats were working to ensure Zelaya's safe return. And the
Wall Street Journal suggests that the administration may have worked
behind the scenes to try and avert the coup." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/lujy96
-----
50) Seasteading: Homesteading the high seas
FR33 AGENTS
by Brad Taylor
"Seasteaders recognize the futility of complaining about policy
without considering the underlying institutions from which political
outcomes emerge. Given that we have an essentially unbounded
democratic system in which any sphere of life can potentially to be
regulated by the state, the outcomes we see should not surprise us.
Minimal government is pretty much impossible: as long as we have a
coercive state, we will never be free. When we consider the problem
more carefully, though, it becomes clear that we need to think about
the environment from which political institutions themselves emerge.
Complaining about the political system we have without considering the
'ecosystem' in which governments exist, seasteaders argue, is just as
pointless as complaining about policies and ignoring political
institutions." [hat tip -- Liberty Pile] (06/26/09)
http://www.fr33agents.com/169/seasteading-homesteading-the-high-seas/
-----
51) The consequences of the culture of death
The American Spectator
by Doug Bandow
"The culture of death continues to claim victims, this time
abortionist George Tiller. The tragedy of his murder is compounded by
the obvious contradiction of someone killing him in the name of life.
Perhaps it should not surprise that murder is seen as the answer in a
society which devalues life. Protecting life is the foundation for a
republic such as our own. Indeed, the most fundamental liberty is to
life itself." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ko3nhv
-----
52) Amanda Palmer's Twitter riches -- and journalism
The Future of Journalism
by King Kaufman
"The big question in both journalism and music these days is how to
make it pay. The bottom has fallen out of the advertising market for
journalism, out of the disc-selling market for music. What Palmer's
doing represents what could be a big part of the answer for both: Draw
a crowd, create a community, and then sell that community the things
it wants. At Techdirt, one of the places where they're talking about
this, honcho Mike Masnick calls this 'CWF + RTB = $$$.' That is,
connect with fans and give them a reason to buy." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/kob56k
-----
53) Misplaced faith
Idaho Liberty
by Ted Dunlap
"Those of us viewing the world with knowledge of Austrian Economics
are watching the inevitable result of allowing politicians to print
money without limit. The dramatically more popular Keynesian theorists
who dominate government economic posts spew lots of comforting words
that continue to prove wrong. Yet those of us trying to get friends
and family to prepare for economic collapse are greeted with patient,
'They have a lot of smart guys who know what they are doing.' I know
the discussion is over and am saddened by the tragic three assumptions
embedded in their sense of security: that the manipulators are honest,
knowledgeable and that they have our best interests at
heart." (06/29/09)
http://idaholiberty.com/?p=132
-----
54) Cutting government
Adam Smith Institute
by Philip Salter
"Labour are on the back foot. The political agenda is being set by the
opposition parties who both seem content and intent to continue
raising the pressure on the government's spending commitments.
Increasingly this is looking like the battlefield upon which the next
election will be fought. This is undoubtedly a good thing." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/nal79g
-----
55) HR1207 and the Law of Unintended Consequences
Freedom's Phoenix
by Brock Lorber
"After eleven terms in congress, Ron Paul finally has a bill before
the House of Representatives that is popular with other congressmen as
well as their constituencies. As of this writing, HR1207, a bill to
audit the Federal Reserve Board of Governors has 245 co-sponsors and a
possibility of passing through the House. But, of all congressmen, Ron
Paul knows that each government "solution" comes saddled with
unintended government problems. HR1207 is one of those government
actions that has unintended consequences even if never enacted into
law, which it certainly never will be. Dire unintended consequences
have already hinted at themselves, and may well be irreversible now
regardless of the fate of HR1207." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/mwdqbe
-----
56) Iran's faux revolution
Human Events
by Robert Maginnis
"Iran's post presidential election protests are not evidence of a
brewing revolution; rather they unmask a power struggle among the
ayatollahs. The fracturing of the leadership has resulted in clear
winners and losers internally and externally." (06/29/09)
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=32488
-----
57) Caught on tape
Slate
by Christopher Hitchens
"I wonder sometimes whether the Nixon tapes really will just continue
to be the gift that never stops giving. ... Just take a look at the
most recent harvest from the tapes that the Nixon Presidential Library
has released from the early months of 1973. The impressive thing is
that even in the smallest details, the obsessive nastiness and
criminality of the bigger picture is further delineated. The foulness
of Nixon's mind was not 'compartmentalized' between one issue and
another." (06/29/09)
http://www.slate.com/id/2221732/
-----
58) Balance of power: Political power
The Price of Liberty
by Sunni Maravillosa
"Many people seem to think that elections are a manifestation of
individuals' aggregate political power. Voting gives individuals a say
in the government they live under. Electoral political power, in this
view, is the primary vehicle by which individuals wield political
power over the politicians they elect, and the legislative process the
politicians then undertake. The clamor for elections in countries
ruled by tyrannical leaders is a compelling demonstration of the
enduring strength of these beliefs. The disappointment when elections
are found -- or simply suspected -- to be tampered with reflects
individuals' desires to exercise greater control over their lives.
Thus, the outcries of Venezuelans or protests by Belarussians -- or
even Americans' suspicions -- aren't surprising. They wuz robbed!
Except that Ken Livingstone's famous quotation -- If voting changed
anything, they'd abolish it -- is spot on." (06/29/09)
http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/09/06/29/sunni.html
-----
59) Intro to secession
Let A Thousand Nations Bloom
by Patri Friedman
"Welcome to Secession Week here at Let A Thousand Nations Bloom! To
celebrate Independence Day, each day this week we'll be bringing you
secession related posts and links from around the web. To learn more
about the event and how to participate, read our intro. For Monday,
we're going to focus on how secession is going mainstream, and an
introduction to secession." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/nfh9wm
-----
60) The state secession issue & Texas v. White
Intellectual Conservative
by Steven D. Laib
"Despite all the above, and assuming that the Supreme Court could rule
on the subject, there really was only one conclusion which the Court
to reach, within the text of the Constitution. The simple fact is that
the four corners of the document do not contain any reference
whatsoever to the subject of a state leaving the Union. There is no
permission, nor is there any prohibition. This lack leads us to look
at the Tenth Amendment, which states that any powers not delegated to
the Federal Government are reserved to the States or to the people. It
should thus be incontrovertible that the power to leave the Union is a
reserved power specifically held by the States or people under the
Tenth Amendment." (06/27/09)
http://tinyurl.com/np6e7b
-----
61) Why the GOP can't sink Sotomayor
Mother Jones
by Stephanie Mencimer
"For the past month, Republicans have done their best to tar and
feather President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, Sonia
Sotomayor. There's been talk-radio griping about her now-infamous
'wise Latina' speech, charges of reverse racism, and lots of
disparaging of 'empathy' for the little people. But despite all the
bluster, the GOP has secured just three known votes against Obama's
nominee to replace retiring Justice David Souter, and they come from
the party's far-right fringe: Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), James Inhofe (R-
Okla.), and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). That's not much of an army for a
confirmation battle. Some conservatives seem perplexed that their
attacks haven't inflicted more damage. But they shouldn't
be." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ltg47p
-----
62) Not doing what comes naturally
TCS Daily
by Alan W. Dowd
"Wouldn't we be better off if we just learned to live with the risks
and threats posed by terrorism? That's essentially the question Duke
University ecologist Raphael Sagarin is asking. 'Organisms do not try
to get rid of risk in their environment,' Sagarin argues. 'They learn
to live with it.' During a stint in Washington, D.C., as a
Congressional science fellow a year after 9/11, Sagarin concluded that
'everything' Washington was doing 'was about more guards, more guns
and more gates.' In his view, that's the wrong way to approach
security." (06/29/09)
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=062909A
-----
63) Why adultery is political suicide
Reason
by Steve Chapman
"Call it residual puritanism or an overdose of religion if you want,
but most Americans think wedding vows are not to be disdained. In
recent decades, sexual mores have gotten considerably more relaxed,
with one major exception: extramarital affairs. A 2009 Gallup poll
found that 92 percent of us think adultery is 'morally wrong' -- which
presumably means there are a lot more people who commit it than defend
it. Only 40 percent of Americans think premarital sex is morally
wrong, and only 47 percent say that of homosexual relations. So Barney
Frank's career survived his romp with a male prostitute, while John
Edwards' fling with a campaign aide made him politically radioactive.
