05/31 -- The Brazilian traitor; Were Nazi soldiers heroes?
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Thomas L. Knapp
May 31, 2012, 12:25:16 AM5/31/12
to Freedom News Daily
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Today's Freedom News:
1) The Hague: Taylor sentenced to 50 years
2) UK: Top court backs Assange extradition to Sweden
3) Iraq: One killed
4) Afghanistan: Two occupation troops killed
5) Pakistan: Six killed in Karachi violence
6) Furious European voters pose threat to political elite
7) Africa: Terror group al-Shabaab's appeal grows
8) UK: Former Cameron aide arrested, charged with perjury
9) UN: Civilian deaths drop 36 percent in Afghanistan
10) WV: Man robbing pharmacy fatally shot
11) Reporter criticizes FARC for release as propaganda
12) Report: Supervolcanoes "can grow in just hundreds of years"
13) KS: Pastor wants feds to kill LGBT people
14) Kudzu bugs in South: Boon or bane?
15) Tool-wielding robots crawl in bodies for surgery
16) TN: Supreme Court overturns death sentence
17) FL: Police mistake bat for gun, shoot teen in back
18) SpaceX signs contract to launch world's most powerful rocket
19) Denmark: Police arrest two in alleged terror plot
20) China: Regime moves to censor Weibo users
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Brazilian traitor
22) Were Nazi soldiers heroes?
23) Facebook facepalm
24) Trim nuclear fat from the Pentagon budget
25) The harm in hate speech laws
26) Thirty-second President of the United States
27) Conservatives and fundraising: A psychoanalysis
28) Etan Patz: the case that changed America
29) Drug war violence throws Honduras into disarray
30) December surprise? Wall Street & DC Dems push austerity
31) Return of the Birthers
32) Tragedy of unbridled self-interest
33) The pro-life paradox
34) The temptation of the blue pill
35) What racetracks can teach us about government roads
36) Facing the writing on the wall in Kabul
37) The torture of Marian Price
38) The futility of religious profiling at airport security
checkpoints
39) Facebook shows need for smaller IPOs
40) The power of market-driven diversity
41) Ban the public library
42) When the law is the problem
43) On communists and tax freedom
44) Human rights without God: A dialogue
45) Too little, too late
46) Pick a set of deaths
47) Paul Ryan's faith-based budget
48) The death of Gonzalo Guizan
49) Wealth creation is not the enemy
50) Compulsory education in America: More tales from the gulag
51) Heroes and villains
52) A signaling theory of suboptimal telecommuting
53) Thoughts on the Diamond Jubilee
54) Living within your means is so inconvenient
55) Circling the drain
Today's Freedom Audio and Video:
56) Charlie Kirk on Freedom Rings Radio, 06/04/12
57) Free Talk Live, 05/29/12
58) Sheldon Richman on Antiwar Radio
59) QandO Podcast, 05/27/12
60) Freedomain Radio #2142
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FREEDOM NEWS
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1) The Hague: Taylor sentenced to 50 years
Source: Christian Science Monitor
"Former Liberian President Charles Taylor was jailed for 50 years on
Wednesday for helping Sierra Leonean rebels commit what a court in The
Hague called some of the worst war crimes in history. Taylor, 64, was
the first head of state convicted by an international court since the
Nazi trials after World War Two and the sentence set a precedent for
the emerging system of international justice." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/KcyiL6
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2) UK: Top court backs Assange extradition to Sweden
Source: Agence France-Presse
"The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that WikiLeaks founder Julian
Assange can be extradited to Sweden, but put his deportation on hold
to give his lawyers a final chance to reopen the case. After an 18-
month legal battle, the court rejected the argument by lawyers for the
40-year-old Australian that the Swedish prosecutor who issued the
arrest warrant over sex crime allegations was not entitled to do
so." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/KczldK
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3) Iraq: One killed
Source: Antiwar.com
"A blast in Ramadi killed one civilian and wounded two others. Several
people were wounded in a blast near a police station in
Najaf." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/JRVhqX
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4) Afghanistan: Two occupation troops killed
Source: Associated Press
"An insurgent attack and a homemade bomb killed two NATO service
members Wednesday in southern Afghanistan, the coalition said. The
deaths raised the number of coalition troops who have died in
Afghanistan this year to 174. The coalition did not provide further
details about the attacks." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/JV4bCa
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5) Pakistan: Six killed in Karachi violence
Source: United Press International
"Six people have been killed and several, including a civil judge,
injured in separate acts of violence in Karachi, Pakistan, officials
said Wednesday. ... More than 10 people were injured in shootings in
the city, INP said." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/JV62qk
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6) Furious European voters pose threat to political elite
Source: USA Today
"European voters furious that they are not being consulted about how
to solve a debt crisis are threatening to derail the plans of
political elites at the ballot box in coming weeks. The Irish vote
today on a deal negotiated by European Union financial ministers in
Brussels that will force nations that use the euro as currency to
adhere to strict spending and borrowing limits or be
penalized." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/d5ugwsq
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7) Africa: Terror group al-Shabaab's appeal grows
Source: MSNBC
"When Abdullahi slipped across the Kenya-Somali border to join the
fighters of Islamist militant group al-Shabaab in 2009, the livestock
herder from northern Kenya found himself among recruits from around
the globe. There were ethnic Somalis who had grown up in Australia,
Britain, France and the United States." (05/30/12)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47615551/ns/world_news-africa/
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8) UK: Former Cameron aide arrested, charged with perjury
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
"The former top media adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron was
arrested and charged with perjury Wednesday in the trial of a
flamboyant ex-Scottish lawmaker -- the latest case tied to allegations
of wrongdoing by British tabloid newspapers. Andy Coulson, 44, was
detained by Scottish police at his home in London Wednesday morning
over an accusation related to testimony he gave in a high-profile case
at Glasgow's High Court in 2010, when politician Tommy Sheridan was
himself convicted of offering a false account in a legal
hearing." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/crdqq77
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9) UN: Civilian deaths drop 36 percent in Afghanistan
Source: South Oregon Mail Tribune
"The number of Afghan civilians killed has dropped 36 percent so far
this year compared with last, the U.N. said Wednesday, the first time
the death toll has declined over multiple months since the United
Nations started keeping track. The senior U.N. envoy for the country,
Jan Kubis, called the trend promising but cautioned that too many
civilians were still being caught up in the violence as insurgents
fight Afghan and foreign forces." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/85cre7d
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10) WV: Man robbing pharmacy fatally shot
Source: Wheeling Intelligencer
"Walnoha, 37, of Wellsburg jumped over the pharmacy counter,
brandished a handgun and demanded pills from a pharmacy worker about 5
p.m. Friday, police said. He then reportedly pointed the gun at a
second employee who appeared from a back office. The first employee
had access to a gun and shot Walnoha during the incident. Walnoha died
at the scene." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/JRSbTB
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11) Reporter criticizes FARC for release as propaganda
Source: Gainesville Sun
"A French journalist freed by leftist rebels Wednesday said he had no
complaints about his captivity other than its 33-day duration and
lamented that Colombia's war is an 'invisible conflict' where the poor
kill the poor. Romeo Langlois said he was not embittered, but he
criticized the rebels for using his capture for propaganda
purposes." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/86vwyy7
-----
12) Report: Supervolcanoes "can grow in just hundreds of years"
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"The largest volcanoes on our planet may take as little as a few
hundred years to form and erupt. These 'supervolcanoes' were thought
to exist for as much as 200,000 years before releasing their vast
underground pools of molten rock. Researchers reporting in Plos One
have sampled the rock at the supervolcano site of Long Valley in
California." (05/30/12)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18269593
-----
13) KS: Pastor wants feds to kill LGBT people
Source: The Raw Story
"The pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Seneca, KS says President
Barack Obama has gone too far in supporting same sex marriage and it's
time for the U.S. government to begin killing gay men and
lesbians. ... Pastor Curtis Knapp [said] Sunday. 'there is simply
nothing ... which imperils the safety of our country or places our
people in jeopardy as does the leader of the Western world
publicly ... declaring that the bedrock institution of society ... is
little more than a convention of convenience with the children of
Sodom to transform the meaning of something ... into a legally
protected justification for perversion'" [editor's note: trimmed for
space as well as vomit-reflex avoidance - SAT] (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7vj8wba
-----
14) Kudzu bugs in South: Boon or bane?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
"An uninvited guest -- a nubbin-size stinkbug, like a tiny drab
ladybug -- arrived on America's shores in 2009 and found, like
