12/09 -- Iraq: Car bombs kill at least 127; Pakistan: Eight killed in bombing of ISI building
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Thomas L. Knapp
Dec 9, 2009, 2:26:28 AM12/9/09
to Rational Review News Digest
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In The News:
1) Iraq: Car bombs kill at least 127
2) Pakistan: Eight killed in bombing of ISI building
3) Zillow: US homeowners lost $5.9 trillion since 2006 peak
4) Iran: Top regime thug threatens heavier crackdown
5) US Senate rejects abortion amendment to healthcare "reform" scam
6) Google brings Chrome beta to Mac, Linux
7) Five major publishers to take on Amazon
8) Court muddled by "vague" anti-fraud law
9) Obama envoy begins rare trip to North Korea
10) US tops world in health spending, results lag
11) OH: State kills inmate with one-drug injection
12) Honduras: Top government drug thug assassinated
13) Obama regime settles royalty dispute with Indian tribes
14) Embassy guards gone wild get fired
15) OR: GI admits re-stealing $690,000 from government
16) CA: NorCal's "pot paradise"
17) MA: Far-left Dems rule race for Kennedy seat
18) Rob Power announces candidacy for LNC Secretary
19) Pay czar's personality as big as problems he'd solve
20) Study: Half of teen girls get STDs early on
21) TN: "Jesus appears" in photo of Holy Land site
22) Philippines: Senate set to conduct inquiry on firearms seized from
Ampatuan clan
23) DC Court ruling could affect out of state gun buys
24) Australia: Scientists aim to curb burping sheep
25) Euros become currency of drug cartels
Everybody Has An Opinion:
26) Who wants war?
27) It's about the horrible policies, stupid
28) The antiwar right: Our time is near
29) Is health care "reform" constitutional?
30) The primary base of an LP campaign
31) So much for the peace presidency
32) The auto bailout one year later
33) Clemency on trial
34) Debunking the green jobs myth
35) What must the Afghans think?
36) The long awakening
37) In defense of television
38) Imaginary savings, imaginary jobs
39) My friend the president
40) The spending wars
41) More easy money for Wall Street
42) Appealing to conservatism's good heart
43) Death by privatization
44) Prop up the GOP by scaring Americans?
45) Coburn/Vitter plan goes awry
46) Productive debt versus unproductive debt
47) The meaning of Climategate
48) Unchaining the human heart -- a revolutionary manifesto: Risky
business
49) Health reform could harm Medicaid patients
50) Cleared for release and still in limbo
51) O tempora, o mores
52) President Obama's plan to "spend our way out of this recession"
53) Lessons of Prohibition
54) Stop insuring mortgages
55) Congressional misdiagnosis
56) More fun with Jewish law
57) Moody's tells US: Put your financial house in order
58) So much for the First Amendment
59) That's enough w**k about bankers' bonuses
60) The Baghdad bombings
61) Duty
62) Are Russians coming?
63) Making the state irrelevant, part three: Undermining its
legitimacy
64) My generation and the youth movement
65) Supporting "acts of government" makes you guilty
See No Evil, Hear No Evil:
66) Tim Cox on Freedom Rings Radio, 12/21/09
67) Free Talk Live, 12/08/09
68) Cato Daily Podcast, 12/08/09
69) A true tale of Canadian health care
70) Gareth Porter on Antiwar Radio
What's Up In The Freedom Movement:
71) Today's events
WaYbAcK:
72) Bristow breaks the Whiskey Ring
***************
* In The News
***************
1) Iraq: Car bombs kill at least 127
Los Angeles Times
"Car bombs exploded amid busy streets and official buildings in
Baghdad this morning, killing at least 127 people and wounding 450
more, in the latest assault on the Iraqi government by militants,
according to police officials. Four car bombs shook the city on its
eastern and western sides in the span of about 30 minutes, starting
around 10:10 am, police officials said." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yktprbh
-----
2) Pakistan: Eight killed in bombing of ISI building
Dawn [Pakistan]
"Two suicide attackers launched a gun-and-bomb assault on the Inter-
Services Intelligence (ISI) building [in Multan] on Tuesday and killed
at least eight people and injured over 45. The attackers also died.
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The assailants, armed with rocket-propelled guns and hand grenades and
riding a single-cabin vehicle, first fired on policemen at a
checkpoint near the ISI regional headquarters." (12/09/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ycp54mt
-----
3) Zillow: US homeowners lost $5.9 trillion since 2006 peak
Bloomberg
"U.S. homeowners have lost about $5.9 trillion in value since the
housing market peak in March 2006 as mounting foreclosures and the
recession weighed on prices, according to Zillow.com. Almost half a
billion dollars was wiped out this year through Nov. 30, as the market
headed for a third straight annual decline. New foreclosures and
higher mortgage rates in 2010 may hinder a rebound, the property data
service said today in a statement." (12/09/09)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aoD0J3e1Hdxk
-----
4) Iran: Top regime thug threatens heavier crackdown
Times Online [UK]
"As government agents besieged the offices of the leader of the
opposition movement, Iran's chief prosecutor gave warning yesterday
that no more anti-Government protests would be tolerated. ... Since
President Ahmadinejad defeated Mr Mousavi in June's disputed election
the Government has sought to crush the opposition by detaining and
beating activists and flooding the streets with security [sic] forces.
However, Monday's demonstrations were not only the biggest in weeks
but more radical in tone, with students openly denouncing Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yjacamo
-----
5) US Senate rejects abortion amendment to healthcare "reform" scam
Los Angeles Times
"The Senate on Tuesday rejected an effort to tighten restrictions
against using federal funds for abortion under Democrats' landmark
healthcare legislation, handing a victory to abortion-rights advocates
but setting up a potential conflict with the House. The Senate voted
54-45 to kill an amendment offered by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) to make
sure the bill does not undermine the long-standing ban on federal
abortion funding. But critics defeated the measure, saying it would go
too far and curb access to abortion coverage even if women buy
insurance with their own money." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yayqbrm
-----
6) Google brings Chrome beta to Mac, Linux
CNet News
"Two key pieces of Google's effort to make Chrome a more competitive
browser fell into place on Tuesday as Google released beta versions of
the browser for Mac OS X and Linux. Tuesday's software release is a
version of Chrome that had previously been available only as developer
preview software for Mac and Linux machines." [editor's note: Sorry,
older Macfolk -- Intel Macs only - TLK] (12/08/09)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-10411398-264.html
-----
7) Five major publishers to take on Amazon
Los Angeles Times
"Five major publishers -- Conde Nast Publications, Hearst Corp.,
Meredith Corp., News Corp. and Time Inc. -- announced Tuesday that
they would join forces to develop an online storefront to rival
Amazon.com Inc. The companies -- which publish such titles as Sports
Illustrated, the Wall Street Journal, Better Homes and Gardens, Wired
and Vanity Fair -- said their venture would sell newspapers and
magazines online but could also be used to sell digital comics and
books." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ylf3mu6
-----
8) Court muddled by "vague" anti-fraud law
USA Today
"Supreme Court justices across the ideological spectrum on Tuesday
criticized an anti-fraud law that U.S. prosecutors have regularly used
in high-profile cases of alleged corruption. During spirited oral
arguments, a majority of the nine justices suggested they believe the
law -- which makes it a crime for public officials and corporate
executives to deprive citizens or shareholders of their 'right of
honest services' -- is too vague. If the court strikes it down, the
decision could threaten pending prosecutions and open the door to
appeals from convicts whose cases rested on the controversial
law." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yzxslvv
-----
9) Obama envoy begins rare trip to North Korea
MSNBC
"President Barack Obama's envoy began a rare trip to North Korea on
Tuesday for the highest-level talks with the communist country in more
than a year. A senior U.S. official warned of strong sanctions against
Pyongyang unless it rejoins international nuclear talks. Envoy Stephen
Bosworth's mission is to find out whether North Korea will return to
the stalled international talks on ending its nuclear programs after
carrying out an atomic test blast in May and quitting the six-nation
negotiations." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ydsybeu
-----
10) US tops world in health spending, results lag
MSNBC
"The United States ranks near the bottom in life expectancy among
wealthy nations despite spending more than double per person on health
care than the industrialized world's average, an economic group said
Tuesday. Life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was 78.1 years in 2007,
according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development. That's a year less than the OECD average of 79.1, and
puts the U.S. just ahead of the Czech Republic, Poland and Mexico,
where spending on health care is many times less per person, the Paris-
based organization said in its latest survey of health trends among
its 30 rich member countries." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yj6zcgq
-----
11) OH: State kills inmate with one-drug injection
Fremont Tribune
"An Ohio killer was put to death in an efficient 10 minutes Tuesday in
the first U.S. execution to use a single drug injection instead of the
standard three-chemical combination that has come under legal attack
because it can cause excruciating pain. Kenneth Biros, 51, was
pronounced dead shortly after one dose of sodium thiopental began
flowing into his veins at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. The
U.S. Supreme Court had rejected his final appeal two hours
earlier." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yzxk9hy
-----
12) Honduras: Top government drug thug assassinated
CNN
"Unidentified gunmen killed Honduras' top anti-drug cop on Tuesday, a
national police spokesman told CNN. Gen. Julian Gonzalez, director of
the Office for Combatting Drug Trafficking, was gunned down in his
sport utility vehicle by two people on a motorcycle, said police
spokesman Orlin Cerrato. 'The motorcycle approached and fired
indiscriminately into the driver's side door,' he said." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yjk9tkx
-----
13) Obama regime settles royalty dispute with Indian tribes
Bismarck Tribune
"The Obama administration says it is settling a long-running and
contentious lawsuit over royalties owed to American Indians. Under an
agreement announced Tuesday, the Interior Department will distribute
$1.4 billion to more than 300,000 tribe members to compensate them for
historical accounting claims, and to resolve future claims. The
settlement resolves a 13-year-old dispute in which Indian tribes claim
they were swindled out of billions of dollars in oil, gas, grazing,
timber and other royalties overseen by the Interior Department since
1887." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yhegwqo
-----
14) Embassy guards gone wild get fired
ABC News
"The fallout from the revelation of alcohol-fueled sex parties among
private contractors guarding the U.S. Embassy in Kabul has now cost
the company providing security at the embassy its job. ArmorGroup
North America, the company that employed the guards implicated in the
scandal, has lost its contract to provide perimeter protection around
the embassy compound. The State Department today said the decision not
to renew the contract was a direct result of the behavior of some of
the guards, as well as previous concerns about ArmorGroup's ability to
adequately staff the contract." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/y8n2hd2
-----
15) OR: GI admits re-stealing $690,000 from government
Associated Press
"An Army captain from Oregon pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he
stole nearly $700,000 from the U.S. government while serving in Iraq.