Sex without marriage is OK. Sex in violation of marriage is not. Why
not? Because adultery, unlike a frisky bachelor lifestyle, connotes a
reckless dishonesty at odds with our basic notions of
integrity." (06/29/09)
http://reason.com/news/show/134416.html
-----
64) Lowering the bar
The American Conservative
by Sean Scallon
"If GOP does not wish to see up and coming party leaders like Sanford
and Ensign continually be tossed onto the ashbin of history because we
all are sinners and none of us are perfect, then forgoing such litmus
tests in regards of judging candidates might well be in order. There
were many reasons for rejecting Rudy Guliani last year besides all his
extra marital affairs. GOP candidates need to stop pandering to a base
that will vote for their candidates regardless of whether they are as
pure as the Holy Mother (and a base that votes for them on more than
just 'religious' issues) and they need to (hint, hint Mitt Romney)
stop saying the government must 'create strong families' because that
is not something government can do nor should do." (06/29/09)
http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2009/06/29/lowering-the-bar/
-----
65) Why do atheists have to talk about atheism?
AlterNet
by Greta Christina
"The sentiment gets worded in many different ways. 'The new atheists
are so evangelical.' 'This atheist criticism of religion is just
intolerant.' 'You atheists are just as close-minded as the hard-line
religious believers you're criticizing.' But the essence of it is the
same: The fact that many atheists are talking publicly about our
atheism, and are trying to persuade people that we're right about it,
shows that we're ... well, evangelical, intolerant and close-minded.
So today, I want to explain why so many atheists think it's important
to talk about atheism ... and why many of us try to persuade other
people that atheism is correct." (06/26/09)
http://tinyurl.com/mreyz4
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* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************
66) Dan Proft on Freedom Rings Radio, 07/06/09
Freedom Rings Radio
Dan Proft discusses his 2010 campaign for governor of Illinois with
host Kenneth John. 9-10am Central on WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin, IL or live
on the web. [live radio or stream] (07/06/09)
http://freedomrings.net/
-----
67) Probably Uncalled For, 07/01/09
Probably Uncalled For
"Join Thomas Keister and ppdingles for an all-new episode of Probably
Uncalled For, the internationally acclaimed, award-nominated talk
radio hit, live on Blog Talk Radio! Topics to be determined, phones
and chat room open the duration of the broadcast." 8pm Central on
BlogTalkRadio. [various formats] (07/01/09)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ProbablyUncalledFor
-----
68) Motorhome Diaries: The Barenaked Family bares all
Motorhome Diaries
"When at our awesome Austin meetup over a month ago we sat down with
Greg, Jenn, Austin, Kelsey, and Sunny who together make up the
Barenaked Family. They were without doubt one of the coolest families
we've yet crossed paths with in the 10 weeks that we've been on the
road. They're good people not just existing but truly living life. ...
In this video they share their decision to go from the corporate world
to fulltiming in a RV for not one year (as originally planned) but
six." [Flash video] (06/29/09)
http://motorhomediaries.com/the-barenaked-family-bears-all-to-mhd/
-----
69) Free Talk Live, 06/29/09
Free Talk Live
FTL returns to its normal schedule after three days of PorcFest
coverage. [MP3] (06/29/09)
http://media.libsyn.com/media/ftl/FTL2009-06-29.mp3
-----
70) Cato Daily Podcast, 06/29/09
Cato Institute
"The Fed's pursestrings," featuring Bert Ely. [MP3] (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/cato062909
*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************
71) Today's events
Check our sidebar calendar for this week's freedom movement events.
Don't see your event? Drop us a line at in...@rationalreview.com ... or
see:
www.rationalreview.com/add-your-event-to-our-calendar
... for instructions on adding your events directly!
http://upcoming.yahoo.com/group/4042/
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* WaYbAcK
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72) Four to prison, four to the gallows
Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:
http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
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* Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
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In The News:
0) RRND/FND mid-year subscription drive
1) US troops withdraw from Iraq's major cities
2) Madoff sentenced to 150 years in Ponzi scheme
3) SCOTUS reverses Sotomayor panel in Ricci case
4) Iraq: 15 killed, 13 wounded
5) Obama holds gay pride reception, vows to overturn "unjust laws"
6) SCOTUS will rehear "Hillary" documentary case
7) US, Russia hold talks before Obama visit
8) Flow of "stimulus" funds still only a trickle
9) Exxon to pay interest on Valdez oil spill damages
10) Reputed Afghan drug lord held for trial in US
11) Karzai: Afghan guards employed by US killed police
12) UK: Warning: Britain faces new recession
13) NC: Dead man gets second jury duty summons
14) UK "must slash defence spending"
15) VA: Gun rights advocates say Coliseum staff challenged free speech
rights
16) PA: Harrisburg NAACP chapter urges martial law
17) AZ: Guns on campus OK'd by state Senate
18) KY: Guns at church draws big crowd
19) OK: Jewelry shop owner shoots robber
20) KS: Clerk kills would-be robber
21) TN: Cities rush to ban guns in local parks
22) Swiss banks shun American investors
23) Study: Generation gap is largest since '60s
24) MN: Pawlenty says he can fix GOP image
25) Mid-career metamorphosis: Kerry becomes a bridge-builder
Everybody Has An Opinion:
26) Is Barack Obama's realism better than George W. Bush's idealism?
27) Zelaya Agonistes
28) Cap and trade will lead to capital flight
29) Obama the healthcare reformer should grow up
30) The most corrupt nation on the planet
31) The case against involuntary government
32) "X-File" vet may be link to burn pit truth
33) ACES gone wild
34) Whose right is it, anyway?
35) Ethanol standards: Why federal policy is crazy
36) Building broken windows down under
37) ACES up her sleeve
38) Requiem for a revolution
39) Is the Fed juicing the stock market?
40) Secession and desertion
41) The last drug czar
42) Couples counseling for India and Pakistan
43) The Somalia crossroads
44) Iran today: 1979 revolution redux?
45) Bringing wellness to an insurance fight
46) Madoff: Small fry
47) The forbidding arithmetic of healthcare reform
48) Beginning of the end for Bernanke
49) Honduras coup: Challenges & questions for Obama & Congress
50) Seasteading: Homesteading the high seas
51) The consequences of the culture of death
52) Amanda Palmer's Twitter riches -- and journalism
53) Misplaced faith
54) Cutting government
55) HR1207 and the Law of Unintended Consequences
56) Iran's faux revolution
57) Caught on tape
58) Balance of power: Political power
59) Intro to secession
60) The state secession issue & Texas v. White
61) Why the GOP can't sink Sotomayor
62) Not doing what comes naturally
63) Why adultery is political suicide
64) Lowering the bar
65) Why do atheists have to talk about atheism?