invasive species that had come before, a bounty. In this case, the so-
called kudzu bug found kudzu - another Asian invader that has become
the drapery of the South and has withstood all previous attempts, be
they goat or chemical, to control 'the vine that ate the South.' But
as the invading kudzu bug colony has metastasized across at least
three states in a mere three years, the kudzu bug has developed a
major downside." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/6sxjdaa
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15) Tool-wielding robots crawl in bodies for surgery
Source: Arizona Republic
"Imagine a tiny snake robot crawling through your body, helping a
surgeon identify diseases and perform operations. It's not science
fiction. Scientists and doctors are using the creeping metallic tools
to perform surgery on hearts, prostate cancer, and other diseased
organs. The snakebots carry tiny cameras, scissors and forceps, and
even more advanced sensors are in the works. For now, they're powered
by tethers that humans control. But experts say the day is coming when
some robots will roam the body on their own." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/6sxjdaa
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16) TN: Supreme Court overturns death sentence
Source: The Tennessean
"The Tennessee Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence for a man
convicted of murdering a Scott County couple in their bed and has
ordered that a new jury decide whether to execute the inmate or spare
his life. The state's highest court said Tuesday that prosecutors
committed misconduct by making inappropriate statements to the jury
during the murder trial of Hubert Glenn Sexton. The court also found
that some evidence should not have been admitted because it was highly
prejudicial." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/bwzcvxe
-----
17) FL: Police mistake bat for gun, shoot teen in back
Source: Fox News
"Miami-Dade police shot a teenage boy four times in the back on Monday
morning, leaving him in critical condition and bringing up more
questions over gun violence in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting
earlier this year. Officers opened fire on 16-year-old Sebastian
Gregory after he allegedly reached for a baseball bat in his belt when
an officer told him to 'show his hands.' Gregory was taken to Kendall
Regional Medical Center where doctors surgically removed three bullets
from his middle to lower back, leaving one still in his spinal
cord." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/c6g67fo
-----
18) SpaceX signs contract to launch world's most powerful rocket
Source: Fox News
"Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), which designs and launches
rockets as well as spacecraft, said on Tuesday it signed the first
commercial contract to launch the world's most powerful rocket. The
Falcon Heavy rocket will launch a communications satellite into
geosynchronous orbit (a circular orbit around the Earth nearly 24
hours long) for satellite services company Intelsat, according to a
press release. Financial terms of the agreement were not
disclosed." (05/30/12)
http://fxn.ws/KI6qvI
-----
19) Denmark: Police arrest two in alleged terror plot
Source: USA Today
"Two Danish brothers originally from Somalia were arrested on
suspicion of plotting a terror attack, Denmark's security service said
Tuesday. The two brothers, ages 18 and 23, were arrested late Monday
-- one in the western city of Aarhus and the other as he arrived by
plane at Copenhagen's international airport, said the Danish Security
and Intelligence Service, or PET." (05/29/12)
http://tinyurl.com/83w8za7
-----
20) China: Regime moves to censor Weibo users
Source: MSNBC
"China's Sina Corp has introduced a code of conduct for users of its
Weibo service -- the local version of Twitter -- amid accusations of
censorship to rein in what has grown into a raucous online forum to
air political and social grievances. The code of conduct, first
announced earlier this month, stipulates that users of Sina's Weibo
microblogging site cannot post information that is against the
principles of the constitution, cannot harm national unity, disclose
state secrets or publish false information, among other
rules." (05/29/12)
http://tinyurl.com/8xe58ul
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HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 05/31/12
Iraqi Deaths Due to US Invasion: 1,455,590
(source: justforeignpolicy.org/iraq)
US Deaths in Afghanistan: Bush 575, Obama 1321
(source: justforeignpolicy.org/obamavsbush)
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FREEDOM COMMENTARY
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21) The Brazilian traitor
Source: Independent Institute
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
"Only totalitarian regimes retain the (feigned) loyalty of their
citizens by force. Free countries do so simply by offering citizens
more liberty and security, and therefore more opportunities. That is
all that the U.S. had to do for a couple of centuries to instill in
millions of people the desire to become Americans. In order to retain
their loyalty, it did not have to subsequently threaten them or impose
impossible exit barriers on them." (05/29/12)
http://blog.independent.org/2012/05/29/the-brazilian-traitor/
-----
22) Were Nazi soldiers heroes?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G. Hornberger
"Have you ever noticed that Nazi soldiers, especially those who died
in World War II, are never celebrated as heroes? Why is that? Didn't
they answer the call of their government in time of war? Didn't they
serve their country by loyally obeying the dictates of their
government? Weren't they patriots for their willingness to fight and
die for their country?" (05/30/12)
http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2012-05-30.asp
-----
23) Facebook facepalm
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Thomas L. Knapp
"I'm surprised that more people haven't commented on General Motors'
decision to pull millions of dollars worth of Facebook advertising
mere days before the IPO. The punditry seems to be generally treating
that decision as a market act ... but the timing looks less related to
advertising efficacy than to a desire to tank the stock price. While
it could have been routine (if large-scale) gamesmanship on the part
of higher-ups at GM who wanted to short the stock, I seem to recall
that GM's single largest shareholder is the government of the United
States. Could there be a political dimension here?" (05/30/12)
http://c4ss.org/content/10514
-----
24) Trim nuclear fat from the Pentagon budget
Source: Cato Institute
by Benjamin H. Friedman and Christopher Preble
"Members of Congress always claim to be looking out for wasteful
spending, especially now that they need to get under the spending caps
contained in the Budget Control Act. If they are serious, they should
target the 'nuclear triad,' the three different means -- manned
bombers, long-range missiles and submarine-launched missiles -- that
U.S. forces can use to deliver nuclear weapons." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/JV5Es6
-----
25) The harm in hate speech laws
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by David Gordon
"In many countries, though not in the United States, laws prohibit
'hate speech.' Those who, in Jeremy Waldron's opinion, uncritically
elevate the benefits of free speech over competing values oppose hate-
speech laws; but Waldron thinks that a strong case can be made in
their favor. (Waldron thinks that there are 'very few First Amendment
Absolutists' who oppose all regulation of speech; but he thinks that
many other First Amendment scholars are unduly critical of hate speech
regulations.)" (05/30/12)
http://mises.org/daily/6070/The-Harm-in-HateSpeech-Laws
-----
26) Thirty-second President of the United States
Source: Liberty For All
by staff
"Roosevelt (January 30, 1882-April 12, 1945), also known by his
initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States (1933-1945)
and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century,
leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis
and world war. The only American president elected to more than two
terms, he facilitated a durable coalition that realigned American
politics for decades." (05/30/12)
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=7662
-----
27) Conservatives and fundraising: A psychoanalysis
Source: The New Republic
by Noam Scheiber
"If you read enough coverage like today's Politico piece on how much
conservative groups plan to spend in 2012, you quickly realize the
Obama campaign faces a deep psychological problem in addition to a
financial one. ... But the more interesting revelation is that
conservatives are perfectly comfortable talking about the amount of
money they're deploying--they're prone to overstating it if anything
-- while liberals are deeply uncomfortable talking about such sums and
prone to understating them." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7a4chr9
-----
28) Etan Patz: the case that changed America
Source: Spiked
by Nancy McDermott
"Whether Hernandez did, as he claims, kill Etan Patz, or not, 33 years
on it is worth reassessing the Patz case -- not so much in its
particulars but in terms of the role it came to play in redefining the
relationship between children and adults. Where once adults basically
trusted one another to safeguard all children, we now view all
interactions between children and adults as suspect." (05/30/12)
http://www.spiked-online.com/site/article/12500/
-----
29) Drug war violence throws Honduras into disarray
Source: In These Times
by Jeremy Kryt
"The firefight started about two hours before dawn, while it was still
full dark in the jungle. Early on May 11, muzzle flashes lit up the
sky as a small fleet of U.S. helicopters engaged a boatload of drug
smugglers on a twisting, thickly-wooded stretch of the Patuca River,
in the Mosquitia region of eastern Honduras. It was a short, one-sided
fight." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/76byhko
-----
30) December surprise? Wall Street & DC Dems push austerity
Source: Our Future
by Richard (RJ) Eskow
"On a recent Meet the Press face-off between Democrats and
Republicans, a politician claimed we urgently need to cut government
spending. He embraced a plan to slash vital government programs and
gut retirement security, while actually cutting taxes for the rich.