U.S. District Court Judge Ancer Haggerty set sentencing for March 1
after Capt. Michael Dung Nguyen, 28, entered guilty pleas to theft and
money-laundering charges. The maximum sentence for each offense is 10
years in prison and a $500,000 fine. A federal grand-jury indictment
claimed that from April 2007 through February, Nguyen stole more than
$690,000 in U.S. currency entrusted to him as the battalion project-
purchasing officer in Muqdadiyah, Iraq. The funds were designated for
payment of security contracts as well as for urgent humanitarian
relief and reconstruction." [editor's note: Lessee, there's Blackwater
from the top of the heap and now this guy ... how many other scams
surround "the war" this time? - SAT] (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ykxts2z
-----
16) CA: NorCal's "pot paradise"
Fox News
"Tucked amid the vast forestland of Northern California's Trinity
County, the small town of Hayfork is -- literally -- going to pot ...
with marijuana being smoked, grown and sold more than ever before.
Legal cannabis cultivation has become Hayfork's #1 industry.
Sophisticated growing operations are flourishing, thanks to the
region's climate, cheap real estate and local laws allowing medical
marijuana farming and possession. Lawful or not, the cannabis culture
is dividing the town. ... But with the timber industry gone, and gold
mining a thing of the past, others maintain Hayfork's fledgling pot
farms need all the support they can get." (12/08/09)
http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/12/08/norcals-pot-paradise/
-----
17) MA: Far-left Dems rule race for Kennedy seat
Christian Science Monitor
"The race to replace the late Sen. Edward Kennedy -- long known as the
Senate's 'liberal lion' -- has stayed true to his liberal politics and
the strong Democratic nature of his home state. When voters in
Massachusetts head to the polls Tuesday for a primary ... they'll
essentially choose from four Democratic candidates who tend to skew
pretty far left on the political spectrum. ... All are against the
escalation of the war in Afghanistan, and they are in favor of
abortion rights and of a public option for healthcare reform. They'd
like to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which does not
recognize gay marriages. And they'd like to give illegal immigrants 'a
path to citizenship,'" [editor's note: Too bad for them they entering
a Senate where such ideas are at best given lip-service - SAT]
(12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yj8k7cv
-----
18) Rob Power announces candidacy for LNC Secretary
Liberty For All
"Rob Power today announced his candidacy for Libertarian National
Committee Secretary. 'The time is right for us Libertarians to adopt a
new strategy,' Mr. Power said. 'Our Party is unique in its
longstanding rejection of perpetual war, central planning, and
government favoring certain classes of individuals over others. After
nearly a decade of war for which most Americans now realize there was
never any national security interest, and years into a recession
prolonged by federal government policies, voters have caught up to the
Libertarian Party's longtime understanding about the nature of big
government.'" (12/08/09)
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=3489
-----
19) Pay czar's personality as big as problems he'd solve
Boston Globe
"If the Harvard Law students settling into the Friday afternoon
advanced seminar on mediation were expecting a self-effacing
peacemaker as their guest speaker, they guessed wrong. Kenneth
Feinberg -- maestro of some of the nation's most complex settlements,
now President Obama's 'pay czar' -- walks into the room and begins
speaking with a booming voice, thick with a Massachusetts accent. He
quickly launches into a theatrical review of some of the contentious
legal logjams he has helped resolve, from mega-liability cases
concerning Agent Orange and asbestos, to compensation for victims of
the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. He recounts an encounter with one woman
whose fiance died on Sept. 11: 'Mr. Feinberg! We were engaged! The
wedding invitations had already been mailed. I deserve a
settlement.'" (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yke7bev
-----
20) Study: Half of teen girls get STDs early on
Reuters
"Within 2 years of having sex for the first time, half of teenage
girls may be infected with at least one of three common sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs), according to results of a new study.
Often, those girls are infected by the age of 15. Researchers followed
386 urban adolescent girls aged 14 to 17 for up to 8 years. Within 2
years of becoming sexually active, half of the girls were infected
with at least one of three common sexually transmitted organisms:
Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, or Trichomonas vaginalis
-- the organisms that cause chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis,
respectively. The researchers found that a quarter of the women had
acquired their first STD by age 15, most often Chlamydia." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ygj3wgb
-----
21) TN: "Jesus appears" in photo of Holy Land site
Tennessean
"It was Judy Mayes' first trip to the holy land. ... Her pastor, Dean
Haun of First Baptist Church in Morristown, takes a group to Israel
every year. ... One of the sites the group always visits is the
Western Wall, the place where Jews pray today. That wall runs 25 feet
down into a tunnel, which leads to the northern end. It was a special
moment, one that Judy wanted to remember. So she snapped a picture of
the tunnel. ... [W]hen she returned to her hotel room later that
afternoon, she noticed something about that picture she had taken in
the tunnel." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yjts4ls
-----
22) Philippines: Senate set to conduct inquiry on firearms seized from
Ampatuan clan
Philippine Star [Philippines]
"The Senate is set to conduct investigations on the large cache of
firearms seized by authorities in areas near the mansions of the
Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao. ... In filing the two-page Senate
Resolution 1811, Biazon, a former AFP chief of staff, said the weapons
and ammunitions that had military and police markings should only be
in the possession of and for the sole use of the military and the
police and their discovery in the hands of civilians is a serious
breach of national security. He said the discovery of the firearms and
ammunition bolstered earlier claims by rebel soldiers that a
'treasonous and illegal sale of weapons' exists." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yadvbxx
-----
23) DC Court ruling could affect out of state gun buys
CBS News
"You can buy a car from an out-of-state dealer and pick it up there.
You can buy a house in another part of the country, as speculators
unwisely did during the real estate bubble, sight unseen. But even
though the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own
firearms -- and presumably to buy them -- you can't purchase a handgun
while you're visiting another state. A gun rights group has sued the
Justice Department to overturn this prohibition, which became law as
part of the Gun Control Act of 1968, and the case is now in front of
U.S. District Judge James Robertson in Washington, D.C." (12/07/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yf75rpz
-----
24) Australia: Scientists aim to curb burping sheep
Ananova [UK]
"Australian scientists are aiming to breed sheep that burp less to
help tackle climate change. The scientists have been trying to
identify a genetic link that causes some sheep to belch less than
others. They say burping is a far greater cause of emissions in sheep
than flatulence." (12/08/09)
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3582577.html
-----
25) Euros become currency of drug cartels
Guardian [UK]
"International drug cartels have abandoned the US dollar for high
denomination euros to launder millions in illegal profits, Europol has
revealed. The gangs no longer use $100 bills because [euro]500 notes
-- the largest denomination of euro -- take up less room when
transporting large amounts of cash across the world." (12/06/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yzgyajy
*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 12/09/09
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 94,554 ... Max - 103,162
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 4,367
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************
****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************
26) Who wants war?
Information Cleearinghouse
by US Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)
"One has to ask, if the people who elected these leaders so obviously
do not want these wars, who does? Eisenhower warned of the increasing
power and influence of the military industrial complex and it seems
his worst fears have come true. He believed in a strong national
defense, as do I, but warned that the building up of permanent
military and weapons industries could prove dangerous if their
influence got out of hand. After all, if you make your money on war,
peace does you no good. With trillions of dollars at stake, there is
tremendous incentive to keep the decision makers fearful of every
threat in the world, real or imagined, present or future, no matter
how ridiculous and far-fetched." (12/08/09)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24133.htm
-----
27) It's about the horrible policies, stupid
Delaware Libertarian
by Tyler Nixon
"Obama is now convincingly a minority president. No, I don't mean
racially. I mean Obama now joins George W. Bush not only in the
continuation of neocon foreign policies and big government profligacy,
but (inevitably) that this is leading him to now consistently poll
below 50% approval ... and falling. The public's fast-growing
disapproval of Obama's arrogant power-mongering should come as no
surprise, except perhaps for the most oblivious and purely-partisan
hopechangers now hunkering down in the bunker." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yasdz8k
-----
28) The antiwar right: Our time is near
AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo
"Neocons like Reihan Salam are worried that Republicans will soon
'begin to abandon the president en masse over Afghanistan.' As well
they might be: Salam, a self-described advocate of 'a Pax Americana
foreign policy,' and a fellow at the New America Foundation -- a
corporate-funded let's-promote-'new'-but-safely-conventional-ideas,
formerly headed up by James Fallows -- knows his enemies, and is
preparing to meet them, albeit not head on. Before the battle is
joined, however, he wants to define the enemy -- in his own terms, of
course." (12/09/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ye4k9ku
-----
29) Is health care "reform" constitutional?
A Passion for Liberty
by Tibor R. Machan
"Before I begin I wish to enter a protest about calling the health
care policies being advocated by President Obama and the Democratic
leadership in Congress reforms. In my view they are not any kind of
reforms, bits of adjustment here and there, of the approach Americans
take to to securing health care and health insurance for themselves.
It is rather a major, even revolutionary, change because while in the
past some of health care (Medicare and local county hospital policies)
has had government involvement, this time the objective is to
establish what is called 'a public option,' meaning a form of health
care that is provided by the federal government, just as, say, the
Interstate Highway system is provided by the federal
government." (12/07/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yzmejqu
-----
30) The primary base of an LP campaign
Last Free Voice
by Donald Meinshausen
"An important lesson that we have learned in decades of elections is
most of the public, as well as most of the media don't pay attention
to third parties. They only pay attention to Republican and
Democratic, not Libertarian Party campaigns. The reasons for this have
little do with libertarian theory or the competence of the LP. However
the LP's fortune can change with the emergence of the new media and
the coming collapse of the economy, the schools, the wars overseas and
the rise of other problems. But for now we all can learn something
from the Ron Paul's great GOP race for the GOP presidential nomination
in 2008." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/y8szrjt
-----
31) So much for the peace presidency
Cato Institute
by Gene Healy
"This Thursday, Barack Obama will swing by Oslo to pick up the Nobel
Peace Prize -- just over a week after he announced that he'd escalate
the war in Afghanistan. Awkward. When Obama won the prize in October,
you had to wonder whether the self-esteem movement, where every kid
gets a trophy, had made its way from little league to the Nobel
Committee. Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. -- and a guy
running two wars, who'd been president for two weeks when nominations
closed?" (12/08/09)
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11034
-----
32) The auto bailout one year later
Independent Institute
by Randall Holcombe
"President Bush provided the initial bailout for GM and Chrysler in
December 2008, so it's reasonable to look back a year later and ask:
Was the bailout necessary? Did it work? In hindsight it is readily
apparent that the answers are: No, and No." (12/08/09)
http://www.independent.org/blog/?p=4357
-----
33) Clemency on trial
Reason
by Radley Balko
"Former presidential candidate, former Arkansas governor, and current
Fox News host Mike Huckabee is taking heat for his 2000 commutation of
the prison sentence of Maurice Clemmons, the man now believed to have
murdered four police officers in a Washington state coffeehouse.