See No Evil, Hear No Evil:
66) Dan Proft on Freedom Rings Radio, 07/06/09
67) Probably Uncalled For, 07/01/09
68) Motorhome Diaries: The Barenaked Family bares all
69) Free Talk Live, 06/29/09
70) Cato Daily Podcast, 06/29/09
What's Up In The Freedom Movement:
71) Today's events
WaYbAcK:
72) Four to prison, four to the gallows
***************
* In The News
***************
0) RRND/FND mid-year subscription drive
Update, 06/30/09: Thanks to long-time subscribing (by snail mail)
contributor LvS, whose semi-monthly $10 check arrived yesterday! No
new subscribing contributors.
Well, folks, here we are -- the last day of RRND/FND's mid-year
subscription drive. We started with an existing base of $237.50 per
month in "subscribing contributor" revenues, set a goal of $2,000, and
with less than 24 hours to go we're at $402.50.
We're far short of the goal, and I don't expect any "last-minute
miracles," but we at least bumped things up a few good notches. Thanks
to all of you who signed on or sent a "one-time" contribution, to
those who've been with us and remain with us ... and to those of you
who've waited until the last minute but may decide that today is the
day to start returning value for value.
Tomorrow, I'll write the wrap-up and explain where we go from here
(short answer: Onward and upward!) - TLK
http://www.rationalreview.com/content/64484
-----
1) US troops withdraw from Iraq's major cities
ABC News
"Fireworks lit up the night sky over Baghdad tonight as Iraqis
celebrated the withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops from the country's
cities, the first milestone in a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement that
calls for the departure of all U.S. troops by the end of 2011. Under
the agreement, Iraqi forces were to assume formal control of security
in Baghdad and Iraq's major cities as U.S. combat troops withdrew to
areas outside the cities by June 30." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/nr4kpj
-----
2) Madoff sentenced to 150 years in Ponzi scheme
Chicago Sun-Times
"Convicted Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150
years in prison Monday for a fraud so extensive that the judge said he
needed to send a message to potential imitators and to victims who
demanded harsh punishment. Scattered applause and whoops broke out in
the crowded Manhattan courtroom after U.S. District Judge Denny Chin
issued the maximum sentence to the 71-year-old defendant, who said he
lives 'in a tormented state now, knowing all the pain and suffering
I've created.'" (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/n8resz
-----
3) SCOTUS reverses Sotomayor panel in Ricci case
Christian Science Monitor
"Officials in New Haven, Conn., illegally discriminated against white
members of the city's fire department when they refused to honor the
results of a civil service exam after no African-Americans qualified
for a promotion. The US Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 on Monday that the
Connecticut city violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by
using race as the key criterion in refusing to certify a group of
white and Hispanic firefighters for promotion. City officials said
they were afraid that if they promoted the white and Hispanic
firefighters but no African-American firefighters, the city would be
subject to a lawsuit by black firefighters. The high court
disagreed." (06/29/09)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0629/p02s04-usju.html
-----
4) Iraq: 15 killed, 13 wounded
AntiWar.Com
"At least 14 Iraqis were killed and 13 more were wounded in the latest
attacks. One U.S. soldier was killed in combat yesterday in
Baghdad. ... Nine people were killed and 11 were wounded in Hamdaniya
when a bomb near a police station exploded. ... A five-year-old later
died of his wounds. Two policemen were killed and two more were
wounded near Mosul in Hamamal-Aleel. They were attempting to defuse a
bomb set at a bridge, but the bomb was detonated remotely. In Ramadi,
a bomb planted on a car killed a senior Sunni politician who was
leaving a hospital. Gunmen killed a policeman in Jalawla." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/lzr3wh
-----
5) Obama holds gay pride reception, vows to overturn "unjust laws"
CNN
"President Obama honored Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride
Month with a White House reception Monday where he likened the
struggle for gay rights with the struggle of African-Americans for
civil rights. With first lady Michelle Obama at his side, the
president told the cheering crowd filling the East Room that his
administration would work to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage
Act and end the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy regarding gays in the
military." [editor's note: So far he's been beyond "all hat and no
cattle" ... when will he stop making promises and start keeping them?
- TLK] (06/29/09)
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/29/obama.gay.pride/
-----
6) SCOTUS will rehear "Hillary" documentary case
USA Today
"The U.S. Supreme Court, which has chipped away at limits on political
spending in recent years, opened the door Monday to a broad challenge
of the nation's campaign-finance laws. The court failed to reach a
decision on whether a critical documentary about Hillary Rodham
Clinton violated those laws. Instead, the justices ordered new
arguments and said they would consider overturning two rulings barring
corporations from underwriting election ads." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/lgjxr3
-----
7) US, Russia hold talks before Obama visit
MSNBC
"U.S. lawmakers and their Russian counterparts have met to discuss
arms control, North Korea and other international issues, setting the
stage for President Barack Obama's visit to Moscow next week. Few
details were announced of Monday's talks between a U.S. House Foreign
Relations Committee delegation and Russian foreign affairs
officials." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/mce8ty
-----
8) Flow of "stimulus" funds still only a trickle
MSNBC
"When the government enacted a $787 billion package of tax cuts and
new spending this spring, there was much talk about how all that money
would help pull the economy out of a deep recession. But readers are
asking: Just how much of this money has been actually spent? Turns out
the answer is not much. Confidence in the stimulus money is beginning
to wane. People are still waiting for billions of dollars to
reenergize the economy. How much of the stimulus money has actually
been doled out as of this week?" (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/nejvq5
-----
9) Exxon to pay interest on Valdez oil spill damages
Miami Herald
"Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. has decided not to appeal hundreds of
millions of dollars in interest on punitive damages resulting from the
1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The Irving, Texas-based company will pay
about $470 million in interest on more than $507.5 million in punitive
damages following the 11 million gallon spill of crude in Prince
William Sound, company spokesman Tony Cudmore said Monday." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ncfosg
-----
10) Reputed Afghan drug lord held for trial in US
CNN
"A reputed drug lord described as one of the biggest heroin suppliers
in eastern Afghanistan -- with suspected ties to the Taliban --
appeared in federal court in Washington Monday, where he was ordered
detained pending his expected drug trial. The defendant, identified as
Haji Bagcho, appeared before a federal magistrate to face an
indictment for a heroin trafficking conspiracy and for importing
heroin into the U.S." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/msehzj
-----
11) Karzai: Afghan guards employed by US killed police
Salt Lake Tribune
"President Hamid Karzai accused Afghan guards working for U.S.
