06/21 -- Iraq: Suicide bombs kill 33; Afghanistan: Helmand blasts kill three

[Thomas L. Knapp]

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
* The Freedom Movement's Daily Newspaper
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* Volume VIII, Issue #1,944
* Monday, June 21st, 2010
* Email Circulation 1,861
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* Published every non-holiday weekday
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In The News:

1) Iraq: Suicide bombs kill 33
2) Afghanistan: Helmand blasts kill three
3) Pakistan: US missile strike kills 12
4) Turkish jets raid northern Iraq, clashes kill 23
5) BP "estimated higher oil amount" from Gulf well leak
6) Al Qaeda warns of new attacks deadlier than before
7) Lebanon: Transport minister says Gaza aid ships will be blocked
8) Lieberman: Relax, I'm just trying to turn the US into Communist
China
9) NV: Tea party fave Sharron Angle aims at Harry Reid
10) Decision to take over Fannie, Freddie adding up
11) New Englanders' story used as CIA teaching tool
12) France: No room for science in winemaking
13) Israel to allow more "civilian" goods into Gaza
14) MA: Health aid urged for low-wage workers
15) Nebraska: Town puts Know-Nothing appeasement proposition to vote
16) China to increase float of currency
17) Colombia: Ex-defense chief wins presidential runoff
18) New Afghan commission sets free Taliban suspects
19) Kyrgyzstan: Army to investigate whether troops involved in ethnic
violence
20) Poland: Runoff looms in presidential election
21) IL: Chicago subway fire sends 12 to hospital
22) Iran: Regime hangs leader of outlawed Sunni militant group
23) Kevin Costner signs contract with BP for oil slick clean-up
24) Chinese regime buying US politicians' debt again
25) Latest FBI crime data continues to refute anti-gun rhetoric

Everybody Has An Opinion:

26) Kill the "kill switch"
27) A gold economy begins
28) Watching Big Brother
29) Keep your filthy hands off the Net!
30) It's all state capitalism
31) The abolitionist argument in 35 seconds
32) The flotilla fiasco
33) The handouts just keep coming
34) The instrument of crime remains only an instrument
35) Congress can't play favorites with NRA
36) The end of the War on Crime?
37) Why Simpson's SSI rant is important
38) "So is she gay?"
39) Interview: Primary concern
40) Obama tackles the oil spill
41) Context matters: A better libertarian approach to
antidiscrimination law
42) Will oil drilling become a pipe dream?
43) Geopolitics and the pill
44) What Would Coolidge Do?
45) Mythbuster: Libertarianism and unchosen obligations
46) Tax credits are an undesirable strategy for Missouri
47) The right's latest faux Obama outrage
48) Truth And Reconciliation hoopla and the Canadian genocide of
aboriginal people
49) Portugal liberalizes drugs, world doesn't end
50) Small people rule!
51) The fear factor
52) Memo to the victims: You yourself will pay for the crimes of the
ruling class
53) He blinded me with science
54) This Mac devotee is moving to Linux
55) Explosive!
56) The exploitation of entrepreneurs
57) The Senate's global warming circus
58) "Smoke-free air" laws vs. property rights in Louisiana
59) Why welfare states hemorrhage
60) Justice and BP
61) What price Afghanistan?
62) Liberal despair and the cult of the presidency
63) Educashun, educashun, educashun
64) On how to really solve our economic problems
65) Barack Obama's square box
66) Powerbrokers, pimps and prostitutes, part 1
67) A second civil war
68) About that $20 billion
69) Remember, it's not socialism
70) Rent or own? What a free market would do to the housing market
71) Revitalizing America
72) Subtle modern tyranny at work
73) Libertarians in Kyrgyzstan spearhead peace campaign, help victims
of violence: You can help, too
74) Build a monument to liberty
75) Playoff series

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

76) Brad Spangler on Freedom Rings Radio, 06/21/10
77) Free Talk Live, 06/19/10
78) Edward Peck on Antiwar Radio
79) Freedomain Radio #1683
80) Cato Daily Podcast, 06/18/10