Police shot and killed Clemmons after a two-day manhunt. The coverage
of and reaction to Huckabee's decision raise interesting questions
about how pardon and clemency powers are -- and ought to be --
used." (12/08/09)
http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/08/clemency-on-trial
-----
34) Debunking the green jobs myth
TCS Daily
by Josh Barro
"With unemployment at its highest levels in more than 25 years, the
Obama Administration is trying to show that it is focused on jobs.
Last week's White House 'Jobs Summit' brought together business,
labor, academic and environmental leaders to talk about how the
government can foster job creation. Unfortunately, the summit agenda
repeated much of the same nonsense we've been seeing from the
Administration for the last year. Exhibit A: the Administration's
ongoing push to create 'Green Jobs.'" (12/08/09)
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=120809B
-----
35) What must the Afghans think?
LewRockwell.Com
by Karen Kwiatkowski
"We have been given few opportunities to see and understand how
Afghanis view Americans and the U.S. government's foreign policy
toward their country. Malalai Joya offers her views, to a filtered
American media that attempts to drown out her criticisms. We may watch
a variety of documentaries, including the current Rethink Afghanistan
series by Robert Greenwald. But we really do not know, and perhaps
cannot know, how it feels to be on the receiving end of a grasping
military empire that seeks control without authority, ownership
without purchase, and righteousness through arrogance." (12/09/09)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski239.html
-----
36) The long awakening
The Weekly Standard
by Wesley J. Smith
"The case of Terri Schiavo -- who died five years ago next March,
deprived for nearly two weeks of food and water, even the balm of ice
chips -- continues to prick consciences. That may be one reason the
case of Rom Houben, a Belgian man who was misdiagnosed for 23 years as
being in a persistent vegetative state, is now receiving international
attention. In 1983, Houben suffered catastrophic head injuries in an
automobile accident. He arrived at the hospital unconscious. Doctors
eventually concluded that his case was hopeless, and his family was
told he would never waken. But the Houben family, like Terri's parents
and siblings, didn't give up." (for publication 12/14/09)
http://tinyurl.com/y98lybf
-----
37) In defense of television
Classically Liberal
by CLS
"To the conservative mind change is inherently evil. And this applies
pretty much across the board. It takes conservatives an entire
generation to accept change, but only the change that already took
place before they were born. The conservatives of yesteryear were
adamantly opposed to the civil rights movement. The conservatives of
today have their peace with it and wouldn't think of changing it. But
the conservative only makes peace with the change of the past, never
the change of the present day. And, of course, they apply this
attitude to television as well." (12/08/09)
http://freestudents.blogspot.com/2009/12/in-defense-of-television.html
-----
38) Imaginary savings, imaginary jobs
National Review
by the editors
"With a wary eye toward the 2010 elections, Democrats are starting to
craft another stimulus package. This would seem incompatible with the
administration's reluctance to add to the deficit, but a rally in the
stock market has enabled some banks to repay the money they took under
TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program). The plan, as articulated by
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is to use these funds to pay for a new 'jobs
bill,' which would look suspiciously like the $787 billion stimulus
bill enacted just last February." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yardqc9
-----
39) My friend the president
Salon
by Glenn Greenwald
"Over the past couple of days, Andrew Sullivan has linked to and
published protests from various individuals who are quite angry that
people 'on the left' are being so mean to President Obama, and several
of them are so upset that they have decided they are 'leaving the
left,' whatever that might mean. What's most striking about these
valiant defenses of Obama is how utterly devoid they are of any
substantive points and how, instead, suffuse with weird, even
inappropriate, emotional attachments they are. These objections are
grounded almost exclusively in (a) a deep-seated conviction that
President Obama is a good and just man who means well; (b) their own
rather intense upset at seeing him criticized; and (c) a spitting ad
hominem fury of the type long directed by Bush followers at any
critics of their leader, and generally typical of authoritarian
attacks on out-groups critics." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yl4ttex
-----
40) The spending wars
The American Prospect
by Paul Waldman
"When Rep. David Obey, chair of the House Appropriations Committee,
recently proposed a surtax that would pay for the Afghanistan War, the
collective response from most of his colleagues on both sides of the
aisle was, 'Are you nuts?' Nancy Pelosi quickly put the kibosh on
Obey's 'Share the Sacrifice Act,' and all talk of funding the war has
been banished. Meanwhile, Democrats have spent untold hours debating
how to finance health-care reform, all while Republicans carp about
how doing so is just too darn expensive, what with our ever-climbing
deficit. We've become used to this contradiction in Washington. Wars
just need to be fought; the defense budget just needs to keep growing;
and we don't really care what it costs." (12/08/09)
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_spending_wars
-----
41) More easy money for Wall Street
The Nation
by William Greider
"The sales pitch for financial-reform legislation pending in the House
claims it would put an stop to 'too big to fail' bailouts for the
leading banks. The reality is the opposite. The federal government
would instead be granted unlimited authority to spend whatever it
takes to prop up the big boys when they get in trouble. Only in the
next crisis, Congress won't have to be asked for the money. The
financial rescues will be funded by the secretive Federal Reserve, not
the Treasury, with money the Fed itself creates. And the emergency
lending could be pumped into any financial institution in trouble. ...
This sounds nutty and it is. A permanent security blanket for big boys
of finance will further inflame public opinion. Only the public isn't
likely to know." (12/08/09)
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091221/greider
-----
42) Appealing to conservatism's good heart
Boston Globe
by Steve Almond
"Republicans used to stand for fiscal responsibility. But that's been
hard to take seriously since their designated heroes (Ronald Reagan
and George W. Bush) ran up massive federal debts. They once preached
fiery sermons about the healing power of the free market, and the need
for deregulation. Then Wall Street gamblers bet us into a recession
and, well, never mind. And they were for isolationism before they were
against it. ... They've quite happily abandoned the pretense of
playing a constructive role in the debate over the fate of the nation.
But the question remains: what does the right want? Lurking beneath
the raging negativism, do conservatives harbor any positive
desires?" [editor's note: Once again, conflating the GOP's corporate/
imperialist politicians with "conservatism" is at the root of this
writer's larger confusion - SAT] (12/07/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yhnl7n6
-----
43) Death by privatization
In These Times
by Terry J. Allen
"Ashley Ellis's misdemeanor arrest turned into a death sentence. Her
crime: 'careless and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.' Less
than two days after entering a Vermont prison on a 30-day sentence,
she died from the careless and negligent operation of a privatized for-
profit prison healthcare system. Her death shows what can, and does,
happen across the country when states outsource prisoner medical
services: states cut corners on monitoring, and contractors skimp on
care. Ellis' death 'is a pretty blatant and obvious and extreme case
of gross negligence,' says Seth Lipschutz, supervising attorney at the
Vermont Defenders office. 'We figured out in a day that they killed
her.'" (12/08/09)
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/5274/death_by_privatization
-----
44) Prop up the GOP by scaring Americans?
Fox News Forum
by Ellen Ratner
"How is it that coverage of the healthcare reform debate has now moved
off the front pages of two of our country's major newspapers and has
been reduced to nothing more than a brief summation in today's
editions of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times? With
healthcare accounting for somewhere between one sixth and one seventh
of our total economy, a weekend of Senators debating reform and the
topic front and center as one of the major concerns cited by voters,
it is amazing that the story is not at the top of the headlines. It
is, however, one of the hot topics on talk radio debate and with the
American public." (12/07/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yd5zpy3
-----
45) Coburn/Vitter plan goes awry
Washington Monthly
by Steve Benen
"Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and David Vitter (R-La.) no doubt thought
they were being clever. They crafted an amendment that would force
members of Congress to get their coverage through a public insurance
plan, if the public option were included as part of healthcare reform.
If it's good enough for American consumers, it should be good enough
for their elected representatives, right? They had no idea how much
Democrats agreed with the sentiment. ... Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
not only loved the idea, he wanted to join the right-wing senators as
a co-sponsor on their amendment. ... These guys are taking away all of
Coburn's and Vitter's fun." [editor's note: Better idea, let
Congressthugs have to pay themselves for individual coverage from the
current Big Insurance cartel (each one limited within their respective
states), then see what happens to "healthcare reform!" - SAT]
(12/04/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ykxwya2
-----
46) Productive debt versus unproductive debt
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Doug French
"The credit crunch continues, with businesses large and small finding
that their bankers remain exceedingly stingy in the wake of the 2008
financial debacle. 'We need to see banks making more loans to their
business customers,' Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Chairwoman Sheila Bair told reporters recently after the FDIC released
figures showing that the amount of loans outstanding in the nation's
banks fell $210.4 billion in the third quarter of 2008. That is the
largest quarterly decline since the FDIC began tracking loans in
1984." (12/08/09)
http://mises.org/daily/3925
-----
47) The meaning of Climategate
Campaign For Liberty
by William Anderson
"Almost anyone who can read has heard about the 'Climategate' scandal
in which emails between the scientists that have been at the forefront
of promoting the apocalyptic views of 'climate change' were hacked and
then made public. The snippets I have read confirm my worst fears, as
we are seeing exactly what happens when the political process
completely hijacks science." (12/08/09)
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=422
-----
48) Unchaining the human heart -- a revolutionary manifesto: Risky
business
J. Neil Schulman @ Rational Review
by J. Neil Schulman
"Taking career risks has never been a problem for me. If I have any
problem it may be that I've spent too much of my life on the edge of
disaster. At various times in my life I've had my car repossessed, had
all my credit cards go belly up, and been six months behind on paying
the mortgage -- all because I chose a career path as a self-employed
free-lancer with no safety net, no unemployment insurance, no Plan B,
nothing 'to fall back on.' I know what it's like to go for broke and
end up broke. I know what it's like to be 'all in' and lose the pot --
not literally on a gaming table, but with equivalent stakes in the
Game of Life. My financial life has been a roller-coaster that makes
anything at Magic Mountain look like the Tea Cups at Disneyland. But
even as I sit here writing this -- wondering where I'll find the money
to make the health insurance payments this month -- I wouldn't have
missed this ride for anything." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yafmeco
-----
49) Health reform could harm Medicaid patients
Hawaii Reporter
by Edward Miller
"Both the House and Senate health-care reform bills call for a large
increase in Medicaid -- about 18 million more people will begin
enrolling in Medicaid under the House bill starting in 2013, Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Actuary Richard Foster
estimates. We at Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) endorse efforts to
improve the quality and reduce the cost of health care. But we also
understand all too well the impact a dramatic expansion of Medicaid
will have on us and our state -- and likely the country as a
whole." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yjg6tde
-----
50) Cleared for release and still in limbo
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Andy Worthington
"In the first detailed announcement about prisoners cleared for
release from Guantanamo since September 28, when a military spokesman
announced that a list of 78 cleared prisoners had been posted in the
prison, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a Senate hearing last
Thursday that officials were 'in the process of identifying detainees
that we believe can be transferred to other countries' and 'we've
identified I think 116 at this point.'" (12/07/09)
http://www.fff.org/comment/com0912d.asp
-----
51) O tempora, o mores
Adam Smith Institute
by Dr. Madsen Pirie
"t is a measure of how far we have come that few headlines have the
capacity to shock. The news that Essex police have warned parents not
to buy toy guns for their toddlers lest armed police mistake them for
drug barons and shoot them dead raises only a flicker. But one story
last week managed to raise both surprise and concern. It was the
report that in Scotland one-fifth of all adults lacked basic literacy
skills." (12/08/09)
http://adamsmith.org/blog/education/o-tempora,-o-mores-200912084556/
-----
52) President Obama's plan to "spend our way out of this recession"
FreedomWorks
by Matthew Clemente
"This morning, President Obama held a press conference to outline his
second multibillion dollar stimulus proposal. Unlike the
administration's $787 billion 'stimulus' bill which has fallen short
of its goal to 'save or create' millions of jobs, this proposal aims
to really 'save or create' jobs. And, as is to be expected from the
Obama White House, the plan to solve the problem that $787 billion in
spending could not fix is to throw even more taxpayer money at
it." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/y9krkun
-----
53) Lessons of Prohibition
Freedom's Phoenix
by Paul Paver, Jr.