coalition forces of killing a provincial police chief and at least
four other security officers during a gunbattle outside a government
office Monday. In a harshly worded statement, Karzai demanded that
coalition forces hand over the private security guards involved. But
the governor of Kandahar later said 41 guards connected to the
incident had been disarmed and arrested by Afghan
authorities." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/lfqw9f
-----
12) UK: Warning: Britain faces new recession
Independent [UK]
"The world's central bankers have warned that the British economy
faces relapsing into another recession -- the much-feared 'ouble dip'
downturn. A continuing drought in bank lending, evidenced in the
latest figures from the Bank of England, and the threat that
spiralling public borrowing will feed through to higher interest rates
and inflation, are judged by international economists to be mortal
dangers to a sustained recovery. The Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD), which comprises the 30 most
advanced economies in the world, added to the gloom, saying that
Britain remained 'deep' in recession and faced a 'bleak short-term
outlook.'" (06/30/09)
http://tinyurl.com/km4csw
-----
13) NC: Dead man gets second jury duty summons
United Press International
"The North Carolina family of a man who died in 1995 said the deceased
has received his second post-mortem jury duty summons. Robin Lecin
said a jury duty notice for her father, Irving Lecin, arrived Friday
at her Greensboro home, which belonged to the patriarch before his
death .... another of Lecin's daughters, said she and her sister tried
to have her father's name purged from the jury rolls after he was
summoned for duty two weeks after his death, but the attempt
apparently was unsuccessful. 'And they spelled his name wrong,'
Polinsky said of the latest summons. The sisters said they plan to
visit the courthouse in person to make sure officials understand that
their father is dead." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/n5qz4a
-----
14) UK "must slash defence spending"
BBC News [UK]
"The UK should consider slashing defence spending by up to £24bn and
revisit plans to renew its Trident nuclear deterrent, a think-tank
report says. Britain cannot afford much of the defence equipment it
plans to buy, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) report
says." (06/29/09)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8125466.stm
-----
15) VA: Gun rights advocates say Coliseum staff challenged free speech
rights
Times Dispatch
"The Virginia Citizens Defense League is used to fighting for the
right to carry guns. But now it's having to defend the right to wear
stickers about carrying guns. The group says officials at the Richmond
Coliseum recently attempted to stop members from handing out blaze-
orange 'Guns Save Lives' stickers before an appearance by radio and
television talk-show host Glenn Beck. 'It's bad enough they're trying
to trample the Second Amendment. Then you come and attack the First,'
President Philip Van Cleave said, referring to the U.S. Constitution's
guarantees of the right to bear arms and to free speech." (06/27/09)
http://tinyurl.com/lkkkv6
-----
16) PA: Harrisburg NAACP chapter urges martial law
Patriot News
"The Harrisburg Chapter of the NAACP is calling on Pennsylvania Gov.
Ed Rendell to suspend some civil liberties and impose martial law in
the city to halt the wave of recent lawlessness. Chapter President
Stanley Lawson also called on Rendell to bring in the state National
Guard ... In June, there have been at least 12 shootings, many of them
in the daytime ...'The Guard is for floods and natural disasters. I
don't know any more of a natural disaster than of our young people
being killed,' he said ... 'It's time for some real action,' he said.
'Right now the important thing is to stop this madness.'" (06/27/09)
http://tinyurl.com/mbys8g
-----
17) AZ: Guns on campus OK'd by state Senate
Sierra Vista Herald
"Saying it will make people safer, state senators voted Friday to let
people with concealed weapons permits carry them onto college and
university campuses where they are now forbidden. The 15-6 vote on the
provision in HB 2439 came after backers said they believe that having
people who are licensed by the state to have weapons should cut down
on the number of massacres that occur on campuses. ... He did not
refer by name to the 2002 incident at the University of Arizona where
three instructors at the College of Nursing were slain by student
Robert S. Flores Jr. who then turned the gun on himself. But
Huppenthal said the evidence shows that it makes sense, from a safety
standpoint, to let people carry guns." (06/27/09)
http://tinyurl.com/n9uhgn
-----
18) KY: Guns at church draws big crowd
WLKY News
"A southwest Jefferson County church opened its doors to guns as the
pastor makes a point about the Second Amendment to the Constitution.
At the New Bethel Church, Reverend Ken Pagano said the church is
celebrating the independence and freedom provided by the constitution
by raising awareness about being a safe and responsible gun owner.
Pagano said he felt he had a duty to teach that to his community and
congregation. He decided to do so by allowing everyone to carry guns
into the church." (05/28/09)
http://www.wlky.com/news/19884976/detail.html
-----
19) OK: Jewelry shop owner shoots robber
KOCO News
"A jewelry store owner in Oklahoma City opened fire on a would-be
robber on Thursday, sending him to the University of Oklahoma Medical
Center. ... Police said they believe the clerk pulled out a gun from
behind the counter just after the robbery began. They said the clerk
told them they thought he hit the would-be robber at least once. No
one else in the store was hurt. Officers said the would-be robber ran
out of the store and got into a vehicle that was waiting for him. The
driver of that car took the man to the hospital, where he was listed
in critical condition late Thursday." (06/25/09)
http://www.koco.com/news/19862255/detail.html
-----
20) KS: Clerk kills would-be robber
Kansas City Star
"Officers were called to the 5th Avenue Convenience Mart at Fifth
Street and Quindaro Boulevard shortly before 7 p.m., Officer Mike
Golden said. The clerk told them two men with long guns entered the
store and demanded money, Golden said. When one of the suspects fired
a shot, the clerk grabbed a handgun from behind the counter and shot
both suspects. One ran halfway up the block before collapsing,
dropping a gun in the middle of Quindaro. An ambulance took him to a
hospital, but he died before arriving, Golden said. The second suspect
made it slightly farther and went to the hospital in a private
vehicle. The clerk, mildly injured in the scuffle, was checked by
paramedics at the scene." (06/26/09)
http://www.kansascity.com/116/story/1289272.html
-----
21) TN: Cities rush to ban guns in local parks
Tennessean
"The handgun battle is heading from Capitol Hill to City Hall. Local
governments and advocates for firearms owners are gearing up for a
summer face-off over how far to take a new state law that lets people
with carry permits bring handguns into parks. City councils across
Tennessee, including Nashville and Hendersonville, are moving to
reaffirm their bans on handguns in parks following passage of a new
state law. But people opposed to handgun restrictions are mobilizing
to block their efforts. ... A state law signed earlier this month by
Gov. Phil Bredesen has touched off the debate. The law is meant to let
handgun permit holders carry their weapons into every park in the
state, wiping out local policies governing handguns." [editor's note:
Once again, the greatest value of the 2nd Amendment's affirmation of
the right to bear arms is in not knowing who might be packing in a
given situation; someone seeking to do wrong must consider the risks
-- which disappear instantly when law-abiding citizens (who've even
gone to the trouble of obtaining carry-permits?) become disarmed by
law! - SAT] (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/l2xeyg
-----
22) Swiss banks shun American investors
Bloomberg News
"Swiss banks are shutting the accounts of Americans as the U.S.