The only tax hikes in his plan were targeted toward the already-
devastated middle class. Then it was time for the Republican to speak.
Who'd have thought it? Progressive stalwarts ... pushing the same
radical austerity plan as Jamie Dimon, CEO of troubled megabank
JPMorgan Chase, and Robert Rubin ..." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/6vg4qdm
-----
31) Return of the Birthers
Source: The Nation Blog
by Ben Adler
"Like political kudzu, no matter how many times they have been
destroyed, birthers keep coming back. The last week has seen a sudden
re-emergence of the once-marginalized racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic
notion that President Obama was not born in Hawaii. And the Republican
presidential nominee is cozying up to leading birthers such as Donald
Trump. Obama's natural-born American citizenship has been amply
documented by the release of both his short- and long-form birth
certificates. Researchers have also found historical evidence such as
birth announcements in Hawaiian newspapers." (05/30/12)
http://www.thenation.com/blog/168135/return-birthers
-----
32) Tragedy of unbridled self-interest
Source: Orange County Register
by Walter E. Williams
"Our nation is rapidly approaching a point from which there's little
chance to avoid a financial collapse. The heart of our problem can be
seen as a tragedy of the commons. That's a set of circumstances when
something is commonly owned and individuals acting rationally in their
own self-interest produce a set of results that's inimical to
everyone's long-term interest." (05/29/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7pvnzxe
-----
33) The pro-life paradox
Source: The American Prospect
by Judith Lewis Mernit
"On April 12, Governor Jan Brewer signed a bill making Arizona the
eighth state in the union to ban abortions beyond 20 weeks. Like most
other laws of its kind, House Bill 2036 had been camouflaged as a
measure against suffering, predicated on the notion that a fetus at 20
weeks can feel pain. Every woman who's ever been pregnant, however,
knows what the law really means: Twenty weeks marks a crucial point in
a pregnancy, when fetal abnormalities can be detected, often for the
first time." (05/29/12)
http://prospect.org/article/pro-life-paradox
-----
34) The temptation of the blue pill
Source: Living Freedom
by Claire Wolfe
"I grok the temptations of the blue pill. Don't we all? I like to
think that if you take the blue pill you still have some future chance
to take the red. But once you've swallowed the red one, that's it.
Done. Your reality is forever ... well, real. You can't go
back." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/LKVrmH
-----
35) What racetracks can teach us about government roads
Source: Whiskey and Gunpowder
by Eric Peters
"Would there be problems with privately-owned roads? Of course. But at
least, roads under private control could not force people to pay for
them and then force them to abide by rules intended to accommodate
idiots and punish them for ignoring such rules." (05/29/12)
-----
36) Facing the writing on the wall in Kabul
Source: Common Dreams
by Eric Margolis
"The latest empire to try to conquer Afghanistan has failed, and is
now sounding the retreat. All the hot air in Chicago about
'transition,' Afghan self-reliance, and growing security could not
conceal the truth that the mighty US and its dragooned western allies
have been beaten in Afghanistan by a bunch of mountain warriors from
the 12th Century." (05/28/12)
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/28-6
-----
37) The torture of Marian Price
Source: CounterPunch
by Sandy Boyer
"Marian Price has been imprisoned in Northern Ireland for more than a
year on the basis of secret evidence neither she nor her lawyers have
been allowed to see. She is effectively interned without a trial,
sentence, or release date. Unless the courts intervene, she will only
be released by order of a British Cabinet Minister, Owen Paterson, the
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland." (05/30/12)
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/05/30/the-torture-of-marian-price/
-----
38) The futility of religious profiling at airport security
checkpoints
Source: OpenMarket.org
by David Bier
"In other words, increased specificity doesn't mean increased
efficiency. Even if we assume that every 'radical Muslim' was a
terrorist, argues Schneier, profiling is bad security. Because Islam
is a belief system and cannot be detected by TSA agents, TSA would
need a proxy that would be available to every screener in TSA's
Standard Operating Procedures manual." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/87txprm
-----
39) Facebook shows need for smaller IPOs
Source: Competitive Enterprise Institute
by John Berlau
"When I wrote my blog here last Friday on the day of Facebook's
initial public offering (IPO), I praised the firm's innovations but
injected a note of skepticism as to the gains of ordinary investors. I
was slightly worried that the piece would be seen as raining on the
IPO parade." (05/25/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7cv4tcn
-----
40) The power of market-driven diversity
Source: Acton Institute
by Anthony B. Bradley
"The story of Chicago-based Supreme Life Insurance Company of America,
one of the most venerable black-owned businesses in American history,
challenges the prevailing fiction that minority customers need the
government to guarantee services for them and is a dynamic reminder of
the power of markets as a basis for economic freedom." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7ploowh
-----
41) Ban the public library
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M. Vance
"Not everyone has the time or the inclination to read all the books on
the New York Times bestseller list. But even those who have both may
not be able to -- if they're trying to find their favorite title at
their local public library. Fifty Shades of Grey, the first
installment of an erotic, sado-masochistic trilogy by British author
E.L. James (Erika Leonard, a wife and mother of two), contains
sexually explicit descriptions of the relationship between the young,
innocent heroine, Anastasia Steele, and Christian Grey, a 27-year-old
rich businessman." (05/30/12)
http://www.fff.org/comment/com1205v.asp
-----
42) When the law is the problem
Source: Freedom's Phoenix
by Tisha Casida
"It would be an optimistic assumption that most of us, want to make an
honest attempt to follow 'the law.' But, what is the law? And are all
of the laws on the books -- whether at a federal, State, or local
level -- actually beneficial to the community and/or the individual
rights of the citizens of their respective States? There is an
argument to be made that sometimes 'law' is plunder. Because: whoever
so makes the laws, is who will benefit from those laws." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/JV7dWS
-----
43) On communists and tax freedom
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by PJ Byrne
"This annoying problem of consent is why libertarians are so often
frustrated with politicians: where the core of anything which can
legitimately describe itself as a liberal belief is non-coercion, such
an idea can only be translated into policy through legitimate
democratic means. It is therefore necessary to wait for circumstances
to turn in one's favour, for people to drink your particular flavour
of Kool-Aid, before one can hope for political change." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/JV6ghb
-----
44) Human rights without God: A dialogue
Source: The Moral Sciences Club
by Will Wilkinson
"Without Christianity there is no good argument for human rights.