"Take a moment to think about the history of prohibition. Every time
American People get an idea shoved down their neck, the very thing the
government is trying to controll becomes even more rampant. When the
do-gooders [a]nd the government decided to eliminate alchoholic
beverages as a source of refreshment and entertainment, the black
market and organized crime stepped in and supplied all the 'whiskey
and spirits' that were needed, and the government had no or very
little control in the matter. Then if you move a little forward in
history, and you consider the 'recreational drug' issue, you still
have the same response. Not that my position on drugs are pro. My
point on the matter is people are going to do what the want to do, and
the means to do it are always at their disposal." (12/05/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yc85dk7
-----
54) Stop insuring mortgages
Freedom Politics
by John Stossel
"The Federal Housing Administration announced this week that it wants
tougher rules on mortgage lenders. It's about time. Maybe FHA got
spooked by the recent New York Times story titled 'Easy Loans to
Wealthier Areas,' which said: 'In its efforts to prop up a shattered
housing market, the government is greatly extending its traditional
support of real estate, including guaranteeing the mortgages of middle-
class and even upper-class buyers against default.'" (12/02/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yz64xra
-----
55) Congressional misdiagnosis
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Gregory Conko and Kevin Hilferty
"As Congress moves forward with its health care reform efforts, a last-
minute proposal to revoke the 64-year-old exemption from federal
antitrust laws for health insurers has flown under the media radar.
Proponents of the repeal proposal tout it as a broadly popular effort
to slow the consolidation of the health insurance industry and promote
more vigorous price competition. But the change would do nothing to
prevent insurance firm mergers, which are already subject to federal
oversight. However, federalizing antitrust enforcement over the
insurance industry would unnecessarily duplicate existing state
insurance regulations and jeopardize practices that help small
insurers compete." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ycnxwxu
-----
56) More fun with Jewish law
Ideas
by David Friedman
"In Maimonides' discussion of what we would call tort law, he
considers a number of borderline cases -- cases where it is not clear
whether the tortfeasor owes the victim a damage payment equal to half
the damage or a quarter of the damage done. His conclusion in such
cases is that the court can only award the plaintiff quarter damages.
If, however, the plaintiff has seized property of the defendant
amounting to half damages, the court will not make him give it back.
Part of what is going on here seems to be a rule holding that the
court will not transfer property unless it has good reason to do so.
It can't award half damages, because it isn't sure that more than
quarter damages are owed. But it can't make the plaintiff who has
acted on his own to collect half damages give part of the money back,
because it isn't sure that half damages aren't owed." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yad97ag
-----
57) Moody's tells US: Put your financial house in order
Main Street Radical
by James
"On the eve of Obama's trip to Denmark, in which he may announce new
spending plans for developing countries, Moody's is poised to send a
warning that America's triple-A credit rating is at risk. For
generations the country has relied on deficit spending and the
strongest credit rating to manage the country's finances. This new
chink in our fiscal armor is a direct result of the fact that our
government faces a trillion dollar deficit for the next 10 years, and
sends a clear message that Congress, the President and the American
people must rein in deficit spending. A reduction in America's credit
rating can only lead to higher interest rates as the Treasury will
have to make our debt more attractive to lenders." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yeqgoa7
-----
58) So much for the First Amendment
Common Dreams
by Andy Worthington
"So much for the First Amendment. Morris Davis, the retired Air Force
Colonel who served as the Chief Prosecutor of the Military Commissions
at Guantanamo from September 2005 until his resignation in October
2007, has just lost his job at the Congressional Research Service (a
branch of the Library of Congress) for writing, in his personal
capacity, an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, in which he drew on
his wealth of experience of the Commissions to criticize the Obama
administration for its decision to prosecute some Guantanamo prisoners
in federal courts, and others in Military Commissions, and a letter to
the Washington Post, in which he criticized former Attorney General
Michael Mukasey for scaremongering about the administration's decision
to try Guantanamo prisoners in federal courts." (12/08/09)
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/12/08-7
-----
59) That's enough w**k about bankers' bonuses
Spiked
by Mick Hume
"A tax on bonuses will not alter the bigger problem of inflated City
banks being expected to fill the hole where the economy should
be." (12/08/09)
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/7809/
-----
60) The Baghdad bombings
CounterPunch
by Ron Jacobs
"If these attacks are the work of the Iraqi insurgency and one places
these bombings in the framework of the rest of the conflict in Iraq,
they seem to symbolize a resurgence of the insurgency. If one further
considers the nature of guerrilla war, these spectacular attacks
represent a new phase in the insurgents war against the
government." (12/08/09)
http://counterpunch.org/jacobs12082009.html
-----
61) Duty
Strike the Root
by Jim Davies
"The word comes in two flavors, and I'd like to focus on the second;
but both derive from the Latin debere, meaning to owe -- hence also a
'debit' to an account. In most common use, the word has to do with an
obligation, contractual or moral; it is alleged for example that by
some mysterious means everyone has incurred a duty to serve one's
country, as in JFK's infamous inaugural speech. The word 'country'
itself is hard to define, when one thinks about it, and the source of
any such duty is even more mysterious; his speech would have been much
more truthful, if less appealing, had he said 'Ask not what my
government can do for you, ask what you can do for my
government.'" (12/08/09)
http://www.strike-the-root.com/92/davies/davies8.html
-----
62) Are Russians coming?
The Libertarian Enterprise
by Sean Gabb
"Like many other people in our movement, I have been delighted by the
publication of that computer archive from the Climate Research Unit at
the University of East Anglia. I have spent most of my life denouncing
every excuse for state activism as a pack of lies. I have never yet
had the joy of seeing the projectors of those lies revealed as little
more than pantomime villains -- twirling their moustaches while
confessing their villainy in whispered asides. Compared with this, the
'weapons of mass destruction' lies were misunderstanding in good
faith." (12/06/09)
http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle547-20091206-04.html
-----
63) Making the state irrelevant, part three: Undermining its
legitimacy
Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson
"Even if you concede some value to electoral politics and lobbying,
the best way to maximize bang for the buck in such efforts is simply
to capitalize on the potential of network culture: that is, put
maximum effort into just getting the information out there, giving the
government lots and lots of negative publicity, and then 'letting a
thousand flowers bloom' when it comes to efforts to leverage it into
political action. If you do that, the political pressure itself will
be organized by many different individuals and groups operating
independently, spurred by their own outrage, without even sharing any
common antistatist ideology." (12/08/09)
http://c4ss.org/content/1520
-----
64) My generation and the youth movement
Fr33 Agents
by benconley
"I find myself, through no fault of my own, a member of Generation Y.
We are the 'New Digitals;' coming of age through Facebook amidst the
Bush, and now Obama, regimes. We are tech-savvy, connected, and get
information faster than every generation preceding us. We have access
to more knowledge and literature easier and cheaper than ever before.
We should be the most politically aware, as well. We are not. We are
woefully uninvolved and uninterested." (12/08/09)
http://www.fr33agents.com/1634/my-generation-and-the-youth-movement/
-----
65) Supporting "acts of government" makes you guilty
Albuquerque Libertarian Examiner
by Kent McManigal
"Face it; those who cheer the executioner are no different than those
who cheer or defend the police, the military, or any government
agency. Support of government can't be justified." (12/07/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yj76lmm
*******************************************************************
* RRND MEDIA SHELF -- Tchotchkes from today's edition
*
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*****************************
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************
66) Tim Cox on Freedom Rings Radio, 12/21/09
Freedom Rings Radio
"Tim Cox, author of Revolution, a New Plan for Selecting
Representatives and the founder of the Get Out Of Our House Project
joins host Kenneth John. 9-10am Central on WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin, IL or
live on the web. [live radio or stream] (12/21/09)
http://freedomrings.net/
-----
67) Free Talk Live, 12/08/09
Free Talk Live
"Ice Age Fearmongering / Crisis / US Doomed / Santa Claus and Lying to
Kids / Existence Rights / Are people fed up? / Corporate Person
Conspiracy Theory / Poor Business Practice / More on Lying to Kids /
Govt Job Boondoggle." [MP3] (12/08/09)
http://media.libsyn.com/media/ftl/FTL2009-12-08.mp3
-----
68) Cato Daily Podcast, 12/08/09
Cato Institute
"Obama's Patriot Act duplicity," featuring Julian Sanchez. [MP3]
(12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/cato120809
-----
69) A true tale of Canadian health care
Hit & Run
"Many advocates of health-care reform are admirers of Canada's state-
run, no-opt-out, single-payer system. Indeed, in 2003, President
Barack Obama voiced enthusiasm for such a health-care program.