Internal Revenue Service accelerates the hunt for tax dodgers. UBS AG
and Credit Suisse Group AG, the country's biggest banks, have told
Americans to move their money into specially created units registered
in the U.S., or lose their accounts. Smaller private banks such as
Geneva-based Mirabaud & Cie. are closing all accounts held by U.S.
taxpayers. While the banks declined to say how many people are
affected, more than 5 million Americans live abroad, including about
30,000 in Switzerland, according to estimates from American Citizens
Abroad in Geneva. Swiss banks must register with the Securities and
Exchange Commission to provide services for those
customers." (06/29/09)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a_8VwpO5m0WQ
-----
23) Study: Generation gap is largest since '60s
Arizona Republic
"American adults from young to old disagree increasingly today on
social values ranging from religion to relationships, creating the
largest generation gap since divisions 40 years ago over Vietnam,
civil rights and women's liberation. A survey being released today by
the Pew Research Center highlights a widening age divide after last
November's election, when 18- to 29-year-olds voted for Democrat
Barack Obama by a 2-to-1 ratio. Almost 8 in 10 people believe there is
a major difference in the point of view of younger people and older
people today, according to the independent public-opinion research
group. That is the highest spread since 1969, when about 74 percent
reported major differences in an era of generational conflicts over
the Vietnam War and civil and women's rights." [editor's note: The
funny part of this is, many of us "free love" Boomers are now becoming
the "old farts" ... standing in the way of youthful exuberance and new
ideas about self-expression - SAT] (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/kkw7at
-----
24) MN: Pawlenty says he can fix GOP image
Associated Press
"A potential White House contender in 2012 staked a claim yesterday to
rehabilitating the Republican Party after extramarital affairs by two
leading Republicans have damaged the GOP's family-values image. 'Any
time you have leading figures who are engaged in behavior that is sad
and troubling and hypocritical, other people are going to look at that
and say, 'Hmm, they don't walk the walk.' And so the words and the
actions don't ring true,' said Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. 'It
certainly hurts the brand.' He added: 'I think I can make a
contribution, in a positive way, for trying to rebuild this party. And
it needs it.'" (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/mk3cef
-----
25) Mid-career metamorphosis: Kerry becomes a bridge-builder
Boston Globe
"When the longtime mayor of North Adams, John Barrett III, picks up
the phone these days, he often hears a familiar deep voice that he
once acidly complained wasn't heard very much in his city or other
smaller venues in Massachusetts. John F. Kerry's voice. 'He'll say,
What do you need? What's going on back there? How can I help you?'
Barrett said. 'I've been all over him like a cheap suit when I think
he's wrong about something or not paying attention,' added Barrett, a
Democrat who snubbed Kerry to endorse GOP Senate candidate William
Weld in 1996. 'I would go through the wall now for John Kerry, and I
wouldn't have said that 10 years ago.'" (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/l4hd7o
*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 06/30/09
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 92,435 ... Max - 100,911
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 4,319
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************
****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************
26) Is Barack Obama's realism better than George W. Bush's idealism?
Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland
"Barack Obama's reaction to the mass protests and violence in Iran
shows he is following through on his pledge to be more like George
H.W. Bush rather than his son, George W. Bush. Obama has admired the
father's realism and has criticized the idealistic neo-conservatism of
the son. But is realism a better foreign policy for the United States?
The answer is a resounding 'yes!'" (06/29/09)
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2531
-----
27) Zelaya Agonistes
Center for a Stateless Society
by Thomas L. Knapp
"From an anarchist perspective, there's a lesson in the Honduras story
which may not be obvious. It's the same lesson emanating from Iran,
the same lesson to be found in Al Gore's decision to concede the 2000
US presidential election even though he could be reasonably sure that
he had won it (as was subsequently proven to a high degree of
probability to be the case). That lesson is this: The state,
regardless of whether its apparatus is controlled by 'left-wing' or
'right-wing' actors at a given moment, is organically conservative.
Its pieces and parts have evolved, through a sort of natural selection
process, toward the object of maintaining the status quo at all costs.
While an individual state actor may press for change (good change or
bad), or articulate a desire for change (honestly or dishonestly), the
machinery of an established state is big enough, it's heavy enough,
and it has enough momentum that it's usually going to roll right over
that actor unless that actor has hitched his wagon to forces that have
amassed considerable weight and momentum of their own -- in other
words, revolutionary forces external to and in competition with the
status quo." (06/29/09)
http://c4ss.org/content/717
-----
28) Cap and trade will lead to capital flight
Campaign For Liberty
by US Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)
"In my last column, I joked that with public spending out of control
and the piling on of the international bailout bill, economic collapse
seems to be the goal of Congress. It is getting harder to joke about
such a thing however, as the non-partisan General Accounting Office
(GAO) has estimated that the administration's health care plan would
actually cost over a trillion dollars. This reality check may have
given us a temporary reprieve on this particular disastrous policy,
however an equally disastrous energy policy reared its ugly head on
Capitol Hill last week." (06/29/09)
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=124
-----
29) Obama the healthcare reformer should grow up
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Sheldon Richman
"Barack Obama insists he does not want the government to run the
medical system. He insists that he wants only to fix what's broken
while leaving what works intact. Taking him at his word, this is
typical of Obama. His desires are a primary, things that can be
achieved if only we want them badly enough. All that prevents
fulfillment are the obstacles created by uncooperative, ideological,
and perhaps evil people." (06/29/09)
http://www.fff.org/comment/com0906l.asp
-----
30) The most corrupt nation on the planet
CounterPunch
by Patrick Cockburn
"Iraq is the world's premier kleptomaniac state. According to
Transparency International the only countries deemed more crooked than
Iraq are Somalia and Myanmar, while Haiti and Afghanistan rank just
behind. In contrast to Iraq, which enjoys significant oil revenues,
none of these countries have much money to steal.Iraqis resent paying
a bribe for almost everything, but do not see what they can do about
it. Nor will they believe that the government is serious in its claim
to be clamping down on corruption until senior officials are
punished." (06/29/0(0
http://counterpunch.org/patrick06292009.html
-----
31) The case against involuntary government
LewRockwell.Com
by William H. Peterson
So Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., founder, CEO, thinker, of the Ludwig
von Mises Institute opens his highly successful daily email newsletter
on literally the largest nonprofit website in the world. This opening
also sets the theme for his own selected articles and speeches
reprinted here, displaying a leading liberatarian taking on critics of
libertarianism. E.g., he cites then Vice Pesident Richard Cheney
saying 'one of the things that's changed so much since Sept. 11 is the
extent to which people do trust the government big shift and value it,
and have higher expectations for what we can do.' Dream on, Mr. Vice
President. Or, adds Mr. Rockwell, the triumph of hope over
experience!" (06/30/09)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/peterson/peterson21.html
-----
32) "X-File" vet may be link to burn pit truth
AntiWar.Com
by Kelley B. Vlahos
"Yesterday, Edward Adams was an X-File, but tomorrow he might be the
critical link between the toxic plumes rising recklessly from U.S.
Army installations in the war zone and the growing number of veterans
crippled by unexplained nerve, heart, and respiratory damage back
home. That's because unlike any other known case, according to
advocates, Adams was recently told by a board of military doctors at
Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii that his health anomalies --
including the appearance of countless holes or 'cysts' riddling the
tissue around his lungs and an aorta that has shrunk to half its
normal size in three months -- 'probably is related to the exposure to
burn pits in Iraq.'" (06/30/09)
http://original.antiwar.com/vlahos/2009/06/29/x-file-vet/
-----
33) ACES gone wild
Liberty For All
by Peter Orvetti
"On Friday evening, the House of Representatives passed the American
Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), a well-intentioned but
misbegotten Frankenstein monster of a bill intended to combat climate
change. Republicans Mary Bono Mack, Mike Castle, Mark Kirk, Frank
LoBiondo, John McHugh, Dave Reichert, and Chris Smith joined 211
Democrats to put the bill over the top 219-212. Showing the profiles
in courage typical to elected politicians, about three dozen Democrats
hung back during the roll call until passage was certain, waiting
until they could safely vote no without riling their party's
leaders." (06/29/09)
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=2779
-----
34) Whose right is it, anyway?
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Art Carden
"Recently, the Shelby County Commission passed an ordinance that would
make it illegal for employers and firms that contract with the county
to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation.