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

81) Today's events

***************
* In The News
***************

1) Iraq: Suicide bombs kill 33
ABC News

"Suicide bombers in a crowded Baghdad commercial district and Saddam
Hussein's hometown of Tikrit killed as many as 33 people Sunday as
insurgents tried to turn a monthslong deadlock over forming a new
Iraqi government to their advantage. The latest violence began when
bombers drove two cars packed with nearly 180 pounds (82 kilograms) of
ammonium nitrate toward the gates of the Trade Bank of Iraq building
in Baghdad and detonated the explosives after striking the surrounding
blast walls, said Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-
Moussawi." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/38mpedv

-----

2) Afghanistan: Helmand blasts kill three
New Zealand Herald [New Zealand]

"Two bombs hidden in push carts exploded less than a half hour apart
in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous provinces, underscoring the
continued security threat despite years of trying to bring peace to
the unstable south. The double explosions in Helmand province were
just two in a series of attacks reported over the weekend across the
country. ... The first explosion in front of a bank killed a young
girl and a woman and wounded at least 14 other people, the Afghan
Ministry of Interior said. ... Five people, including an Afghan
soldier, were injured in the second explosion less than a half hour
after the first, according to Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the
provincial governor. He said a third person had died in one of the two
explosions, but it was unclear which one." (06/21/10)

http://tinyurl.com/255hs3o

-----

3) Pakistan: US missile strike kills 12
MSNBC

"A U.S. drone aircraft fired two missiles in Pakistan's North
Waziristan region on the Afghan border on Saturday, killing 12
militants, intelligence officials said. The missile attack took place
hours after the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan,
Richard Holbrooke, landed in Islamabad for talks as part of the
Pakistan-U.S. strategic dialogue initiated in March." (06/19/10)

http://tinyurl.com/y9bzsfq

-----

4) Turkish jets raid northern Iraq, clashes kill 23
USA Today

"Turkish warplanes launched air raids at suspected Kurdish rebel
positions in northern Iraq Saturday after a rebel attack on a military
outpost in Turkey touched off clashes in which nine soldiers and 12
rebel fighters died, Turkey's military said. Two other soldiers were
killed in a land mine explosion while chasing the rebels, the state-
run Anatolia new agency reported, raising the overall death toll in
Saturday's violence to 23." (06/19/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2635jsl

-----

5) BP "estimated higher oil amount" from Gulf well leak
BBC News [UK]

"A BP document has revealed the company estimated that 100,000 barrels
of oil a day could, in theory, flow from the ruptured Gulf of Mexico
well. That amount, included in an undated internal document released
by US Congressman Ed Markey, is nearly twice the current US estimate
of the leak." [editor's note: You saw that number here -- two weeks
ago! - TLK] (06/21/10)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10362346.stm

-----

6) Al Qaeda warns of new attacks deadlier than before
Yahoo! News

"Al-Qaida's U.S.-born spokesman warned President Barack Obama Sunday
that the militant group may launch new attacks that would kill more
Americans than previous ones. In a taunting, 24 minute message that
dwelled on Obama's setbacks, including the loss of Massachusetts
Senate seat to the Republicans, Adam Gadahn set out al-Qaida's
conditions for peace with the U.S., including cutting support for
Israel and withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2c3osql

-----

7) Lebanon: Transport minister says Gaza aid ships will be blocked
Bloomberg

"Lebanon will not grant permission for ships to sail from its coast to
the Gaza Strip, An Nahar reported, citing Lebanese Minister of
Transport and Public Works Ghazi Aridi. The organizers of an aid
mission aboard the ship 'Julia,' which is moored in the northern port
of Tripoli, have not submitted an official request to sail, Aridi told
the newspaper."

http://tinyurl.com/2ez4e5r

-----

8) Lieberman: Relax, I'm just trying to turn the US into Communist
China
Wall Street Journal