Without the language of religion, there is no way to say that all men
are equal. That's the thrust of Douthat and Robinson's arguments.
Well, so what? What's so great about human rights? What so great about
regarding each person as equal to others in moral standing? Is there
an answer?" (05/28/12)
http://bigthink.com/ideas/morality-without-god-2
-----
45) Too little, too late
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Audrey Spalding
"The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that regulators have granted
banks increased flexibility to rent foreclosed homes that they cannot
sell. This is great news. Private banks now have more options that can
help put vacant homes to productive use, and people still
(understandably) wary of purchasing a home can choose to rent one
instead. Hopefully this will result in fewer vacant properties and
more people in homes. However, this ease of regulation comes just a
little late." (05/29/12)
http://www.showmedaily.org/2012/05/too-little-too-late.html
-----
46) Pick a set of deaths
Source: Bleeding Heart Libertarians
by Jason Brennan
"Suppose there are two states, MoreJustia and LessJustia. Both
MoreJustia and LessJustia are unjust states, but MoreJustia is
significantly closer to being just and legitimate than LessJustia.
Suppose for a long time that, in order to punish LessJustia's evil
king and to try to edge him out of power, MoreJustia had imposed
economic sanctions on LessJustia. Suppose these sanctions killed
hundreds of thousands of innocent LessJustian civilians." (05/29/12)
http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/05/pick-a-set-of-deaths/
-----
47) Paul Ryan's faith-based budget
Source: LewRockwell.com
by Laurence M. Vance
"Added Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit, and one of the organizers of the
letter: 'Our problem with Representative Ryan is that he claims his
budget is based on Catholic social teaching. This is nonsense. As
scholars, we want to join the Catholic bishops in pointing out that
his budget has a devastating impact on programs for the poor.' But
Catholic critics of the Ryan budget plan have nothing to fear.
Republicans are as firmly committed to funding the federal leviathan
as the Democrats are. Paul Ryan may be a devout Christian, but since
he is the one who claims his faith guided his thought process when he
prepared his budget, I have some questions about the extent of this
guidance." (05/30/12)
http://lewrockwell.com/vance/vance291.html
-----
48) The death of Gonzalo Guizan
Source: The Agitator
by Radley Balko
"For mistakenly believing he had been shot, then opening fire on an
unarmed man, all because a prostitute had told police that the dead
man's friend was using cocaine in the privacy of his own home ... for
this, Officer Sweeney was declared 'Officer of the Year.'" (05/29/12)
http://bit.ly/JV1G2F
-----
49) Wealth creation is not the enemy
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
"President Obama accuses Mitt Romney of putting profits above people
by striving to create wealth rather than jobs during his 15 years at
Bain Capital. This critique of Romney's work at the private equity
firm, which Obama says will be central to his re-election campaign,
betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of capitalism." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/KcyRUZ
-----
50) Compulsory education in America: More tales from the gulag
Source: Authority!
by Timothy J Taylor
"Compulsory education in America presents a clear cut violation of the
United States Constitution First Amendment freedom of speech and
association provisions, and a clear cut violation of the Fifth
Amendment because it amounts to a taking of liberty and property
without due process of law. Punishing truancy as a crime makes a
mockery of the constitution." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/KcyCtd
-----
51) Heroes and villains
Source: Antiwar.com
by Justin Raimondo
"Chris Hayes is one of the more intelligent cable hosts, and his
retraction is unfortunate, albeit involuntary. He was right the first
time: the recruits to this Imperial Army are no more 'heroes' than
Darth Vader's 501st Legion. Those who think otherwise are either
neocons or else are confusing today's American military with the army
of our old republic, which served a strictly defensive function. The
military can and should be an honorable profession, and earlier in our
storied history it was: that is no longer true." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/KctXaC
-----
52) A signaling theory of suboptimal telecommuting
Source: EconLog
by Bryan Caplan
"Americans spend a ton of time commuting. According to happiness
researchers, commuting is the low point of the typical day. If you
look at the jobs that people actually do, though, it's hard to
understand why so many workers continue to commute. Given a computer
and high-speed Internet, most desk jobs could now be done from home --
or so it seems." (05/30/12)
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2012/05/a_signaling_the.html
-----
53) Thoughts on the Diamond Jubilee
Source: Libertarian Alliance
by Sean Gabb
"Those of us who pay attention to such things will have noticed a
difference between the BBC coverage of the Golden Jubilee in 2002 and
of the present Diamond Jubilee. Ten years ago, the coverage was
adequate, though reluctant and even a little stiff. This time, it has
been gushing and completely uncritical." (05/29/12)
http://bit.ly/KcnrAM
-----
54) Living within your means is so inconvenient
Source: Cafe Hayek
by Russ Roberts
"Debt leads to misery. But wiser men than Dickens and Smith argued
that what is best for the individual need not be best for the nation.
In fact, we have heard over and over again that in fact, debt is good
for a nation with an economy that is struggling. The fruits of this
view are all around us." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/Kcn09E
-----
55) Circling the drain
Source: QandO
by Bruce McQuain
"The NY Times has an article out saying that extended unemployment
benefits are beginning to wind down. Of course that's in the face of
at least 5 million still unemployed. And while it obviously has to
happen, i.e. the cut-off of extended unemployment benefits, my guess
is that Democrats are less likely to want it to happen than
Republicans. In case you haven't heard there's an election
soon." (05/29/12)
http://www.qando.net/?p=13087
------------------------------------------------------------------
FREEDOM AUDIO & VIDEO
------------------------------------------------------------------
56) Charlie Kirk on Freedom Rings Radio, 06/04/12
Source: Freedom Rings Radio
"Charlie Kirk, co-founder of SOS Liberty, a youth outreach branch of
the Illinois Tea Party will talk about SOS Liberty." 9-10am Central on
WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin, IL or live on the web. [live radio or stream]
(06/04/12)
http://freedomrings.net/
-----
57) Free Talk Live, 05/29/12
Source: Free Talk Live
"TV Talk Host Excoriated for Not Wanting to Call All Military Dead
Heroes :: Devastating Military Families :: National Service :: Day
Prisons and Govt Education :: Govt Magnet School :: Are things getting
worse with young people? :: Haters Hatin' on Derrick J :: Honor
Student Jailed for Truancy :: Raw Milk Crackdown :: Changing a Mind on
Legalizing Drugs :: Mandatory Minimum Sentences :: Mark Interviews
Marc Scribner." [MP3] (05/29/12)
http://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2012-05-29/download
-----
58) Sheldon Richman on Antiwar Radio
Source: Antiwar.com
"Sheldon Richman, senior fellow at The Future of Freedom Foundation,
discusses his article 'On Israel's 'Right to Exist' ..." [Flash audio
or MP3] (05/27/12)
http://antiwar.com/radio/2012/05/27/sheldon-richman-20/
-----
59) QandO Podcast, 05/27/12
Source: QandO
"Bruce, Michael and Dale talk about the Obama Campaign, the press, and
new media." [various formats] (05/27/12)
http://www.qando.net/?p=13081
-----
60) Freedomain Radio #2142
Source: Freedomain Radio
"Barack Obama: Get off Julia!" [MP3] (05/08/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7kqx63o
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Today's Freedom News:
1) The Hague: Taylor sentenced to 50 years
2) UK: Top court backs Assange extradition to Sweden
3) Iraq: One killed
4) Afghanistan: Two occupation troops killed
5) Pakistan: Six killed in Karachi violence
6) Furious European voters pose threat to political elite
7) Africa: Terror group al-Shabaab's appeal grows
8) UK: Former Cameron aide arrested, charged with perjury
9) UN: Civilian deaths drop 36 percent in Afghanistan
10) WV: Man robbing pharmacy fatally shot
11) Reporter criticizes FARC for release as propaganda
12) Report: Supervolcanoes "can grow in just hundreds of years"
13) KS: Pastor wants feds to kill LGBT people
14) Kudzu bugs in South: Boon or bane?