Unfortunately, the discussion got bogged down in questions about
whether homosexuality is or is not moral. It was assumed that the
government can intervene on behalf of favored groups in order to
correct the perceived injustice of discrimination." (06/29/09)
http://mises.org/story/3467
-----
35) Ethanol standards: Why federal policy is crazy
Hawaii Reporter
by Harry de Gorter and David R. Just
"Farm state Democrats are threatening to vote against climate change
legislation unless the EPA excludes emissions generated by the
indirect changes in land-use that follow from ethanol subsidies in
their calculation of a 'sustainability standard.' This standard
requires ethanol to emit at least 20 percent less CO2 relative to
gasoline as a condition for federal mandates and subsidies. While
ethanol subsidies as a general matter are not a good idea, these
legislators are right: The EPA standards at issue make no sense and
should be scrapped. Ethanol is sustainable by definition." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/m8c525
-----
36) Building broken windows down under
Freedom Politics
by Chris Brown
"It turns out that Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is going
around town breaking windows by, well, demanding they be built. There
are over 35,000 construction and maintenance projects planned across
Australia over the next 12 months. This includes AU$49 (US$39.4)
billion dedicated to 'nation building infrastructure,' or crudely AU
$2,200 in taxes for every man, woman, and child residing in Australia.
Are such decisions financially wise during economic recessions? Let's
put Keynesianism aside and instead rely on common sense." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/kt8k54
-----
37) ACES up her sleeve
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Jeremy Lott and William Yeatman
"Well before Barack Obama brought hope to the White House,
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was adamant that something new and
different and wonderful had arrived. In 2006, the incoming Speaker
pledged that hers would be the 'most honest, most open, and most
ethical Congress in history.' At the time, we were skeptical -- to say
the least. Our refusal to accept her rhetoric was roundly vindicated
last week. That was when Madam-Speaker used every dirty trick at her
disposal to coldly ram a 1,500 page global warming bill through the
House of Representatives." (06/29/09)
http://cei.org/articles/2009/06/29/aces-her-sleeve
-----
38) Requiem for a revolution
Asia Times
by Pepe Escobar
"In the end, the sound and fury of the 'Tehran spring' led to neither
reform nor revolution. The army didn't support the people, and the
merchants and workers didn't go on strike. Still, to believe that
Iran's national interest and the aspirations of its disenchanted
masses will be defended by the new dictatorship of the mullahtariat is
to completely miss the point. " (06/29/09)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KF30Ak03.html
-----
39) Is the Fed juicing the stock market?
Information Clearinghouse
by Mike Whitney
"Why has the stock market been on a 3-month tear when the economy is
undergoing the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression?
The S&P 500 has shot up 40% from its low on March 9 and the Dow Jones
Industrials have followed close behind. Is this a typical bear market
rally or is the invisible hand of the Fed goosing the
markets?" (06/29/09)
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22943.htm
-----
40) Secession and desertion
The Libertarian Enterprise
by Russell Longcore
"I've read some great articles lately about secession. William
Buppert, Gary Barnett and Tim Case have posted thoughtful articles at
LewRockwell.com and DumpDC.com. They speak of the military and law
enforcement obedience of Federal orders to detain, imprison and even
fight secessionists." (06/29/09)
http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle525-20090628-06.html
-----
41) The last drug czar
The American Prospect
by Eli Sanders
"In late May the new leader of America's fight against illegal drugs,
Gil Kerlikowske, returned to Seattle, the dope-tolerating city where
he'd previously served as police chief. As part of the visit, he
stopped by a local morning radio talk show, where right off the bat he
declared, 'I'm ending the phrase, the war on drugs.' As far as
statements from high government officials go, it was a radical
declaration. Kerlikowske, and by extension Barack Obama, was rejecting
four decades of federal government marching orders. ... But even more
striking than his announcement was the reaction: crickets. ... There
was no immediate outcry, no conservative clamor for Kerlikowske's
head, not much of anything except expressions of gratitude from drug-
policy-reform advocates. It's easy to figure out why Kerlikowske's
statement has been such a notable nonevent. ... Recent polling found
that more than 75 percent of people in this country think the drug war
has not worked and will not work in the future." [editor's note: One
can only hope and pray the title's prediction comes true; however,
there may just be too many elements of society who profit big-time
from Prohibition Redux - SAT] (06/29/09)
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_last_drug_czar
-----
42) Couples counseling for India and Pakistan
San Francisco Chronicle
by Deepak Chopra & Salman Ahmad
"Suspicions over a cooked election in Iran have brought a glimmer of
hope for real reform. It takes glimmers in the long, fractious fights
that hold societies in thrall. Can we find one in the toxic fight that
has plagued India-Pakistan relations for six decades? We've already
had a Camp David moment. When the two heads of state met to shake
hands in mid-June, Manmohan Singh of India and Asif Ali Zardari of
Pakistan obeyed some new forces. One was the force of economics, which
has cut both ways. Economics promises to make India a prosperous
player on the world scene. With money has come the expectation of
rational behavior, and India can see rationally that a stable,
nonaggressive Pakistan is the kind of neighbor it wants to have. The
other side of economics is the downturn. The mini-Cold War that has
raged between the two countries keeps draining much needed resources
that neither side can afford to squander." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/n5fgp2
-----
43) The Somalia crossroads
In These Times
by William Minter & Daniel Volman
"In October 2008, Human Rights Watch rated Somalia the most ignored
tragedy in the world. Almost 1.5 million Somalis are internally
displaced, and an additional half million are refugees. Two decades of
instability, including a U.S.-backed intervention by Ethiopian troops
in December 2006, have failed to put Somalia on the map. If the
American public has thought about Somalia at all this decade, it was
as the setting of the popular 2001 movie Blackhawk Down, based on the
October 1993 battle in Mogadishu between U.S. troops and Somali
militia, rather than as a real place where Washington's policies were
fueling conflict and prolonging suffering." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ksrsfx
-----
44) Iran today: 1979 revolution redux?