"Sen. Joseph Lieberman rejected as 'misinformation' concerns raised by
critics that he would want the U.S. to be able to shut down the
Internet, but stressed that in 'times of war' the U.S. needed more
power over U.S. cyberspace. Lieberman (I., Conn.) is a co-sponsor of a
bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate last week that would give the
president authority to implement 'short-term emergency measures' to
protect U.S. Internet networks from attack. ... 'Right now, China can
disconnect parts of its Internet in times of war. We need to be able
to do that too.'" (06/209/10)

http://tinyurl.com/32443zz

-----

9) NV: Tea party fave Sharron Angle aims at Harry Reid
Christian Science Monitor

"In his uphill race to hold onto his seat as Senate Majority Leader,
the best thing beleaguered Harry Reid has going for him seems to be
his Republican opponent. Sharron Angle is a favorite of the burgeoning
'tea party' movement. But she brings with her fight to enter the
political big time a set of controversial positions, statements, and
affiliations that GOP leaders are having to scrub, explain, or make
excuses for. Still, a Rasmussen Reports poll of likely Nevada voters
last week had Angle ahead of Reid by a substantial 50-39 percent -- as
much a reflection of Reid's unpopularity as a four-term Washington
insider as anything else. Reid, quite naturally, is keeping the focus
as much as possible on Angle. 'She may be the only Republican alive
Harry Reid can beat,' Eric Herzik, chairman of the political science
department at the University of Nevada-Reno, told the Associated
Press." [editor's note: There really is a lot riding on this election
in some ways; if enough incumbents from both sides of the aisle go
down hard, it MIGHT have an effect on politics-as-usual ... but then
again, maybe not - SAT] (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2bdh8zf

-----

10) Decision to take over Fannie, Freddie adding up
New York Times

"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took over a foreclosed home roughly every
90 seconds during the first three months of the year. They owned
163,828 houses at the end of March, a virtual city with more houses
than Seattle. The mortgage finance companies, created by Congress to
help Americans buy homes, have become two of the nation's largest
landlords. Bill Bridwell, a real estate agent in Phoenix, is among the
thousands of agents hired nationwide by the companies to sell those
foreclosures, recouping some of the money that borrowers failed to
repay. In a good week, he sells 20 homes and Fannie sends another 20
listings his way. 'We're all working for the government now,' said
Bridwell. For all the focus on the historic federal rescue of the
banking industry, it is the government's decision to seize Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac in September 2008 that is likely to cost taxpayers the
most money. So far the tab stands at $145.9 billion. The Congressional
Budget Office has predicted that the final bill could reach $389
billion." [editor's note: The real question is why the Times took so
long to admit this one - SAT] (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2bvawhd

-----

11) New Englanders' story used as CIA teaching tool
Associated Press

"Detail by painful detail, the CIA is coming to grips with one of the
most devastating episodes in its history: a botched cloak-and-dagger
flight into China that stole two decades of freedom from a pair of
fresh-faced American operatives and cost the lives of their two
pilots. In opening up about the 1952 debacle, the CIA is finding ways
to use it as a teaching tool. Mistakes of the past can serve as
cautionary tales for today's spies and paramilitary officers taking on
Al Qaeda and other terrorist targets. At the center of the story are
two eager CIA paramilitary officers on their first overseas
assignment, John T. Downey of New Britain, Conn., and Richard G.
Fecteau, of Lynn, Mass., whose plane was shot from the night sky in a
Chinese ambush. The mission was quickly smothered in US government
denials, sealed in official secrecy, and consigned to the darkest
corner of the spy agency's vault of unpleasant affairs." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2f96cau

-----

12) France: No room for science in winemaking
Washington Post

"A War of the Worlds is being waged in this little corner of eastern
France. On one side are Alsatian winemakers whose sacred traditions
reach back more than two millenniums [sic], men and women close to the
soil who pour their art, science, and souls into the alchemy that
starts with a grape vine and ends up with a tart Riesling glowing in a
high-stemmed glass or a silken Gewurztraminer, adding sweet notes to a
smoky Munster. On the other is a battalion of supereducated PhDs at
France's National Institute for Agricultural Research, scientists
trying to discover whether genetic manipulation of grape vines might
help protect against fanleaf virus, a disease found in up to a third
of the world's vineyards. The disease sucks the vigor out of plants,
reduces the number and size of grapes, and cuts short their lifespan.
The main battleground is a little plot behind the institute's Colmar
laboratory, where 500 normal grapevines have been planted and, in
their midst, 70 diseased plants were topped recently with a
genetically modified graft designed to shield against fanleaf virus
and its transmission by an earthworm whose idea of a good meal is to
burrow from vine to vine, munching on the roots." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/29ykeqc