Proponents of Canadian-style health care should meet Cheryl Baxter, a
Canadian citizen who waited years for hip-replacement surgery, only to
be told that her operation would not happen any time soon." [Flash
video] (12/08/09)
http://reason.com/blog/2009/12/08/reasontv-a-true-tale-of-canadi
-----
70) Gareth Porter on Antiwar Radio
AntiWar.Com
"Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for Inter Press
Service, discusses Obama's compromise decision on troops for
Afghanistan that pleased nobody, the divergent goals and methods of al
Qaeda and the Taliban, serious logical flaws in the 'disrupting
terrorist safe havens' rationale for war in Afghanistan, the
Democratic Party strategy of acceding to any military demands and the
obstacles to a third-party uranium encrichment deal with Iran." [Flash
audio or MP3] (12/05/09)
http://antiwar.com/radio/2009/12/05/gareth-porter-72/
*************************************
* 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
***********
72) Bristow breaks the Whiskey Ring
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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* Volume VI, Issue #1,808
* Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
* Email Circulation 2,148
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In The News:
1) Iraq: Car bombs kill at least 127
2) Pakistan: Eight killed in bombing of ISI building
3) Zillow: US homeowners lost $5.9 trillion since 2006 peak
4) Iran: Top regime thug threatens heavier crackdown
5) US Senate rejects abortion amendment to healthcare "reform" scam
6) Google brings Chrome beta to Mac, Linux
7) Five major publishers to take on Amazon
8) Court muddled by "vague" anti-fraud law
9) Obama envoy begins rare trip to North Korea
10) US tops world in health spending, results lag
11) OH: State kills inmate with one-drug injection
12) Honduras: Top government drug thug assassinated
13) Obama regime settles royalty dispute with Indian tribes
14) Embassy guards gone wild get fired
15) OR: GI admits re-stealing $690,000 from government
16) CA: NorCal's "pot paradise"
17) MA: Far-left Dems rule race for Kennedy seat
18) Rob Power announces candidacy for LNC Secretary
19) Pay czar's personality as big as problems he'd solve
20) Study: Half of teen girls get STDs early on
21) TN: "Jesus appears" in photo of Holy Land site
22) Philippines: Senate set to conduct inquiry on firearms seized from
Ampatuan clan
23) DC Court ruling could affect out of state gun buys
24) Australia: Scientists aim to curb burping sheep
25) Euros become currency of drug cartels
Everybody Has An Opinion:
26) Who wants war?
27) It's about the horrible policies, stupid
28) The antiwar right: Our time is near
29) Is health care "reform" constitutional?
30) The primary base of an LP campaign
31) So much for the peace presidency
32) The auto bailout one year later
33) Clemency on trial
34) Debunking the green jobs myth
35) What must the Afghans think?
36) The long awakening
37) In defense of television
38) Imaginary savings, imaginary jobs
39) My friend the president
40) The spending wars
41) More easy money for Wall Street
42) Appealing to conservatism's good heart
43) Death by privatization
44) Prop up the GOP by scaring Americans?
45) Coburn/Vitter plan goes awry
46) Productive debt versus unproductive debt
47) The meaning of Climategate
48) Unchaining the human heart -- a revolutionary manifesto: Risky
business
49) Health reform could harm Medicaid patients
50) Cleared for release and still in limbo
51) O tempora, o mores
52) President Obama's plan to "spend our way out of this recession"
53) Lessons of Prohibition
54) Stop insuring mortgages
55) Congressional misdiagnosis
56) More fun with Jewish law
57) Moody's tells US: Put your financial house in order
58) So much for the First Amendment
59) That's enough w**k about bankers' bonuses
60) The Baghdad bombings
61) Duty
62) Are Russians coming?
63) Making the state irrelevant, part three: Undermining its
legitimacy
64) My generation and the youth movement
65) Supporting "acts of government" makes you guilty
See No Evil, Hear No Evil:
66) Tim Cox on Freedom Rings Radio, 12/21/09
67) Free Talk Live, 12/08/09
68) Cato Daily Podcast, 12/08/09
69) A true tale of Canadian health care
70) Gareth Porter on Antiwar Radio
What's Up In The Freedom Movement:
71) Today's events
WaYbAcK:
72) Bristow breaks the Whiskey Ring
***************
* In The News
***************
1) Iraq: Car bombs kill at least 127
Los Angeles Times
"Car bombs exploded amid busy streets and official buildings in
Baghdad this morning, killing at least 127 people and wounding 450
more, in the latest assault on the Iraqi government by militants,
according to police officials. Four car bombs shook the city on its
eastern and western sides in the span of about 30 minutes, starting
around 10:10 am, police officials said." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yktprbh
-----
2) Pakistan: Eight killed in bombing of ISI building
Dawn [Pakistan]
"Two suicide attackers launched a gun-and-bomb assault on the Inter-
Services Intelligence (ISI) building [in Multan] on Tuesday and killed
at least eight people and injured over 45. The attackers also died.
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The assailants, armed with rocket-propelled guns and hand grenades and
riding a single-cabin vehicle, first fired on policemen at a
checkpoint near the ISI regional headquarters." (12/09/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ycp54mt
-----
3) Zillow: US homeowners lost $5.9 trillion since 2006 peak
Bloomberg
"U.S. homeowners have lost about $5.9 trillion in value since the
housing market peak in March 2006 as mounting foreclosures and the
recession weighed on prices, according to Zillow.com. Almost half a
billion dollars was wiped out this year through Nov. 30, as the market
headed for a third straight annual decline. New foreclosures and
higher mortgage rates in 2010 may hinder a rebound, the property data
service said today in a statement." (12/09/09)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aoD0J3e1Hdxk
-----
4) Iran: Top regime thug threatens heavier crackdown
Times Online [UK]
"As government agents besieged the offices of the leader of the
opposition movement, Iran's chief prosecutor gave warning yesterday
that no more anti-Government protests would be tolerated. ... Since
President Ahmadinejad defeated Mr Mousavi in June's disputed election
the Government has sought to crush the opposition by detaining and
beating activists and flooding the streets with security [sic] forces.
However, Monday's demonstrations were not only the biggest in weeks
but more radical in tone, with students openly denouncing Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yjacamo
-----
5) US Senate rejects abortion amendment to healthcare "reform" scam
Los Angeles Times
"The Senate on Tuesday rejected an effort to tighten restrictions
against using federal funds for abortion under Democrats' landmark
healthcare legislation, handing a victory to abortion-rights advocates
but setting up a potential conflict with the House. The Senate voted
54-45 to kill an amendment offered by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) to make
sure the bill does not undermine the long-standing ban on federal
abortion funding. But critics defeated the measure, saying it would go
too far and curb access to abortion coverage even if women buy
insurance with their own money." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yayqbrm
-----
6) Google brings Chrome beta to Mac, Linux
CNet News
"Two key pieces of Google's effort to make Chrome a more competitive
browser fell into place on Tuesday as Google released beta versions of
the browser for Mac OS X and Linux. Tuesday's software release is a
version of Chrome that had previously been available only as developer
preview software for Mac and Linux machines." [editor's note: Sorry,
older Macfolk -- Intel Macs only - TLK] (12/08/09)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-10411398-264.html
-----
7) Five major publishers to take on Amazon
Los Angeles Times
"Five major publishers -- Conde Nast Publications, Hearst Corp.,
Meredith Corp., News Corp. and Time Inc. -- announced Tuesday that
they would join forces to develop an online storefront to rival
Amazon.com Inc. The companies -- which publish such titles as Sports
Illustrated, the Wall Street Journal, Better Homes and Gardens, Wired
and Vanity Fair -- said their venture would sell newspapers and
magazines online but could also be used to sell digital comics and
books." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ylf3mu6
-----
8) Court muddled by "vague" anti-fraud law
USA Today
"Supreme Court justices across the ideological spectrum on Tuesday
criticized an anti-fraud law that U.S. prosecutors have regularly used
in high-profile cases of alleged corruption. During spirited oral
arguments, a majority of the nine justices suggested they believe the
law -- which makes it a crime for public officials and corporate
executives to deprive citizens or shareholders of their 'right of
honest services' -- is too vague. If the court strikes it down, the
decision could threaten pending prosecutions and open the door to
appeals from convicts whose cases rested on the controversial
law." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yzxslvv
-----
9) Obama envoy begins rare trip to North Korea
MSNBC
"President Barack Obama's envoy began a rare trip to North Korea on
Tuesday for the highest-level talks with the communist country in more
than a year. A senior U.S. official warned of strong sanctions against
Pyongyang unless it rejoins international nuclear talks. Envoy Stephen
Bosworth's mission is to find out whether North Korea will return to
the stalled international talks on ending its nuclear programs after
carrying out an atomic test blast in May and quitting the six-nation
negotiations." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ydsybeu
-----
10) US tops world in health spending, results lag
MSNBC
"The United States ranks near the bottom in life expectancy among
wealthy nations despite spending more than double per person on health
care than the industrialized world's average, an economic group said
Tuesday. Life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was 78.1 years in 2007,
according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development. That's a year less than the OECD average of 79.1, and
puts the U.S. just ahead of the Czech Republic, Poland and Mexico,
where spending on health care is many times less per person, the Paris-
based organization said in its latest survey of health trends among
its 30 rich member countries." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yj6zcgq
-----
11) OH: State kills inmate with one-drug injection
Fremont Tribune
"An Ohio killer was put to death in an efficient 10 minutes Tuesday in
the first U.S. execution to use a single drug injection instead of the
standard three-chemical combination that has come under legal attack
because it can cause excruciating pain. Kenneth Biros, 51, was
pronounced dead shortly after one dose of sodium thiopental began
flowing into his veins at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. The
U.S. Supreme Court had rejected his final appeal two hours
earlier." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yzxk9hy
-----
12) Honduras: Top government drug thug assassinated
CNN
"Unidentified gunmen killed Honduras' top anti-drug cop on Tuesday, a
national police spokesman told CNN. Gen. Julian Gonzalez, director of
the Office for Combatting Drug Trafficking, was gunned down in his
sport utility vehicle by two people on a motorcycle, said police
spokesman Orlin Cerrato. 'The motorcycle approached and fired
indiscriminately into the driver's side door,' he said." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yjk9tkx
-----
13) Obama regime settles royalty dispute with Indian tribes
Bismarck Tribune
"The Obama administration says it is settling a long-running and
contentious lawsuit over royalties owed to American Indians. Under an
agreement announced Tuesday, the Interior Department will distribute
$1.4 billion to more than 300,000 tribe members to compensate them for
historical accounting claims, and to resolve future claims. The
settlement resolves a 13-year-old dispute in which Indian tribes claim
they were swindled out of billions of dollars in oil, gas, grazing,
timber and other royalties overseen by the Interior Department since
1887." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yhegwqo
-----
14) Embassy guards gone wild get fired
ABC News
"The fallout from the revelation of alcohol-fueled sex parties among
private contractors guarding the U.S. Embassy in Kabul has now cost
the company providing security at the embassy its job. ArmorGroup
North America, the company that employed the guards implicated in the
scandal, has lost its contract to provide perimeter protection around
the embassy compound. The State Department today said the decision not
to renew the contract was a direct result of the behavior of some of
the guards, as well as previous concerns about ArmorGroup's ability to
adequately staff the contract." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/y8n2hd2
-----
15) OR: GI admits re-stealing $690,000 from government
Associated Press
"An Army captain from Oregon pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he
stole nearly $700,000 from the U.S. government while serving in Iraq.