Christian Science Monitor
by Lydia Khalil
"The events we are witnessing in Iran are not the makings of another
revolution, but rather a continuation of the struggle for reform that
began in 1979 and has not yet ended. This is the latest installment in
Iran's unresolved revolution. The shorthand narrative of the 1979
revolution tells us that the Iranian people, under the charismatic
leadership of Ayatollah Khomanei, rose up against an unpopular shah, a
dictator whose misguided reforms alienated large swaths of his
country. But it is important to remember what happened after the shah
was overthrown. There were two phases to the revolution that began in
1979. After Iran's diverse segments from both rural and urban classes
-- students, professionals, the religious establishment, the bazaaris
(Iran's commercial class) -- came together to overthrow the Pahavli
dynasty, another, more meaningful, struggle began." (06/29/09)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0629/p09s02-coop.html
-----
45) Bringing wellness to an insurance fight
Our Future
by Tom Sullivan
"Twice now, when asked his position on single-payer healthcare or a
public option, our congressman launched into a dissertation on the
problems of junk food and childhood obesity, and how wellness must be
part of any healthcare reform. ... The first time, it just seemed like
a pretty odd segue. ... The second time wellness made an appearance,
it was head-scratching strange: Constituents come to talk about
insurance, and end up hearing about fat kids and eating more fruits
and vegetables. ... So, what's going on? Why are we bringing wellness
to an insurance fight? The wellness meme has been circulating widely
on Capitol Hill of late. It pops up with talking-point regularity in
House and Senate hearings on healthcare reform, among insurance CEOs
and among politicians in the habit of calling for 'clean' bills
uncluttered by side issues." (06/28/09)
http://tinyurl.com/myqhb9
-----
46) Madoff: Small fry
KN@PPSTER
by Thomas L. Knapp
"Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison today, and also ordered
to forfeit $170.1 billion, representing the total proceeds/property of
the specific crimes he was sentenced for. Madoff's a piker: The Social
Security scam's take in 2008 alone was more than four times as much
($805 billion). It turned an annual profit of $180
billion." (06/29/09)
http://knappster.blogspot.com/2009/06/madoff-small-fry.html
-----
47) The forbidding arithmetic of healthcare reform
Boston Globe
by Joan Vennochi
"The fuzzy math behind the Massachusetts universal healthcare law is
starting to add up -- just as Washington studies the law as a possible
model for the nation. Because of a recession-related drop in state
revenues and a surge in enrollment by the recently unemployed, the
truth is emerging at an inconvenient time. Massachusetts doesn't have
enough money to pay for the coverage envisioned by the law. In June,
state officials announced they are cutting $100 million from
Commonwealth Care, which subsidizes premiums for needy residents. The
poorest residents, along with the newest -- legal immigrants -- will
take the hit. This outcome is not surprising, but it is instructive as
President Obama pushes for a national healthcare plan." (06/28/09)
http://tinyurl.com/mhtg2w
-----
48) Beginning of the end for Bernanke
Cato @ Liberty
by Mark A. Calabria
"Fed Chairman Bernanke's term as Chair ends in January 2010. So far
President Obama has offered Bernanke praise for his performance, but
little else. After last week's House Oversight Committee hearing
focusing on Bernanke's role in Bank of America's purchase of Merrill
Lynch, it is now readily apparent that the Chairman has few supporters
on Capitol Hill. While his nomination will not be subject to the
approval of the House of Representatives, or any of its Committees,
the Senate Banking Committee's reaction to Treasury Secretary
Geithner's plan to extend the Fed's power serves as a useful proxy in
gauging that Committee's view of the Fed's recent
performance." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/lohm4u
-----
49) Honduras coup: Challenges & questions for Obama & Congress
The Nation
by John Nichols
"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered a reasonably muscular
condemnation of the military coup in Honduras, where elected President
Manuel (Mel) Zelaya was kidnapped and flown out of the country by
soldiers bent on blocking an advisory vote on constitutional reform in
the country. ... President Obama's statement was softer and in
tone. ... Senior aides to the Obama administration tell reporters that
U.S. diplomats were working to ensure Zelaya's safe return. And the
Wall Street Journal suggests that the administration may have worked
behind the scenes to try and avert the coup." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/lujy96
-----
50) Seasteading: Homesteading the high seas
FR33 AGENTS
by Brad Taylor
"Seasteaders recognize the futility of complaining about policy
without considering the underlying institutions from which political
outcomes emerge. Given that we have an essentially unbounded
democratic system in which any sphere of life can potentially to be
regulated by the state, the outcomes we see should not surprise us.
Minimal government is pretty much impossible: as long as we have a
coercive state, we will never be free. When we consider the problem
more carefully, though, it becomes clear that we need to think about
the environment from which political institutions themselves emerge.
Complaining about the political system we have without considering the
'ecosystem' in which governments exist, seasteaders argue, is just as
pointless as complaining about policies and ignoring political
institutions." [hat tip -- Liberty Pile] (06/26/09)
http://www.fr33agents.com/169/seasteading-homesteading-the-high-seas/
-----
51) The consequences of the culture of death
The American Spectator
by Doug Bandow
"The culture of death continues to claim victims, this time
abortionist George Tiller. The tragedy of his murder is compounded by
the obvious contradiction of someone killing him in the name of life.
Perhaps it should not surprise that murder is seen as the answer in a
society which devalues life. Protecting life is the foundation for a
republic such as our own. Indeed, the most fundamental liberty is to
life itself." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ko3nhv
-----
52) Amanda Palmer's Twitter riches -- and journalism
The Future of Journalism
by King Kaufman
"The big question in both journalism and music these days is how to
make it pay. The bottom has fallen out of the advertising market for
journalism, out of the disc-selling market for music. What Palmer's
doing represents what could be a big part of the answer for both: Draw
a crowd, create a community, and then sell that community the things
it wants. At Techdirt, one of the places where they're talking about
this, honcho Mike Masnick calls this 'CWF + RTB = $$$.' That is,
connect with fans and give them a reason to buy." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/kob56k
-----
53) Misplaced faith
Idaho Liberty
by Ted Dunlap
"Those of us viewing the world with knowledge of Austrian Economics
are watching the inevitable result of allowing politicians to print
money without limit. The dramatically more popular Keynesian theorists
who dominate government economic posts spew lots of comforting words
that continue to prove wrong. Yet those of us trying to get friends
and family to prepare for economic collapse are greeted with patient,
'They have a lot of smart guys who know what they are doing.' I know
the discussion is over and am saddened by the tragic three assumptions
embedded in their sense of security: that the manipulators are honest,
knowledgeable and that they have our best interests at
heart." (06/29/09)
http://idaholiberty.com/?p=132
-----
54) Cutting government
Adam Smith Institute
by Philip Salter
"Labour are on the back foot. The political agenda is being set by the
opposition parties who both seem content and intent to continue
raising the pressure on the government's spending commitments.
Increasingly this is looking like the battlefield upon which the next
election will be fought. This is undoubtedly a good thing." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/nal79g
-----
55) HR1207 and the Law of Unintended Consequences
Freedom's Phoenix
by Brock Lorber
"After eleven terms in congress, Ron Paul finally has a bill before
the House of Representatives that is popular with other congressmen as
well as their constituencies. As of this writing, HR1207, a bill to
audit the Federal Reserve Board of Governors has 245 co-sponsors and a
possibility of passing through the House. But, of all congressmen, Ron
Paul knows that each government "solution" comes saddled with
unintended government problems. HR1207 is one of those government
actions that has unintended consequences even if never enacted into
law, which it certainly never will be. Dire unintended consequences
have already hinted at themselves, and may well be irreversible now
regardless of the fate of HR1207." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/mwdqbe
-----
56) Iran's faux revolution
Human Events
by Robert Maginnis
"Iran's post presidential election protests are not evidence of a
brewing revolution; rather they unmask a power struggle among the
ayatollahs. The fracturing of the leadership has resulted in clear
winners and losers internally and externally." (06/29/09)
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=32488
-----
57) Caught on tape
Slate
by Christopher Hitchens
"I wonder sometimes whether the Nixon tapes really will just continue
to be the gift that never stops giving. ... Just take a look at the
most recent harvest from the tapes that the Nixon Presidential Library
has released from the early months of 1973. The impressive thing is
that even in the smallest details, the obsessive nastiness and
criminality of the bigger picture is further delineated. The foulness
of Nixon's mind was not 'compartmentalized' between one issue and
another." (06/29/09)
http://www.slate.com/id/2221732/
-----
58) Balance of power: Political power
The Price of Liberty
by Sunni Maravillosa
"Many people seem to think that elections are a manifestation of
individuals' aggregate political power. Voting gives individuals a say
in the government they live under. Electoral political power, in this
view, is the primary vehicle by which individuals wield political
power over the politicians they elect, and the legislative process the
politicians then undertake. The clamor for elections in countries
ruled by tyrannical leaders is a compelling demonstration of the
enduring strength of these beliefs. The disappointment when elections
are found -- or simply suspected -- to be tampered with reflects
individuals' desires to exercise greater control over their lives.