15) Tool-wielding robots crawl in bodies for surgery
16) TN: Supreme Court overturns death sentence
17) FL: Police mistake bat for gun, shoot teen in back
18) SpaceX signs contract to launch world's most powerful rocket
19) Denmark: Police arrest two in alleged terror plot
20) China: Regime moves to censor Weibo users
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Brazilian traitor
22) Were Nazi soldiers heroes?
23) Facebook facepalm
24) Trim nuclear fat from the Pentagon budget
25) The harm in hate speech laws
26) Thirty-second President of the United States
27) Conservatives and fundraising: A psychoanalysis
28) Etan Patz: the case that changed America
29) Drug war violence throws Honduras into disarray
30) December surprise? Wall Street & DC Dems push austerity
31) Return of the Birthers
32) Tragedy of unbridled self-interest
33) The pro-life paradox
34) The temptation of the blue pill
35) What racetracks can teach us about government roads
36) Facing the writing on the wall in Kabul
37) The torture of Marian Price
38) The futility of religious profiling at airport security
checkpoints
39) Facebook shows need for smaller IPOs
40) The power of market-driven diversity
41) Ban the public library
42) When the law is the problem
43) On communists and tax freedom
44) Human rights without God: A dialogue
45) Too little, too late
46) Pick a set of deaths
47) Paul Ryan's faith-based budget
48) The death of Gonzalo Guizan
49) Wealth creation is not the enemy
50) Compulsory education in America: More tales from the gulag
51) Heroes and villains
52) A signaling theory of suboptimal telecommuting
53) Thoughts on the Diamond Jubilee
54) Living within your means is so inconvenient
55) Circling the drain
Today's Freedom Audio and Video:
56) Charlie Kirk on Freedom Rings Radio, 06/04/12
57) Free Talk Live, 05/29/12
58) Sheldon Richman on Antiwar Radio
59) QandO Podcast, 05/27/12
60) Freedomain Radio #2142
------------------------------------------------------------------
FREEDOM NEWS
------------------------------------------------------------------
1) The Hague: Taylor sentenced to 50 years
Source: Christian Science Monitor
"Former Liberian President Charles Taylor was jailed for 50 years on
Wednesday for helping Sierra Leonean rebels commit what a court in The
Hague called some of the worst war crimes in history. Taylor, 64, was
the first head of state convicted by an international court since the
Nazi trials after World War Two and the sentence set a precedent for
the emerging system of international justice." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/KcyiL6
-----
2) UK: Top court backs Assange extradition to Sweden
Source: Agence France-Presse
"The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that WikiLeaks founder Julian
Assange can be extradited to Sweden, but put his deportation on hold
to give his lawyers a final chance to reopen the case. After an 18-
month legal battle, the court rejected the argument by lawyers for the
40-year-old Australian that the Swedish prosecutor who issued the
arrest warrant over sex crime allegations was not entitled to do
so." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/KczldK
-----
3) Iraq: One killed
Source: Antiwar.com
"A blast in Ramadi killed one civilian and wounded two others. Several
people were wounded in a blast near a police station in
Najaf." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/JRVhqX
-----
4) Afghanistan: Two occupation troops killed
Source: Associated Press
"An insurgent attack and a homemade bomb killed two NATO service
members Wednesday in southern Afghanistan, the coalition said. The
deaths raised the number of coalition troops who have died in
Afghanistan this year to 174. The coalition did not provide further
details about the attacks." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/JV4bCa
-----
5) Pakistan: Six killed in Karachi violence
Source: United Press International
"Six people have been killed and several, including a civil judge,
injured in separate acts of violence in Karachi, Pakistan, officials
said Wednesday. ... More than 10 people were injured in shootings in
the city, INP said." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/JV62qk
-----
6) Furious European voters pose threat to political elite
Source: USA Today
"European voters furious that they are not being consulted about how
to solve a debt crisis are threatening to derail the plans of
political elites at the ballot box in coming weeks. The Irish vote
today on a deal negotiated by European Union financial ministers in
Brussels that will force nations that use the euro as currency to
adhere to strict spending and borrowing limits or be
penalized." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/d5ugwsq
-----
7) Africa: Terror group al-Shabaab's appeal grows
Source: MSNBC
"When Abdullahi slipped across the Kenya-Somali border to join the
fighters of Islamist militant group al-Shabaab in 2009, the livestock
herder from northern Kenya found himself among recruits from around
the globe. There were ethnic Somalis who had grown up in Australia,
Britain, France and the United States." (05/30/12)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47615551/ns/world_news-africa/
-----
8) UK: Former Cameron aide arrested, charged with perjury
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
"The former top media adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron was
arrested and charged with perjury Wednesday in the trial of a
flamboyant ex-Scottish lawmaker -- the latest case tied to allegations
of wrongdoing by British tabloid newspapers. Andy Coulson, 44, was
detained by Scottish police at his home in London Wednesday morning
over an accusation related to testimony he gave in a high-profile case
at Glasgow's High Court in 2010, when politician Tommy Sheridan was
himself convicted of offering a false account in a legal
hearing." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/crdqq77
-----
9) UN: Civilian deaths drop 36 percent in Afghanistan
Source: South Oregon Mail Tribune
"The number of Afghan civilians killed has dropped 36 percent so far
this year compared with last, the U.N. said Wednesday, the first time
the death toll has declined over multiple months since the United
Nations started keeping track. The senior U.N. envoy for the country,
Jan Kubis, called the trend promising but cautioned that too many
civilians were still being caught up in the violence as insurgents
fight Afghan and foreign forces." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/85cre7d
-----
10) WV: Man robbing pharmacy fatally shot
Source: Wheeling Intelligencer
"Walnoha, 37, of Wellsburg jumped over the pharmacy counter,
brandished a handgun and demanded pills from a pharmacy worker about 5
p.m. Friday, police said. He then reportedly pointed the gun at a
second employee who appeared from a back office. The first employee
had access to a gun and shot Walnoha during the incident. Walnoha died
at the scene." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/JRSbTB
-----
11) Reporter criticizes FARC for release as propaganda
Source: Gainesville Sun
"A French journalist freed by leftist rebels Wednesday said he had no
complaints about his captivity other than its 33-day duration and
lamented that Colombia's war is an 'invisible conflict' where the poor
kill the poor. Romeo Langlois said he was not embittered, but he
criticized the rebels for using his capture for propaganda
purposes." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/86vwyy7
-----
12) Report: Supervolcanoes "can grow in just hundreds of years"
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"The largest volcanoes on our planet may take as little as a few
hundred years to form and erupt. These 'supervolcanoes' were thought
to exist for as much as 200,000 years before releasing their vast
underground pools of molten rock. Researchers reporting in Plos One
have sampled the rock at the supervolcano site of Long Valley in
California." (05/30/12)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18269593
-----
13) KS: Pastor wants feds to kill LGBT people
Source: The Raw Story
"The pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Seneca, KS says President
Barack Obama has gone too far in supporting same sex marriage and it's
time for the U.S. government to begin killing gay men and
lesbians. ... Pastor Curtis Knapp [said] Sunday. 'there is simply
nothing ... which imperils the safety of our country or places our
people in jeopardy as does the leader of the Western world
publicly ... declaring that the bedrock institution of society ... is
little more than a convention of convenience with the children of
Sodom to transform the meaning of something ... into a legally
protected justification for perversion'" [editor's note: trimmed for
space as well as vomit-reflex avoidance - SAT] (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7vj8wba
-----
14) Kudzu bugs in South: Boon or bane?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
"An uninvited guest -- a nubbin-size stinkbug, like a tiny drab
ladybug -- arrived on America's shores in 2009 and found, like
invasive species that had come before, a bounty. In this case, the so-
called kudzu bug found kudzu - another Asian invader that has become
the drapery of the South and has withstood all previous attempts, be
they goat or chemical, to control 'the vine that ate the South.' But
as the invading kudzu bug colony has metastasized across at least
three states in a mere three years, the kudzu bug has developed a
major downside." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/6sxjdaa
-----
15) Tool-wielding robots crawl in bodies for surgery
Source: Arizona Republic
"Imagine a tiny snake robot crawling through your body, helping a