U.S. District Court Judge Ancer Haggerty set sentencing for March 1
after Capt. Michael Dung Nguyen, 28, entered guilty pleas to theft and
money-laundering charges. The maximum sentence for each offense is 10
years in prison and a $500,000 fine. A federal grand-jury indictment
claimed that from April 2007 through February, Nguyen stole more than
$690,000 in U.S. currency entrusted to him as the battalion project-
purchasing officer in Muqdadiyah, Iraq. The funds were designated for
payment of security contracts as well as for urgent humanitarian
relief and reconstruction." [editor's note: Lessee, there's Blackwater
from the top of the heap and now this guy ... how many other scams
surround "the war" this time? - SAT] (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ykxts2z
-----
16) CA: NorCal's "pot paradise"
Fox News
"Tucked amid the vast forestland of Northern California's Trinity
County, the small town of Hayfork is -- literally -- going to pot ...
with marijuana being smoked, grown and sold more than ever before.
Legal cannabis cultivation has become Hayfork's #1 industry.
Sophisticated growing operations are flourishing, thanks to the
region's climate, cheap real estate and local laws allowing medical
marijuana farming and possession. Lawful or not, the cannabis culture
is dividing the town. ... But with the timber industry gone, and gold
mining a thing of the past, others maintain Hayfork's fledgling pot
farms need all the support they can get." (12/08/09)
http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/12/08/norcals-pot-paradise/
-----
17) MA: Far-left Dems rule race for Kennedy seat
Christian Science Monitor
"The race to replace the late Sen. Edward Kennedy -- long known as the
Senate's 'liberal lion' -- has stayed true to his liberal politics and
the strong Democratic nature of his home state. When voters in
Massachusetts head to the polls Tuesday for a primary ... they'll
essentially choose from four Democratic candidates who tend to skew
pretty far left on the political spectrum. ... All are against the
escalation of the war in Afghanistan, and they are in favor of
abortion rights and of a public option for healthcare reform. They'd
like to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which does not
recognize gay marriages. And they'd like to give illegal immigrants 'a
path to citizenship,'" [editor's note: Too bad for them they entering
a Senate where such ideas are at best given lip-service - SAT]
(12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yj8k7cv
-----
18) Rob Power announces candidacy for LNC Secretary
Liberty For All
"Rob Power today announced his candidacy for Libertarian National
Committee Secretary. 'The time is right for us Libertarians to adopt a
new strategy,' Mr. Power said. 'Our Party is unique in its
longstanding rejection of perpetual war, central planning, and
government favoring certain classes of individuals over others. After
nearly a decade of war for which most Americans now realize there was
never any national security interest, and years into a recession
prolonged by federal government policies, voters have caught up to the
Libertarian Party's longtime understanding about the nature of big
government.'" (12/08/09)
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=3489
-----
19) Pay czar's personality as big as problems he'd solve
Boston Globe
"If the Harvard Law students settling into the Friday afternoon
advanced seminar on mediation were expecting a self-effacing
peacemaker as their guest speaker, they guessed wrong. Kenneth
Feinberg -- maestro of some of the nation's most complex settlements,
now President Obama's 'pay czar' -- walks into the room and begins
speaking with a booming voice, thick with a Massachusetts accent. He
quickly launches into a theatrical review of some of the contentious
legal logjams he has helped resolve, from mega-liability cases
concerning Agent Orange and asbestos, to compensation for victims of
the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. He recounts an encounter with one woman
whose fiance died on Sept. 11: 'Mr. Feinberg! We were engaged! The
wedding invitations had already been mailed. I deserve a
settlement.'" (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yke7bev
-----
20) Study: Half of teen girls get STDs early on
Reuters
"Within 2 years of having sex for the first time, half of teenage
girls may be infected with at least one of three common sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs), according to results of a new study.
Often, those girls are infected by the age of 15. Researchers followed
386 urban adolescent girls aged 14 to 17 for up to 8 years. Within 2
years of becoming sexually active, half of the girls were infected
with at least one of three common sexually transmitted organisms:
Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, or Trichomonas vaginalis
-- the organisms that cause chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis,
respectively. The researchers found that a quarter of the women had
acquired their first STD by age 15, most often Chlamydia." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ygj3wgb
-----
21) TN: "Jesus appears" in photo of Holy Land site
Tennessean
"It was Judy Mayes' first trip to the holy land. ... Her pastor, Dean
Haun of First Baptist Church in Morristown, takes a group to Israel
every year. ... One of the sites the group always visits is the
Western Wall, the place where Jews pray today. That wall runs 25 feet
down into a tunnel, which leads to the northern end. It was a special
moment, one that Judy wanted to remember. So she snapped a picture of
the tunnel. ... [W]hen she returned to her hotel room later that
afternoon, she noticed something about that picture she had taken in
the tunnel." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yjts4ls
-----
22) Philippines: Senate set to conduct inquiry on firearms seized from
Ampatuan clan
Philippine Star [Philippines]
"The Senate is set to conduct investigations on the large cache of
firearms seized by authorities in areas near the mansions of the
Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao. ... In filing the two-page Senate
Resolution 1811, Biazon, a former AFP chief of staff, said the weapons
and ammunitions that had military and police markings should only be
in the possession of and for the sole use of the military and the
police and their discovery in the hands of civilians is a serious
breach of national security. He said the discovery of the firearms and
ammunition bolstered earlier claims by rebel soldiers that a
'treasonous and illegal sale of weapons' exists." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yadvbxx
-----
23) DC Court ruling could affect out of state gun buys
CBS News
"You can buy a car from an out-of-state dealer and pick it up there.
You can buy a house in another part of the country, as speculators
unwisely did during the real estate bubble, sight unseen. But even
though the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own
firearms -- and presumably to buy them -- you can't purchase a handgun
while you're visiting another state. A gun rights group has sued the
Justice Department to overturn this prohibition, which became law as
part of the Gun Control Act of 1968, and the case is now in front of
U.S. District Judge James Robertson in Washington, D.C." (12/07/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yf75rpz
-----
24) Australia: Scientists aim to curb burping sheep
Ananova [UK]
"Australian scientists are aiming to breed sheep that burp less to
help tackle climate change. The scientists have been trying to
identify a genetic link that causes some sheep to belch less than
others. They say burping is a far greater cause of emissions in sheep
than flatulence." (12/08/09)
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3582577.html
-----
25) Euros become currency of drug cartels
Guardian [UK]
"International drug cartels have abandoned the US dollar for high
denomination euros to launder millions in illegal profits, Europol has
revealed. The gangs no longer use $100 bills because [euro]500 notes
-- the largest denomination of euro -- take up less room when
transporting large amounts of cash across the world." (12/06/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yzgyajy
*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 12/09/09
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 94,554 ... Max - 103,162
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 4,367
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************
****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************
26) Who wants war?
Information Cleearinghouse
by US Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)
"One has to ask, if the people who elected these leaders so obviously
do not want these wars, who does? Eisenhower warned of the increasing
power and influence of the military industrial complex and it seems
his worst fears have come true. He believed in a strong national
defense, as do I, but warned that the building up of permanent
military and weapons industries could prove dangerous if their
influence got out of hand. After all, if you make your money on war,
peace does you no good. With trillions of dollars at stake, there is
tremendous incentive to keep the decision makers fearful of every
threat in the world, real or imagined, present or future, no matter
how ridiculous and far-fetched." (12/08/09)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24133.htm
-----
27) It's about the horrible policies, stupid
Delaware Libertarian
by Tyler Nixon
"Obama is now convincingly a minority president. No, I don't mean
racially. I mean Obama now joins George W. Bush not only in the
continuation of neocon foreign policies and big government profligacy,
but (inevitably) that this is leading him to now consistently poll
below 50% approval ... and falling. The public's fast-growing
disapproval of Obama's arrogant power-mongering should come as no
surprise, except perhaps for the most oblivious and purely-partisan
hopechangers now hunkering down in the bunker." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yasdz8k
-----
28) The antiwar right: Our time is near
AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo
"Neocons like Reihan Salam are worried that Republicans will soon
'begin to abandon the president en masse over Afghanistan.' As well
they might be: Salam, a self-described advocate of 'a Pax Americana
foreign policy,' and a fellow at the New America Foundation -- a
corporate-funded let's-promote-'new'-but-safely-conventional-ideas,
formerly headed up by James Fallows -- knows his enemies, and is
preparing to meet them, albeit not head on. Before the battle is
joined, however, he wants to define the enemy -- in his own terms, of
course." (12/09/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ye4k9ku
-----
29) Is health care "reform" constitutional?
A Passion for Liberty
by Tibor R. Machan
"Before I begin I wish to enter a protest about calling the health
care policies being advocated by President Obama and the Democratic
leadership in Congress reforms. In my view they are not any kind of
reforms, bits of adjustment here and there, of the approach Americans
take to to securing health care and health insurance for themselves.
It is rather a major, even revolutionary, change because while in the
past some of health care (Medicare and local county hospital policies)
has had government involvement, this time the objective is to
establish what is called 'a public option,' meaning a form of health
care that is provided by the federal government, just as, say, the
Interstate Highway system is provided by the federal
government." (12/07/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yzmejqu
-----
30) The primary base of an LP campaign
Last Free Voice
by Donald Meinshausen
"An important lesson that we have learned in decades of elections is
most of the public, as well as most of the media don't pay attention
to third parties. They only pay attention to Republican and
Democratic, not Libertarian Party campaigns. The reasons for this have
little do with libertarian theory or the competence of the LP. However
the LP's fortune can change with the emergence of the new media and
the coming collapse of the economy, the schools, the wars overseas and
the rise of other problems. But for now we all can learn something
from the Ron Paul's great GOP race for the GOP presidential nomination
in 2008." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/y8szrjt
-----
31) So much for the peace presidency
Cato Institute
by Gene Healy
"This Thursday, Barack Obama will swing by Oslo to pick up the Nobel
Peace Prize -- just over a week after he announced that he'd escalate
the war in Afghanistan. Awkward. When Obama won the prize in October,
you had to wonder whether the self-esteem movement, where every kid
gets a trophy, had made its way from little league to the Nobel
Committee. Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. -- and a guy
running two wars, who'd been president for two weeks when nominations
closed?" (12/08/09)
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11034
-----
32) The auto bailout one year later
Independent Institute
by Randall Holcombe
"President Bush provided the initial bailout for GM and Chrysler in
December 2008, so it's reasonable to look back a year later and ask:
Was the bailout necessary? Did it work? In hindsight it is readily
apparent that the answers are: No, and No." (12/08/09)
http://www.independent.org/blog/?p=4357
-----
33) Clemency on trial
Reason
by Radley Balko
"Former presidential candidate, former Arkansas governor, and current
Fox News host Mike Huckabee is taking heat for his 2000 commutation of
the prison sentence of Maurice Clemmons, the man now believed to have
murdered four police officers in a Washington state coffeehouse.