Thus, the outcries of Venezuelans or protests by Belarussians -- or
even Americans' suspicions -- aren't surprising. They wuz robbed!
Except that Ken Livingstone's famous quotation -- If voting changed
anything, they'd abolish it -- is spot on." (06/29/09)
http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/09/06/29/sunni.html
-----
59) Intro to secession
Let A Thousand Nations Bloom
by Patri Friedman
"Welcome to Secession Week here at Let A Thousand Nations Bloom! To
celebrate Independence Day, each day this week we'll be bringing you
secession related posts and links from around the web. To learn more
about the event and how to participate, read our intro. For Monday,
we're going to focus on how secession is going mainstream, and an
introduction to secession." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/nfh9wm
-----
60) The state secession issue & Texas v. White
Intellectual Conservative
by Steven D. Laib
"Despite all the above, and assuming that the Supreme Court could rule
on the subject, there really was only one conclusion which the Court
to reach, within the text of the Constitution. The simple fact is that
the four corners of the document do not contain any reference
whatsoever to the subject of a state leaving the Union. There is no
permission, nor is there any prohibition. This lack leads us to look
at the Tenth Amendment, which states that any powers not delegated to
the Federal Government are reserved to the States or to the people. It
should thus be incontrovertible that the power to leave the Union is a
reserved power specifically held by the States or people under the
Tenth Amendment." (06/27/09)
http://tinyurl.com/np6e7b
-----
61) Why the GOP can't sink Sotomayor
Mother Jones
by Stephanie Mencimer
"For the past month, Republicans have done their best to tar and
feather President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, Sonia
Sotomayor. There's been talk-radio griping about her now-infamous
'wise Latina' speech, charges of reverse racism, and lots of
disparaging of 'empathy' for the little people. But despite all the
bluster, the GOP has secured just three known votes against Obama's
nominee to replace retiring Justice David Souter, and they come from
the party's far-right fringe: Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), James Inhofe (R-
Okla.), and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). That's not much of an army for a
confirmation battle. Some conservatives seem perplexed that their
attacks haven't inflicted more damage. But they shouldn't
be." (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ltg47p
-----
62) Not doing what comes naturally
TCS Daily
by Alan W. Dowd
"Wouldn't we be better off if we just learned to live with the risks
and threats posed by terrorism? That's essentially the question Duke
University ecologist Raphael Sagarin is asking. 'Organisms do not try
to get rid of risk in their environment,' Sagarin argues. 'They learn
to live with it.' During a stint in Washington, D.C., as a
Congressional science fellow a year after 9/11, Sagarin concluded that
'everything' Washington was doing 'was about more guards, more guns
and more gates.' In his view, that's the wrong way to approach
security." (06/29/09)
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=062909A
-----
63) Why adultery is political suicide
Reason
by Steve Chapman
"Call it residual puritanism or an overdose of religion if you want,
but most Americans think wedding vows are not to be disdained. In
recent decades, sexual mores have gotten considerably more relaxed,
with one major exception: extramarital affairs. A 2009 Gallup poll
found that 92 percent of us think adultery is 'morally wrong' -- which
presumably means there are a lot more people who commit it than defend
it. Only 40 percent of Americans think premarital sex is morally
wrong, and only 47 percent say that of homosexual relations. So Barney
Frank's career survived his romp with a male prostitute, while John
Edwards' fling with a campaign aide made him politically radioactive.
Sex without marriage is OK. Sex in violation of marriage is not. Why
not? Because adultery, unlike a frisky bachelor lifestyle, connotes a
reckless dishonesty at odds with our basic notions of
integrity." (06/29/09)
http://reason.com/news/show/134416.html
-----
64) Lowering the bar
The American Conservative
by Sean Scallon
"If GOP does not wish to see up and coming party leaders like Sanford
and Ensign continually be tossed onto the ashbin of history because we
all are sinners and none of us are perfect, then forgoing such litmus
tests in regards of judging candidates might well be in order. There
were many reasons for rejecting Rudy Guliani last year besides all his
extra marital affairs. GOP candidates need to stop pandering to a base
that will vote for their candidates regardless of whether they are as
pure as the Holy Mother (and a base that votes for them on more than
just 'religious' issues) and they need to (hint, hint Mitt Romney)
stop saying the government must 'create strong families' because that
is not something government can do nor should do." (06/29/09)
http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2009/06/29/lowering-the-bar/
-----
65) Why do atheists have to talk about atheism?
AlterNet
by Greta Christina
"The sentiment gets worded in many different ways. 'The new atheists
are so evangelical.' 'This atheist criticism of religion is just
intolerant.' 'You atheists are just as close-minded as the hard-line
religious believers you're criticizing.' But the essence of it is the
same: The fact that many atheists are talking publicly about our
atheism, and are trying to persuade people that we're right about it,
shows that we're ... well, evangelical, intolerant and close-minded.
So today, I want to explain why so many atheists think it's important
to talk about atheism ... and why many of us try to persuade other
people that atheism is correct." (06/26/09)
http://tinyurl.com/mreyz4
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* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
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66) Dan Proft on Freedom Rings Radio, 07/06/09
Freedom Rings Radio
Dan Proft discusses his 2010 campaign for governor of Illinois with
host Kenneth John. 9-10am Central on WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin, IL or live
on the web. [live radio or stream] (07/06/09)
http://freedomrings.net/
-----
67) Probably Uncalled For, 07/01/09
Probably Uncalled For
"Join Thomas Keister and ppdingles for an all-new episode of Probably
Uncalled For, the internationally acclaimed, award-nominated talk
radio hit, live on Blog Talk Radio! Topics to be determined, phones
and chat room open the duration of the broadcast." 8pm Central on
BlogTalkRadio. [various formats] (07/01/09)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ProbablyUncalledFor
-----
68) Motorhome Diaries: The Barenaked Family bares all
Motorhome Diaries
"When at our awesome Austin meetup over a month ago we sat down with
Greg, Jenn, Austin, Kelsey, and Sunny who together make up the
Barenaked Family. They were without doubt one of the coolest families
we've yet crossed paths with in the 10 weeks that we've been on the
road. They're good people not just existing but truly living life. ...
In this video they share their decision to go from the corporate world
to fulltiming in a RV for not one year (as originally planned) but
six." [Flash video] (06/29/09)
http://motorhomediaries.com/the-barenaked-family-bears-all-to-mhd/
-----
69) Free Talk Live, 06/29/09
Free Talk Live
FTL returns to its normal schedule after three days of PorcFest
coverage. [MP3] (06/29/09)
http://media.libsyn.com/media/ftl/FTL2009-06-29.mp3
-----
70) Cato Daily Podcast, 06/29/09
Cato Institute
"The Fed's pursestrings," featuring Bert Ely. [MP3] (06/29/09)
http://tinyurl.com/cato062909
*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************
71) Today's events
Check our sidebar calendar for this week's freedom movement events.
Don't see your event? Drop us a line at in...@rationalreview.com ... or
see:
www.rationalreview.com/add-your-event-to-our-calendar
... for instructions on adding your events directly!
http://upcoming.yahoo.com/group/4042/
***********
* WaYbAcK
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72) Four to prison, four to the gallows
Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:
http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi
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