-----

13) Israel to allow more "civilian" goods into Gaza
Agence France-Presse

"Israel announced on Sunday it will allow all strictly 'civilian'
goods into Gaza while preventing a specific list of weapons and dual-
use items from entering the Hamas-run Palestinian territory. The new
policy is a response to mounting calls to ease Israel's four-year
siege on the impoverished enclave after Israeli forces killed nine
activists during a May 31 raid on a flotilla of aid ships attempting
to run the blockade. 'The Israeli government has today taken
additional steps to further enable the flow of civilian goods to the
civilian population of the Gaza Strip,' said government spokesman Mark
Regev. 'From now on, there is a green light approval for all goods to
enter Gaza except for military items and materials that can strengthen
Hamas's military machine,' he said." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/25759ea

-----

14) MA: Health aid urged for low-wage workers
Boston Globe

"Thousands of uninsured Massachusetts workers in low-wage jobs are
ineligible for state-subsidized health coverage, but they will qualify
for these low-cost plans under the new national healthcare overhaul --
in 2014. Now, some consumer advocates, arguing that the wait is unfair
and a black eye for the state, want the Patrick administration and
legislators to launch a program to cover at least part of this group.
Administration officials, already facing huge budget deficits, say the
state can't afford the tens of millions of dollars it would cost to
subsidize additional workers' insurance. The state's landmark 2006
health insurance law was a model for the national legislation passed
in March and has reduced the percentage of uninsured to under 4
percent of adults. But it did little for full-time workers whose
employer offers health insurance they cannot afford. The law bars them
from getting lower-priced coverage through the state, even if their
pay is below levels that would otherwise make them eligible for state
assistance." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/259c7kt

-----

15) Nebraska: Town puts Know-Nothing appeasement proposition to vote
MSNBC

"Angered by a recent influx of Hispanic workers attracted by jobs at
local meatpacking plants, voters in the eastern Nebraska city of
Fremont will decide Monday whether to ban hiring or renting property
to illegal immigrants. The vote will be the culmination of a two-year
fight that saw proponents collect enough signatures to put the
question to a public vote. If the ordinance is approved, the community
of 25,000 people could face a long and costly court battle. Either
way, the emotions stirred up won't settle quickly." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/29zucjq

-----

16) China to increase float of currency
Seattle Times

"Facing growing worldwide pressure, China's central bank said Saturday
it is prepared to allow the country's currency to float more freely
against the dollar and other foreign currencies. The statement, from a
bank spokesman, gave no details of when China would allow its currency
-- known as the renminbi or yuan -- to appreciate and by how
much." (06/19/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2847j93

-----

17) Colombia: Ex-defense chief wins presidential runoff
Palm Beach Post

"A former defense minister from a powerful political clan who oversaw
a major weakening of leftist rebels won Colombia's presidency Sunday,
routing an eccentric outsider in a runoff. The victory for Juan Manuel
Santos, a 58-year-old economist and three-time government minister,
was a ringing endorsement of outgoing conservative President Alvaro
Uribe, whose U.S.-backed security policies he helped craft and
promised to continue." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2emh9nt

-----

18) New Afghan commission sets free Taliban suspects
Modesto Bee

"Afghanistan's controversial new commission formed to release
suspected Taliban prisoners has set free 14 detainees already,
primarily from U.S. custody, and more than two dozen more releases are
imminent, Afghan officials told McClatchy on Sunday. In a major
concession to entice the Taliban into talks, President Hamid Karzai
announced the amnesty for detained insurgents at the peace 'jirga' --
a traditional gathering of tribal leaders -- held in Kabul at the
start of this month." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/269vevn