Police shot and killed Clemmons after a two-day manhunt. The coverage
of and reaction to Huckabee's decision raise interesting questions
about how pardon and clemency powers are -- and ought to be --
used." (12/08/09)
http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/08/clemency-on-trial
-----
34) Debunking the green jobs myth
TCS Daily
by Josh Barro
"With unemployment at its highest levels in more than 25 years, the
Obama Administration is trying to show that it is focused on jobs.
Last week's White House 'Jobs Summit' brought together business,
labor, academic and environmental leaders to talk about how the
government can foster job creation. Unfortunately, the summit agenda
repeated much of the same nonsense we've been seeing from the
Administration for the last year. Exhibit A: the Administration's
ongoing push to create 'Green Jobs.'" (12/08/09)
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=120809B
-----
35) What must the Afghans think?
LewRockwell.Com
by Karen Kwiatkowski
"We have been given few opportunities to see and understand how
Afghanis view Americans and the U.S. government's foreign policy
toward their country. Malalai Joya offers her views, to a filtered
American media that attempts to drown out her criticisms. We may watch
a variety of documentaries, including the current Rethink Afghanistan
series by Robert Greenwald. But we really do not know, and perhaps
cannot know, how it feels to be on the receiving end of a grasping
military empire that seeks control without authority, ownership
without purchase, and righteousness through arrogance." (12/09/09)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski239.html
-----
36) The long awakening
The Weekly Standard
by Wesley J. Smith
"The case of Terri Schiavo -- who died five years ago next March,
deprived for nearly two weeks of food and water, even the balm of ice
chips -- continues to prick consciences. That may be one reason the
case of Rom Houben, a Belgian man who was misdiagnosed for 23 years as
being in a persistent vegetative state, is now receiving international
attention. In 1983, Houben suffered catastrophic head injuries in an
automobile accident. He arrived at the hospital unconscious. Doctors
eventually concluded that his case was hopeless, and his family was
told he would never waken. But the Houben family, like Terri's parents
and siblings, didn't give up." (for publication 12/14/09)
http://tinyurl.com/y98lybf
-----
37) In defense of television
Classically Liberal
by CLS
"To the conservative mind change is inherently evil. And this applies
pretty much across the board. It takes conservatives an entire
generation to accept change, but only the change that already took
place before they were born. The conservatives of yesteryear were
adamantly opposed to the civil rights movement. The conservatives of
today have their peace with it and wouldn't think of changing it. But
the conservative only makes peace with the change of the past, never
the change of the present day. And, of course, they apply this
attitude to television as well." (12/08/09)
http://freestudents.blogspot.com/2009/12/in-defense-of-television.html
-----
38) Imaginary savings, imaginary jobs
National Review
by the editors
"With a wary eye toward the 2010 elections, Democrats are starting to
craft another stimulus package. This would seem incompatible with the
administration's reluctance to add to the deficit, but a rally in the
stock market has enabled some banks to repay the money they took under
TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program). The plan, as articulated by
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is to use these funds to pay for a new 'jobs
bill,' which would look suspiciously like the $787 billion stimulus
bill enacted just last February." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yardqc9
-----
39) My friend the president
Salon
by Glenn Greenwald
"Over the past couple of days, Andrew Sullivan has linked to and
published protests from various individuals who are quite angry that
people 'on the left' are being so mean to President Obama, and several
of them are so upset that they have decided they are 'leaving the
left,' whatever that might mean. What's most striking about these
valiant defenses of Obama is how utterly devoid they are of any
substantive points and how, instead, suffuse with weird, even
inappropriate, emotional attachments they are. These objections are
grounded almost exclusively in (a) a deep-seated conviction that
President Obama is a good and just man who means well; (b) their own
rather intense upset at seeing him criticized; and (c) a spitting ad
hominem fury of the type long directed by Bush followers at any
critics of their leader, and generally typical of authoritarian
attacks on out-groups critics." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yl4ttex
-----
40) The spending wars
The American Prospect
by Paul Waldman
"When Rep. David Obey, chair of the House Appropriations Committee,
recently proposed a surtax that would pay for the Afghanistan War, the
collective response from most of his colleagues on both sides of the
aisle was, 'Are you nuts?' Nancy Pelosi quickly put the kibosh on
Obey's 'Share the Sacrifice Act,' and all talk of funding the war has
been banished. Meanwhile, Democrats have spent untold hours debating
how to finance health-care reform, all while Republicans carp about
how doing so is just too darn expensive, what with our ever-climbing
deficit. We've become used to this contradiction in Washington. Wars
just need to be fought; the defense budget just needs to keep growing;
and we don't really care what it costs." (12/08/09)
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_spending_wars
-----
41) More easy money for Wall Street
The Nation
by William Greider
"The sales pitch for financial-reform legislation pending in the House
claims it would put an stop to 'too big to fail' bailouts for the
leading banks. The reality is the opposite. The federal government
would instead be granted unlimited authority to spend whatever it
takes to prop up the big boys when they get in trouble. Only in the
next crisis, Congress won't have to be asked for the money. The
financial rescues will be funded by the secretive Federal Reserve, not
the Treasury, with money the Fed itself creates. And the emergency
lending could be pumped into any financial institution in trouble. ...
This sounds nutty and it is. A permanent security blanket for big boys
of finance will further inflame public opinion. Only the public isn't
likely to know." (12/08/09)
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091221/greider
-----
42) Appealing to conservatism's good heart
Boston Globe
by Steve Almond
"Republicans used to stand for fiscal responsibility. But that's been
hard to take seriously since their designated heroes (Ronald Reagan
and George W. Bush) ran up massive federal debts. They once preached
fiery sermons about the healing power of the free market, and the need
for deregulation. Then Wall Street gamblers bet us into a recession
and, well, never mind. And they were for isolationism before they were
against it. ... They've quite happily abandoned the pretense of
playing a constructive role in the debate over the fate of the nation.
But the question remains: what does the right want? Lurking beneath
the raging negativism, do conservatives harbor any positive
desires?" [editor's note: Once again, conflating the GOP's corporate/
imperialist politicians with "conservatism" is at the root of this
writer's larger confusion - SAT] (12/07/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yhnl7n6
-----
43) Death by privatization
In These Times
by Terry J. Allen
"Ashley Ellis's misdemeanor arrest turned into a death sentence. Her
crime: 'careless and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.' Less
than two days after entering a Vermont prison on a 30-day sentence,
she died from the careless and negligent operation of a privatized for-
profit prison healthcare system. Her death shows what can, and does,
happen across the country when states outsource prisoner medical
services: states cut corners on monitoring, and contractors skimp on
care. Ellis' death 'is a pretty blatant and obvious and extreme case
of gross negligence,' says Seth Lipschutz, supervising attorney at the
Vermont Defenders office. 'We figured out in a day that they killed
her.'" (12/08/09)
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/5274/death_by_privatization
-----
44) Prop up the GOP by scaring Americans?
Fox News Forum
by Ellen Ratner
"How is it that coverage of the healthcare reform debate has now moved
off the front pages of two of our country's major newspapers and has
been reduced to nothing more than a brief summation in today's
editions of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times? With
healthcare accounting for somewhere between one sixth and one seventh
of our total economy, a weekend of Senators debating reform and the
topic front and center as one of the major concerns cited by voters,
it is amazing that the story is not at the top of the headlines. It
is, however, one of the hot topics on talk radio debate and with the
American public." (12/07/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yd5zpy3
-----
45) Coburn/Vitter plan goes awry
Washington Monthly
by Steve Benen
"Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and David Vitter (R-La.) no doubt thought
they were being clever. They crafted an amendment that would force
members of Congress to get their coverage through a public insurance
plan, if the public option were included as part of healthcare reform.
If it's good enough for American consumers, it should be good enough
for their elected representatives, right? They had no idea how much
Democrats agreed with the sentiment. ... Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
not only loved the idea, he wanted to join the right-wing senators as
a co-sponsor on their amendment. ... These guys are taking away all of
Coburn's and Vitter's fun." [editor's note: Better idea, let
Congressthugs have to pay themselves for individual coverage from the
current Big Insurance cartel (each one limited within their respective
states), then see what happens to "healthcare reform!" - SAT]
(12/04/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ykxwya2
-----
46) Productive debt versus unproductive debt
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Doug French
"The credit crunch continues, with businesses large and small finding
that their bankers remain exceedingly stingy in the wake of the 2008
financial debacle. 'We need to see banks making more loans to their
business customers,' Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Chairwoman Sheila Bair told reporters recently after the FDIC released
figures showing that the amount of loans outstanding in the nation's
banks fell $210.4 billion in the third quarter of 2008. That is the
largest quarterly decline since the FDIC began tracking loans in
1984." (12/08/09)
http://mises.org/daily/3925
-----
47) The meaning of Climategate
Campaign For Liberty
by William Anderson
"Almost anyone who can read has heard about the 'Climategate' scandal
in which emails between the scientists that have been at the forefront
of promoting the apocalyptic views of 'climate change' were hacked and
then made public. The snippets I have read confirm my worst fears, as
we are seeing exactly what happens when the political process
completely hijacks science." (12/08/09)
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=422
-----
48) Unchaining the human heart -- a revolutionary manifesto: Risky
business
J. Neil Schulman @ Rational Review
by J. Neil Schulman
"Taking career risks has never been a problem for me. If I have any
problem it may be that I've spent too much of my life on the edge of
disaster. At various times in my life I've had my car repossessed, had
all my credit cards go belly up, and been six months behind on paying
the mortgage -- all because I chose a career path as a self-employed
free-lancer with no safety net, no unemployment insurance, no Plan B,
nothing 'to fall back on.' I know what it's like to go for broke and
end up broke. I know what it's like to be 'all in' and lose the pot --
not literally on a gaming table, but with equivalent stakes in the
Game of Life. My financial life has been a roller-coaster that makes
anything at Magic Mountain look like the Tea Cups at Disneyland. But
even as I sit here writing this -- wondering where I'll find the money
to make the health insurance payments this month -- I wouldn't have
missed this ride for anything." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yafmeco
-----
49) Health reform could harm Medicaid patients
Hawaii Reporter
by Edward Miller
"Both the House and Senate health-care reform bills call for a large
increase in Medicaid -- about 18 million more people will begin
enrolling in Medicaid under the House bill starting in 2013, Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Actuary Richard Foster
estimates. We at Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) endorse efforts to
improve the quality and reduce the cost of health care. But we also
understand all too well the impact a dramatic expansion of Medicaid
will have on us and our state -- and likely the country as a
whole." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yjg6tde
-----
50) Cleared for release and still in limbo
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Andy Worthington
"In the first detailed announcement about prisoners cleared for
release from Guantanamo since September 28, when a military spokesman
announced that a list of 78 cleared prisoners had been posted in the
prison, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a Senate hearing last
Thursday that officials were 'in the process of identifying detainees
that we believe can be transferred to other countries' and 'we've
identified I think 116 at this point.'" (12/07/09)
http://www.fff.org/comment/com0912d.asp
-----
51) O tempora, o mores
Adam Smith Institute
by Dr. Madsen Pirie
"t is a measure of how far we have come that few headlines have the
capacity to shock. The news that Essex police have warned parents not
to buy toy guns for their toddlers lest armed police mistake them for
drug barons and shoot them dead raises only a flicker. But one story
last week managed to raise both surprise and concern. It was the
report that in Scotland one-fifth of all adults lacked basic literacy
skills." (12/08/09)
http://adamsmith.org/blog/education/o-tempora,-o-mores-200912084556/
-----
52) President Obama's plan to "spend our way out of this recession"
FreedomWorks
by Matthew Clemente
"This morning, President Obama held a press conference to outline his
second multibillion dollar stimulus proposal. Unlike the
administration's $787 billion 'stimulus' bill which has fallen short
of its goal to 'save or create' millions of jobs, this proposal aims
to really 'save or create' jobs. And, as is to be expected from the
Obama White House, the plan to solve the problem that $787 billion in
spending could not fix is to throw even more taxpayer money at
it." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/y9krkun
-----
53) Lessons of Prohibition
Freedom's Phoenix
by Paul Paver, Jr.