surgeon identify diseases and perform operations. It's not science
fiction. Scientists and doctors are using the creeping metallic tools
to perform surgery on hearts, prostate cancer, and other diseased
organs. The snakebots carry tiny cameras, scissors and forceps, and
even more advanced sensors are in the works. For now, they're powered
by tethers that humans control. But experts say the day is coming when
some robots will roam the body on their own." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/6sxjdaa
-----
16) TN: Supreme Court overturns death sentence
Source: The Tennessean
"The Tennessee Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence for a man
convicted of murdering a Scott County couple in their bed and has
ordered that a new jury decide whether to execute the inmate or spare
his life. The state's highest court said Tuesday that prosecutors
committed misconduct by making inappropriate statements to the jury
during the murder trial of Hubert Glenn Sexton. The court also found
that some evidence should not have been admitted because it was highly
prejudicial." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/bwzcvxe
-----
17) FL: Police mistake bat for gun, shoot teen in back
Source: Fox News
"Miami-Dade police shot a teenage boy four times in the back on Monday
morning, leaving him in critical condition and bringing up more
questions over gun violence in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting
earlier this year. Officers opened fire on 16-year-old Sebastian
Gregory after he allegedly reached for a baseball bat in his belt when
an officer told him to 'show his hands.' Gregory was taken to Kendall
Regional Medical Center where doctors surgically removed three bullets
from his middle to lower back, leaving one still in his spinal
cord." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/c6g67fo
-----
18) SpaceX signs contract to launch world's most powerful rocket
Source: Fox News
"Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), which designs and launches
rockets as well as spacecraft, said on Tuesday it signed the first
commercial contract to launch the world's most powerful rocket. The
Falcon Heavy rocket will launch a communications satellite into
geosynchronous orbit (a circular orbit around the Earth nearly 24
hours long) for satellite services company Intelsat, according to a
press release. Financial terms of the agreement were not
disclosed." (05/30/12)
http://fxn.ws/KI6qvI
-----
19) Denmark: Police arrest two in alleged terror plot
Source: USA Today
"Two Danish brothers originally from Somalia were arrested on
suspicion of plotting a terror attack, Denmark's security service said
Tuesday. The two brothers, ages 18 and 23, were arrested late Monday
-- one in the western city of Aarhus and the other as he arrived by
plane at Copenhagen's international airport, said the Danish Security
and Intelligence Service, or PET." (05/29/12)
http://tinyurl.com/83w8za7
-----
20) China: Regime moves to censor Weibo users
Source: MSNBC
"China's Sina Corp has introduced a code of conduct for users of its
Weibo service -- the local version of Twitter -- amid accusations of
censorship to rein in what has grown into a raucous online forum to
air political and social grievances. The code of conduct, first
announced earlier this month, stipulates that users of Sina's Weibo
microblogging site cannot post information that is against the
principles of the constitution, cannot harm national unity, disclose
state secrets or publish false information, among other
rules." (05/29/12)
http://tinyurl.com/8xe58ul
------------------------------------------------------------------
HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 05/31/12
Iraqi Deaths Due to US Invasion: 1,455,590
(source: justforeignpolicy.org/iraq)
US Deaths in Afghanistan: Bush 575, Obama 1321
(source: justforeignpolicy.org/obamavsbush)
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
FREEDOM COMMENTARY
------------------------------------------------------------------
21) The Brazilian traitor
Source: Independent Institute
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
"Only totalitarian regimes retain the (feigned) loyalty of their
citizens by force. Free countries do so simply by offering citizens
more liberty and security, and therefore more opportunities. That is
all that the U.S. had to do for a couple of centuries to instill in
millions of people the desire to become Americans. In order to retain
their loyalty, it did not have to subsequently threaten them or impose
impossible exit barriers on them." (05/29/12)
http://blog.independent.org/2012/05/29/the-brazilian-traitor/
-----
22) Were Nazi soldiers heroes?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G. Hornberger
"Have you ever noticed that Nazi soldiers, especially those who died
in World War II, are never celebrated as heroes? Why is that? Didn't
they answer the call of their government in time of war? Didn't they
serve their country by loyally obeying the dictates of their
government? Weren't they patriots for their willingness to fight and
die for their country?" (05/30/12)
http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2012-05-30.asp
-----
23) Facebook facepalm
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Thomas L. Knapp
"I'm surprised that more people haven't commented on General Motors'
decision to pull millions of dollars worth of Facebook advertising
mere days before the IPO. The punditry seems to be generally treating
that decision as a market act ... but the timing looks less related to
advertising efficacy than to a desire to tank the stock price. While
it could have been routine (if large-scale) gamesmanship on the part
of higher-ups at GM who wanted to short the stock, I seem to recall
that GM's single largest shareholder is the government of the United
States. Could there be a political dimension here?" (05/30/12)
http://c4ss.org/content/10514
-----
24) Trim nuclear fat from the Pentagon budget
Source: Cato Institute
by Benjamin H. Friedman and Christopher Preble
"Members of Congress always claim to be looking out for wasteful
spending, especially now that they need to get under the spending caps
contained in the Budget Control Act. If they are serious, they should
target the 'nuclear triad,' the three different means -- manned
bombers, long-range missiles and submarine-launched missiles -- that
U.S. forces can use to deliver nuclear weapons." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/JV5Es6
-----
25) The harm in hate speech laws
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by David Gordon
"In many countries, though not in the United States, laws prohibit
'hate speech.' Those who, in Jeremy Waldron's opinion, uncritically
elevate the benefits of free speech over competing values oppose hate-
speech laws; but Waldron thinks that a strong case can be made in
their favor. (Waldron thinks that there are 'very few First Amendment
Absolutists' who oppose all regulation of speech; but he thinks that
many other First Amendment scholars are unduly critical of hate speech
regulations.)" (05/30/12)
http://mises.org/daily/6070/The-Harm-in-HateSpeech-Laws
-----
26) Thirty-second President of the United States
Source: Liberty For All
by staff
"Roosevelt (January 30, 1882-April 12, 1945), also known by his
initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States (1933-1945)
and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century,
leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis
and world war. The only American president elected to more than two
terms, he facilitated a durable coalition that realigned American
politics for decades." (05/30/12)
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=7662
-----
27) Conservatives and fundraising: A psychoanalysis
Source: The New Republic
by Noam Scheiber
"If you read enough coverage like today's Politico piece on how much
conservative groups plan to spend in 2012, you quickly realize the
Obama campaign faces a deep psychological problem in addition to a
financial one. ... But the more interesting revelation is that
conservatives are perfectly comfortable talking about the amount of
money they're deploying--they're prone to overstating it if anything
-- while liberals are deeply uncomfortable talking about such sums and
prone to understating them." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7a4chr9
-----
28) Etan Patz: the case that changed America
Source: Spiked
by Nancy McDermott
"Whether Hernandez did, as he claims, kill Etan Patz, or not, 33 years
on it is worth reassessing the Patz case -- not so much in its
particulars but in terms of the role it came to play in redefining the
relationship between children and adults. Where once adults basically
trusted one another to safeguard all children, we now view all
interactions between children and adults as suspect." (05/30/12)
http://www.spiked-online.com/site/article/12500/
-----
29) Drug war violence throws Honduras into disarray
Source: In These Times
by Jeremy Kryt
"The firefight started about two hours before dawn, while it was still
full dark in the jungle. Early on May 11, muzzle flashes lit up the
sky as a small fleet of U.S. helicopters engaged a boatload of drug
smugglers on a twisting, thickly-wooded stretch of the Patuca River,
in the Mosquitia region of eastern Honduras. It was a short, one-sided
fight." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/76byhko
-----
30) December surprise? Wall Street & DC Dems push austerity
Source: Our Future
by Richard (RJ) Eskow
"On a recent Meet the Press face-off between Democrats and
Republicans, a politician claimed we urgently need to cut government
spending. He embraced a plan to slash vital government programs and
gut retirement security, while actually cutting taxes for the rich.