-----

19) Kyrgyzstan: Army to investigate whether troops involved in ethnic
violence
CNN

"Kyrgyzstan will investigate allegations that government troops were
involved in ethnic violence, an official said Sunday. Col. Kursan
Asanov, appointed by the Kyrgyz interim government to run the
reconciliation operation in the southern city of Osh, did not say
whether the investigation would include independent
investigators." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2fst5u7

-----

20) Poland: Runoff looms in presidential election
Bellingham Herald

"A somber election season in Poland was prolonged by two weeks Sunday
when a first round of voting produced no immediate successor to Lech
Kaczynski, the president killed more than two months ago in a plane
crash. Results show the interim president and parliament speaker,
Bronislaw Komorowski, is leading Kaczynski's identical twin, Jaroslaw
Kaczynski. But Komorowski appeared to fall short of the 50 percent
needed for outright victory." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2bz3quq

-----

21) IL: Chicago subway fire sends 12 to hospital
CNN

"A fire in Chicago's subway system Sunday left at least 12 people with
smoke-related injuries -- five of them in serious condition, according
to a fire official. Railroad ties in a tunnel near the city's Clark
Street station caught fire after apparently being ignited by sparks
from passing trains, said Larry Langford, a spokesman for the Chicago
Fire Department." (06/20/10)

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/20/chicago.subway.fire/

-----

22) Iran: Regime hangs leader of outlawed Sunni militant group
Lexington Herald-Leader

"Iran hanged the leader of an outlawed Islamic militant group Sunday
after convicting him on charges of terrorism, murder and collaborating
with Western intelligence services, including the CIA, state
television reported. Abdol-Majid Rigi, also known as Abdulmalak Rigi,
was executed in Tehran's Evin Prison in the presence of the families
of the victims of his alleged crimes, state television said. Among
other charges, he was found guilty of heresy and corruption on Earth,
capital offenses under Iran's Islamic law." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/27qzmds

-----

23) Kevin Costner signs contract with BP for oil slick clean-up
Guardian [UK]

"Hollywood star Kevin Costner yesterday unveiled the 'dream machine'
that he says will separate oil from water and save the Gulf of Mexico
from the environmental catastrophe caused by the destruction of the
oil rig. Costner's company, Ocean Therapy Solutions, signed a contract
with BP last week to provide 32 units. These are expected to be
working in the Gulf within the next 60 days, said BP's chief operating
officer, Doug Suttles. Financial details of the deal between Costner
and BP have not been disclosed." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2g5udnr

-----

24) Chinese regime buying US politicians' debt again
Business Week

"A year after criticizing U.S. fiscal policy as 'irresponsible,'
China's leaders are showing increasing confidence in President Barack
Obama's leadership of the American economy. China boosted holdings of
Treasury notes and bonds by 2.6 percent to $900.2 billion in March and
April, after reducing its stake by 6.5 percent from November through
February, the longest consecutive monthly declines in a decade, U.S.
data released June 15 showed. The People's Bank of China said June 19
that it will relax its 23-month lock on the yuan." [editor's note:
Suckers - TLK] (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/288sc7j

-----

25) Latest FBI crime data continues to refute anti-gun rhetoric
Liberty For All

"Preliminary data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Report shows that the
violent crime rate went down 5.5 percent in 2009, compared to
statistics from 2008. This covers all four categories of violent
crime: murder, robbery, aggravated assault and forcible rape. Violent
crime went down 4 percent in metropolitan counties and 3 percent
elsewhere, according to the FBI." (06/19/10)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=4463

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 06/21/10
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 96,803 ... Max - 105,553
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 4,407
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

26) Kill the "kill switch"
AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo

"Who else but Joe Lieberman would introduce a bill to give the
President the power to shut down the Internet with the flick of a
switch? I'm afraid of the answer to that question, and you should be,
too. However, it's hardly surprising America's premier authoritarian
warmonger -- author of a bill that would strip American citizenship
from anyone even vaguely suspected of 'terrorism' -- would come up
with a scheme like this. ... This bill is the culmination of years of
yelping about the likelihood of a 'cyber-9/11,' a devastating attack
on the national infrastructure via the Internet. If such an event is
so likely, then why hasn't it happened already? Because the likelihood
of it ever happening is nearly nil." (06/21/10)

http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2010/06/20/kill-the-kill-switch/

-----

27) A gold economy begins
LewRockwell.Com
by Bill Sardi

"At some point, there is no turning back. When enough Americans, and
people worldwide, begin to depend upon gold for an income, it will be
very tenuous for politicians to do what they did in 1933, which was to
confiscate gold. Confiscation of gold could eliminate many jobs -- a
precious commodity these days. Gold is edging its way into American
society, initially not as a substitute for spending money, but as a
medium of wealth preservation for the well-to-do and a way to pay
bills for the poor. Slowly, surely, America is changing, not just
shifting from saving paper money to storing gold, but to a gold-based
economy." (06/21/10)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/sardi/sardi172.html

-----

28) Watching Big Brother
Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson

"One question anarchists are frequently asked is how a stateless
society would prevent the mistreatment of workers and other forms of
corporate misconduct. The way this question is framed is instructive.
One of the major themes in the rise of the modern state was what James
Scott (Seeing Like a State) calls 'legibility' from above. That is,
the society is supposed to be transparent primarily to the state --
vertical, as opposed to horizontal legibility, the latter implying
transparency to one another. The question, framed as 'wouldn't
businesses be able to get away with this or that,' or 'wouldn't this
be allowed,' suggests the questioner is implicitly (and probably
unconsciously) viewing things from the state's perspective. The
question that should be asked is, how would we hold one another
accountable for doing harmful things? And the answer is, we're doing
it now." (06/19/10)

http://c4ss.org/content/2929

-----

29) Keep your filthy hands off the Net!
The Libertarian Enterprise
by L. Neil Smith

"The subject: "New Bill Gives Obama 'Kill Switch' To Shut Down The
Internet". The story, on PrisonPlanet.com, written by Paul Joseph
Watson and published on Wednesday, June 16, 2010, warned that under a
new law being pushed by that perennial douchebag Joseph Lieberman,
government would have the "absolute power" to seize control of the
World Wide Web. " (06/20/10)

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2010/tle575-20100620-02.html

-----

30) It's all state capitalism
Foundation for Economic Education
by Sheldon Richman

"At the risk of getting ahead of myself, notice what's missing from
Brooks's schema. The free market, in which the State keeps its heavy
hands off the people's economic affairs. Neither of his camps can be
described in those terms. In fact, what Brooks has described -- albeit
most inadequately -- are two variants of State capitalism. Calling one
of them 'democratic' doesn't alter the facts." (06/18/10)

http://tinyurl.com/386eaxb

-----

31) The abolitionist argument in 35 seconds
Strike the Root
by Glenn Allport

"In contrast, Tolkien's Ring of Power provides a detailed if symbolic
look at the coercive State -- including a prescription for ending the
violence it causes, the corruption it fosters, and the devastation
that Power creates: that prescription is to stop trying to reform
Power and instead completely end the use of coercive power structures;
to replace the psychopathic, coercive State with civil society. The
Lord of the Rings shows, in clear if symbolic form, that nothing else
but eliminating the coercive State will counter the bizarre, mind-
altering attraction that Power exerts and the near-universal belief
that, despite all of human experience to the contrary, Power can be
safely used for good if only the 'right' people are in
control." (06/20/10)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/abolitionist-argument-in-35-seconds