"Take a moment to think about the history of prohibition. Every time
American People get an idea shoved down their neck, the very thing the
government is trying to controll becomes even more rampant. When the
do-gooders [a]nd the government decided to eliminate alchoholic
beverages as a source of refreshment and entertainment, the black
market and organized crime stepped in and supplied all the 'whiskey
and spirits' that were needed, and the government had no or very
little control in the matter. Then if you move a little forward in
history, and you consider the 'recreational drug' issue, you still
have the same response. Not that my position on drugs are pro. My
point on the matter is people are going to do what the want to do, and
the means to do it are always at their disposal." (12/05/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yc85dk7
-----
54) Stop insuring mortgages
Freedom Politics
by John Stossel
"The Federal Housing Administration announced this week that it wants
tougher rules on mortgage lenders. It's about time. Maybe FHA got
spooked by the recent New York Times story titled 'Easy Loans to
Wealthier Areas,' which said: 'In its efforts to prop up a shattered
housing market, the government is greatly extending its traditional
support of real estate, including guaranteeing the mortgages of middle-
class and even upper-class buyers against default.'" (12/02/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yz64xra
-----
55) Congressional misdiagnosis
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Gregory Conko and Kevin Hilferty
"As Congress moves forward with its health care reform efforts, a last-
minute proposal to revoke the 64-year-old exemption from federal
antitrust laws for health insurers has flown under the media radar.
Proponents of the repeal proposal tout it as a broadly popular effort
to slow the consolidation of the health insurance industry and promote
more vigorous price competition. But the change would do nothing to
prevent insurance firm mergers, which are already subject to federal
oversight. However, federalizing antitrust enforcement over the
insurance industry would unnecessarily duplicate existing state
insurance regulations and jeopardize practices that help small
insurers compete." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/ycnxwxu
-----
56) More fun with Jewish law
Ideas
by David Friedman
"In Maimonides' discussion of what we would call tort law, he
considers a number of borderline cases -- cases where it is not clear
whether the tortfeasor owes the victim a damage payment equal to half
the damage or a quarter of the damage done. His conclusion in such
cases is that the court can only award the plaintiff quarter damages.
If, however, the plaintiff has seized property of the defendant
amounting to half damages, the court will not make him give it back.
Part of what is going on here seems to be a rule holding that the
court will not transfer property unless it has good reason to do so.
It can't award half damages, because it isn't sure that more than
quarter damages are owed. But it can't make the plaintiff who has
acted on his own to collect half damages give part of the money back,
because it isn't sure that half damages aren't owed." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yad97ag
-----
57) Moody's tells US: Put your financial house in order
Main Street Radical
by James
"On the eve of Obama's trip to Denmark, in which he may announce new
spending plans for developing countries, Moody's is poised to send a
warning that America's triple-A credit rating is at risk. For
generations the country has relied on deficit spending and the
strongest credit rating to manage the country's finances. This new
chink in our fiscal armor is a direct result of the fact that our
government faces a trillion dollar deficit for the next 10 years, and
sends a clear message that Congress, the President and the American
people must rein in deficit spending. A reduction in America's credit
rating can only lead to higher interest rates as the Treasury will
have to make our debt more attractive to lenders." (12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yeqgoa7
-----
58) So much for the First Amendment
Common Dreams
by Andy Worthington
"So much for the First Amendment. Morris Davis, the retired Air Force
Colonel who served as the Chief Prosecutor of the Military Commissions
at Guantanamo from September 2005 until his resignation in October
2007, has just lost his job at the Congressional Research Service (a
branch of the Library of Congress) for writing, in his personal
capacity, an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, in which he drew on
his wealth of experience of the Commissions to criticize the Obama
administration for its decision to prosecute some Guantanamo prisoners
in federal courts, and others in Military Commissions, and a letter to
the Washington Post, in which he criticized former Attorney General
Michael Mukasey for scaremongering about the administration's decision
to try Guantanamo prisoners in federal courts." (12/08/09)
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/12/08-7
-----
59) That's enough w**k about bankers' bonuses
Spiked
by Mick Hume
"A tax on bonuses will not alter the bigger problem of inflated City
banks being expected to fill the hole where the economy should
be." (12/08/09)
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/7809/
-----
60) The Baghdad bombings
CounterPunch
by Ron Jacobs
"If these attacks are the work of the Iraqi insurgency and one places
these bombings in the framework of the rest of the conflict in Iraq,
they seem to symbolize a resurgence of the insurgency. If one further
considers the nature of guerrilla war, these spectacular attacks
represent a new phase in the insurgents war against the
government." (12/08/09)
http://counterpunch.org/jacobs12082009.html
-----
61) Duty
Strike the Root
by Jim Davies
"The word comes in two flavors, and I'd like to focus on the second;
but both derive from the Latin debere, meaning to owe -- hence also a
'debit' to an account. In most common use, the word has to do with an
obligation, contractual or moral; it is alleged for example that by
some mysterious means everyone has incurred a duty to serve one's
country, as in JFK's infamous inaugural speech. The word 'country'
itself is hard to define, when one thinks about it, and the source of
any such duty is even more mysterious; his speech would have been much
more truthful, if less appealing, had he said 'Ask not what my
government can do for you, ask what you can do for my
government.'" (12/08/09)
http://www.strike-the-root.com/92/davies/davies8.html
-----
62) Are Russians coming?
The Libertarian Enterprise
by Sean Gabb
"Like many other people in our movement, I have been delighted by the
publication of that computer archive from the Climate Research Unit at
the University of East Anglia. I have spent most of my life denouncing
every excuse for state activism as a pack of lies. I have never yet
had the joy of seeing the projectors of those lies revealed as little
more than pantomime villains -- twirling their moustaches while
confessing their villainy in whispered asides. Compared with this, the
'weapons of mass destruction' lies were misunderstanding in good
faith." (12/06/09)
http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle547-20091206-04.html
-----
63) Making the state irrelevant, part three: Undermining its
legitimacy
Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson
"Even if you concede some value to electoral politics and lobbying,
the best way to maximize bang for the buck in such efforts is simply
to capitalize on the potential of network culture: that is, put
maximum effort into just getting the information out there, giving the
government lots and lots of negative publicity, and then 'letting a
thousand flowers bloom' when it comes to efforts to leverage it into
political action. If you do that, the political pressure itself will
be organized by many different individuals and groups operating
independently, spurred by their own outrage, without even sharing any
common antistatist ideology." (12/08/09)
http://c4ss.org/content/1520
-----
64) My generation and the youth movement
Fr33 Agents
by benconley
"I find myself, through no fault of my own, a member of Generation Y.
We are the 'New Digitals;' coming of age through Facebook amidst the
Bush, and now Obama, regimes. We are tech-savvy, connected, and get
information faster than every generation preceding us. We have access
to more knowledge and literature easier and cheaper than ever before.
We should be the most politically aware, as well. We are not. We are
woefully uninvolved and uninterested." (12/08/09)
http://www.fr33agents.com/1634/my-generation-and-the-youth-movement/
-----
65) Supporting "acts of government" makes you guilty
Albuquerque Libertarian Examiner
by Kent McManigal
"Face it; those who cheer the executioner are no different than those
who cheer or defend the police, the military, or any government
agency. Support of government can't be justified." (12/07/09)
http://tinyurl.com/yj76lmm
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* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************
66) Tim Cox on Freedom Rings Radio, 12/21/09
Freedom Rings Radio
"Tim Cox, author of Revolution, a New Plan for Selecting
Representatives and the founder of the Get Out Of Our House Project
joins host Kenneth John. 9-10am Central on WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin, IL or
live on the web. [live radio or stream] (12/21/09)
http://freedomrings.net/
-----
67) Free Talk Live, 12/08/09
Free Talk Live
"Ice Age Fearmongering / Crisis / US Doomed / Santa Claus and Lying to
Kids / Existence Rights / Are people fed up? / Corporate Person
Conspiracy Theory / Poor Business Practice / More on Lying to Kids /
Govt Job Boondoggle." [MP3] (12/08/09)
http://media.libsyn.com/media/ftl/FTL2009-12-08.mp3
-----
68) Cato Daily Podcast, 12/08/09
Cato Institute
"Obama's Patriot Act duplicity," featuring Julian Sanchez. [MP3]
(12/08/09)
http://tinyurl.com/cato120809
-----
69) A true tale of Canadian health care
Hit & Run
"Many advocates of health-care reform are admirers of Canada's state-
run, no-opt-out, single-payer system. Indeed, in 2003, President
Barack Obama voiced enthusiasm for such a health-care program.
Proponents of Canadian-style health care should meet Cheryl Baxter, a
Canadian citizen who waited years for hip-replacement surgery, only to
be told that her operation would not happen any time soon." [Flash
video] (12/08/09)
http://reason.com/blog/2009/12/08/reasontv-a-true-tale-of-canadi
-----
70) Gareth Porter on Antiwar Radio
AntiWar.Com
"Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for Inter Press
Service, discusses Obama's compromise decision on troops for
Afghanistan that pleased nobody, the divergent goals and methods of al
Qaeda and the Taliban, serious logical flaws in the 'disrupting
terrorist safe havens' rationale for war in Afghanistan, the
Democratic Party strategy of acceding to any military demands and the
obstacles to a third-party uranium encrichment deal with Iran." [Flash
audio or MP3] (12/05/09)
http://antiwar.com/radio/2009/12/05/gareth-porter-72/
*************************************
* 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
***********
72) Bristow breaks the Whiskey Ring
Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:
http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi
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