The only tax hikes in his plan were targeted toward the already-
devastated middle class. Then it was time for the Republican to speak.
Who'd have thought it? Progressive stalwarts ... pushing the same
radical austerity plan as Jamie Dimon, CEO of troubled megabank
JPMorgan Chase, and Robert Rubin ..." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/6vg4qdm
-----
31) Return of the Birthers
Source: The Nation Blog
by Ben Adler
"Like political kudzu, no matter how many times they have been
destroyed, birthers keep coming back. The last week has seen a sudden
re-emergence of the once-marginalized racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic
notion that President Obama was not born in Hawaii. And the Republican
presidential nominee is cozying up to leading birthers such as Donald
Trump. Obama's natural-born American citizenship has been amply
documented by the release of both his short- and long-form birth
certificates. Researchers have also found historical evidence such as
birth announcements in Hawaiian newspapers." (05/30/12)
http://www.thenation.com/blog/168135/return-birthers
-----
32) Tragedy of unbridled self-interest
Source: Orange County Register
by Walter E. Williams
"Our nation is rapidly approaching a point from which there's little
chance to avoid a financial collapse. The heart of our problem can be
seen as a tragedy of the commons. That's a set of circumstances when
something is commonly owned and individuals acting rationally in their
own self-interest produce a set of results that's inimical to
everyone's long-term interest." (05/29/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7pvnzxe
-----
33) The pro-life paradox
Source: The American Prospect
by Judith Lewis Mernit
"On April 12, Governor Jan Brewer signed a bill making Arizona the
eighth state in the union to ban abortions beyond 20 weeks. Like most
other laws of its kind, House Bill 2036 had been camouflaged as a
measure against suffering, predicated on the notion that a fetus at 20
weeks can feel pain. Every woman who's ever been pregnant, however,
knows what the law really means: Twenty weeks marks a crucial point in
a pregnancy, when fetal abnormalities can be detected, often for the
first time." (05/29/12)
http://prospect.org/article/pro-life-paradox
-----
34) The temptation of the blue pill
Source: Living Freedom
by Claire Wolfe
"I grok the temptations of the blue pill. Don't we all? I like to
think that if you take the blue pill you still have some future chance
to take the red. But once you've swallowed the red one, that's it.
Done. Your reality is forever ... well, real. You can't go
back." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/LKVrmH
-----
35) What racetracks can teach us about government roads
Source: Whiskey and Gunpowder
by Eric Peters
"Would there be problems with privately-owned roads? Of course. But at
least, roads under private control could not force people to pay for
them and then force them to abide by rules intended to accommodate
idiots and punish them for ignoring such rules." (05/29/12)
-----
36) Facing the writing on the wall in Kabul
Source: Common Dreams
by Eric Margolis
"The latest empire to try to conquer Afghanistan has failed, and is
now sounding the retreat. All the hot air in Chicago about
'transition,' Afghan self-reliance, and growing security could not
conceal the truth that the mighty US and its dragooned western allies
have been beaten in Afghanistan by a bunch of mountain warriors from
the 12th Century." (05/28/12)
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/28-6
-----
37) The torture of Marian Price
Source: CounterPunch
by Sandy Boyer
"Marian Price has been imprisoned in Northern Ireland for more than a
year on the basis of secret evidence neither she nor her lawyers have
been allowed to see. She is effectively interned without a trial,
sentence, or release date. Unless the courts intervene, she will only
be released by order of a British Cabinet Minister, Owen Paterson, the
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland." (05/30/12)
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/05/30/the-torture-of-marian-price/
-----
38) The futility of religious profiling at airport security
checkpoints
Source: OpenMarket.org
by David Bier
"In other words, increased specificity doesn't mean increased
efficiency. Even if we assume that every 'radical Muslim' was a
terrorist, argues Schneier, profiling is bad security. Because Islam
is a belief system and cannot be detected by TSA agents, TSA would
need a proxy that would be available to every screener in TSA's
Standard Operating Procedures manual." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/87txprm
-----
39) Facebook shows need for smaller IPOs
Source: Competitive Enterprise Institute
by John Berlau
"When I wrote my blog here last Friday on the day of Facebook's
initial public offering (IPO), I praised the firm's innovations but
injected a note of skepticism as to the gains of ordinary investors. I
was slightly worried that the piece would be seen as raining on the
IPO parade." (05/25/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7cv4tcn
-----
40) The power of market-driven diversity
Source: Acton Institute
by Anthony B. Bradley
"The story of Chicago-based Supreme Life Insurance Company of America,
one of the most venerable black-owned businesses in American history,
challenges the prevailing fiction that minority customers need the
government to guarantee services for them and is a dynamic reminder of
the power of markets as a basis for economic freedom." (05/30/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7ploowh
-----
41) Ban the public library
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M. Vance
"Not everyone has the time or the inclination to read all the books on
the New York Times bestseller list. But even those who have both may
not be able to -- if they're trying to find their favorite title at
their local public library. Fifty Shades of Grey, the first
installment of an erotic, sado-masochistic trilogy by British author
E.L. James (Erika Leonard, a wife and mother of two), contains
sexually explicit descriptions of the relationship between the young,
innocent heroine, Anastasia Steele, and Christian Grey, a 27-year-old
rich businessman." (05/30/12)
http://www.fff.org/comment/com1205v.asp
-----
42) When the law is the problem
Source: Freedom's Phoenix
by Tisha Casida
"It would be an optimistic assumption that most of us, want to make an
honest attempt to follow 'the law.' But, what is the law? And are all
of the laws on the books -- whether at a federal, State, or local
level -- actually beneficial to the community and/or the individual
rights of the citizens of their respective States? There is an
argument to be made that sometimes 'law' is plunder. Because: whoever
so makes the laws, is who will benefit from those laws." (05/28/12)
http://bit.ly/JV7dWS
-----
43) On communists and tax freedom
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by PJ Byrne
"This annoying problem of consent is why libertarians are so often
frustrated with politicians: where the core of anything which can
legitimately describe itself as a liberal belief is non-coercion, such
an idea can only be translated into policy through legitimate
democratic means. It is therefore necessary to wait for circumstances
to turn in one's favour, for people to drink your particular flavour
of Kool-Aid, before one can hope for political change." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/JV6ghb
-----
44) Human rights without God: A dialogue
Source: The Moral Sciences Club
by Will Wilkinson
"Without Christianity there is no good argument for human rights.
Without the language of religion, there is no way to say that all men
are equal. That's the thrust of Douthat and Robinson's arguments.
Well, so what? What's so great about human rights? What so great about
regarding each person as equal to others in moral standing? Is there
an answer?" (05/28/12)
http://bigthink.com/ideas/morality-without-god-2
-----
45) Too little, too late
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Audrey Spalding
"The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that regulators have granted
banks increased flexibility to rent foreclosed homes that they cannot
sell. This is great news. Private banks now have more options that can
help put vacant homes to productive use, and people still
(understandably) wary of purchasing a home can choose to rent one
instead. Hopefully this will result in fewer vacant properties and
more people in homes. However, this ease of regulation comes just a
little late." (05/29/12)
http://www.showmedaily.org/2012/05/too-little-too-late.html
-----
46) Pick a set of deaths
Source: Bleeding Heart Libertarians
by Jason Brennan
"Suppose there are two states, MoreJustia and LessJustia. Both
MoreJustia and LessJustia are unjust states, but MoreJustia is
significantly closer to being just and legitimate than LessJustia.
Suppose for a long time that, in order to punish LessJustia's evil
king and to try to edge him out of power, MoreJustia had imposed
economic sanctions on LessJustia. Suppose these sanctions killed
hundreds of thousands of innocent LessJustian civilians." (05/29/12)
http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/05/pick-a-set-of-deaths/
-----
47) Paul Ryan's faith-based budget
Source: LewRockwell.com
by Laurence M. Vance
"Added Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit, and one of the organizers of the
letter: 'Our problem with Representative Ryan is that he claims his
budget is based on Catholic social teaching. This is nonsense. As
scholars, we want to join the Catholic bishops in pointing out that
his budget has a devastating impact on programs for the poor.' But
Catholic critics of the Ryan budget plan have nothing to fear.
Republicans are as firmly committed to funding the federal leviathan
as the Democrats are. Paul Ryan may be a devout Christian, but since
he is the one who claims his faith guided his thought process when he
prepared his budget, I have some questions about the extent of this
guidance." (05/30/12)
http://lewrockwell.com/vance/vance291.html
-----
48) The death of Gonzalo Guizan
Source: The Agitator
by Radley Balko
"For mistakenly believing he had been shot, then opening fire on an
unarmed man, all because a prostitute had told police that the dead
man's friend was using cocaine in the privacy of his own home ... for
this, Officer Sweeney was declared 'Officer of the Year.'" (05/29/12)
http://bit.ly/JV1G2F
-----
49) Wealth creation is not the enemy
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
"President Obama accuses Mitt Romney of putting profits above people
by striving to create wealth rather than jobs during his 15 years at
Bain Capital. This critique of Romney's work at the private equity
firm, which Obama says will be central to his re-election campaign,
betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of capitalism." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/KcyRUZ
-----
50) Compulsory education in America: More tales from the gulag
Source: Authority!
by Timothy J Taylor
"Compulsory education in America presents a clear cut violation of the
United States Constitution First Amendment freedom of speech and
association provisions, and a clear cut violation of the Fifth
Amendment because it amounts to a taking of liberty and property
without due process of law. Punishing truancy as a crime makes a
mockery of the constitution." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/KcyCtd
-----
51) Heroes and villains
Source: Antiwar.com
by Justin Raimondo
"Chris Hayes is one of the more intelligent cable hosts, and his
retraction is unfortunate, albeit involuntary. He was right the first
time: the recruits to this Imperial Army are no more 'heroes' than
Darth Vader's 501st Legion. Those who think otherwise are either
neocons or else are confusing today's American military with the army
of our old republic, which served a strictly defensive function. The
military can and should be an honorable profession, and earlier in our
storied history it was: that is no longer true." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/KctXaC
-----
52) A signaling theory of suboptimal telecommuting
Source: EconLog
by Bryan Caplan
"Americans spend a ton of time commuting. According to happiness
researchers, commuting is the low point of the typical day. If you
look at the jobs that people actually do, though, it's hard to
understand why so many workers continue to commute. Given a computer
and high-speed Internet, most desk jobs could now be done from home --
or so it seems." (05/30/12)
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2012/05/a_signaling_the.html
-----
53) Thoughts on the Diamond Jubilee
Source: Libertarian Alliance
by Sean Gabb
"Those of us who pay attention to such things will have noticed a
difference between the BBC coverage of the Golden Jubilee in 2002 and
of the present Diamond Jubilee. Ten years ago, the coverage was
adequate, though reluctant and even a little stiff. This time, it has
been gushing and completely uncritical." (05/29/12)
http://bit.ly/KcnrAM
-----
54) Living within your means is so inconvenient
Source: Cafe Hayek
by Russ Roberts
"Debt leads to misery. But wiser men than Dickens and Smith argued
that what is best for the individual need not be best for the nation.
In fact, we have heard over and over again that in fact, debt is good
for a nation with an economy that is struggling. The fruits of this
view are all around us." (05/30/12)
http://bit.ly/Kcn09E
-----
55) Circling the drain
Source: QandO
by Bruce McQuain
"The NY Times has an article out saying that extended unemployment
benefits are beginning to wind down. Of course that's in the face of
at least 5 million still unemployed. And while it obviously has to
happen, i.e. the cut-off of extended unemployment benefits, my guess
is that Democrats are less likely to want it to happen than
Republicans. In case you haven't heard there's an election
soon." (05/29/12)
http://www.qando.net/?p=13087
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FREEDOM AUDIO & VIDEO
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56) Charlie Kirk on Freedom Rings Radio, 06/04/12
Source: Freedom Rings Radio
"Charlie Kirk, co-founder of SOS Liberty, a youth outreach branch of
the Illinois Tea Party will talk about SOS Liberty." 9-10am Central on
WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin, IL or live on the web. [live radio or stream]
(06/04/12)
http://freedomrings.net/
-----
57) Free Talk Live, 05/29/12
Source: Free Talk Live
"TV Talk Host Excoriated for Not Wanting to Call All Military Dead
Heroes :: Devastating Military Families :: National Service :: Day
Prisons and Govt Education :: Govt Magnet School :: Are things getting
worse with young people? :: Haters Hatin' on Derrick J :: Honor
Student Jailed for Truancy :: Raw Milk Crackdown :: Changing a Mind on
Legalizing Drugs :: Mandatory Minimum Sentences :: Mark Interviews
Marc Scribner." [MP3] (05/29/12)
http://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2012-05-29/download
-----
58) Sheldon Richman on Antiwar Radio
Source: Antiwar.com
"Sheldon Richman, senior fellow at The Future of Freedom Foundation,
discusses his article 'On Israel's 'Right to Exist' ..." [Flash audio
or MP3] (05/27/12)
http://antiwar.com/radio/2012/05/27/sheldon-richman-20/
-----
59) QandO Podcast, 05/27/12
Source: QandO
"Bruce, Michael and Dale talk about the Obama Campaign, the press, and
new media." [various formats] (05/27/12)
http://www.qando.net/?p=13081
-----
60) Freedomain Radio #2142
Source: Freedomain Radio
"Barack Obama: Get off Julia!" [MP3] (05/08/12)
http://tinyurl.com/7kqx63o
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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