-----

32) The flotilla fiasco
CounterPunch
by Saul Landau

"After Israeli commandos murdered nine people and wounded scores of
others in international waters, I concluded that Israel continues to
give Jews a bad name. The US government and media, in their effort to
kiss the Israeli lobby's ass, contributed to what Margaret Atwood
called 'a shadow hanging over Israel.' She referred to its continued
inhumane treatment of the Palestinians in occupied territories,
including its control over access to Gaza." (06/20/10)

http://counterpunch.org/landau06182010.html

-----

33) The handouts just keep coming
Las Vegas Review-Journal
by Vin Suprynowicz

"A rather heated debate seems to be ensuing -- it ensues about every
90 days, merely growing louder at each iteration -- about whether the
Congress should again extend benefits for the unemployed. The question
that draws the most attention, understandably, is whether this is a
good idea. As usual, though, I'd like to focus instead on a supposedly
minor, related concern." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2dmvg4s

-----

34) The instrument of crime remains only an instrument
Boston Globe
by Jeff Jacoby

"It was one of the creepier stories of the week gone by: The town
administrator in Shirley was arrested on charges of illegally
recording and photographing co-workers by planting a miniature video
camera above a toilet stall in the women's bathroom. Reaction was what
you would expect. Residents expressed outrage and distress, the
accused was arraigned, locks on town buildings were ordered changed,
and selectmen began the process of finding a new administrator. But
one reaction nobody had was to call for banning the sale of miniature
video cameras. No such call would have been taken seriously, and for
good reason: The fact that some criminals might use a camcorder
maliciously is not a good reason to penalize the great majority of
people who wouldn't. Similarly, when someone uses a car to carry out a
crime, nobody proposes stringent new curbs on car sales. ... Yet when
guns are used with tragic results, cries for tougher gun control
routinely follow." [editor's note: One of Jacoby's best in a while -
SAT] (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/23xgpzk

-----

35) Congress can't play favorites with NRA
Christian Science Monitor
by staff

"Trust in Washington is so low that it is startling when Congress
further erodes the public's trust by offering more perks to special
interests such as the National Rifle Association (NRA). Lawmakers
still seem to ignore the hard facts before them about their
unprecedented unpopularity: Only 3 in 10 Americans plan to vote for
their House representative this fall, according to a Gallup poll. An
amazing 60 percent of voters would prefer to elect a candidate for
Congress who has had no experience rather an incumbent. And yet
despite this anti-incumbent mood in America, the House tried in recent
days to play favorites with the NRA. It effectively carved out an
exemption for the 4.5-million-member, pro-gun organization in a bill
-- and here's the irony -- aimed at reducing the power of private
groups in politics. ... While the ruling is troublesome in not
acknowledging the corrupting influence of money on American democracy,
the provisions of the DISCLOSE Act that would favor one group over
another in restricting free speech is clearly
unconstitutional." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2ds79be

-----

36) The end of the War on Crime?
The Nation
by Sasha Abramsky

"'Necessity,' says Lorenzo Jones, executive director of the
Connecticut-based A Better Way Foundation, 'is the mother of
invention.' When it comes to drug policy, he continues, think of the
present moment 'as moving from a war economy to a postwar economy.'
For decades, progressive policy analysts and criminal justice
reformers such as Jones have argued that state and federal antidrug
and, more generally, 'tough on crime' incarceration strategies were
counterproductive: that they were dramatically reshaping American
society, at a staggering fiscal and moral cost, and they weren't
succeeding. ... True, crime rates have fallen dramatically since the
early 1990s, in part because of those higher incarceration rates. But
most experts believe they fell in larger part because of demographic
shifts, changes in policing practices and an easing of the crack
epidemic." (06/16/10)

http://www.thenation.com/article/end-war-crime

-----

37) Why Simpson's SSI rant is important
Our Future Blog
by Richard (RJ) Eskow

"A video of retired Sen. Alan Simpson's foulmouthed rant toward
activist Alex Lawson is making the Internet rounds, as well it should:
The sheer audacity and rudeness of the guy makes this clip 'must-see
TV.' It's a political bloopers reel. But, while Simpson's
outrageousness makes the video entertaining, here's what makes it
important: Alan Simpson is one of two chairs of a bipartisan
commission created by President Obama to study the Federal deficit.
His comments reveal a number of very important things about his
biases, his tendency to distort and mislead, and his ideological
extremism. These traits are likely to taint the Commission's work --
work which has great implications for the future. Your
future." (06/18/10)

http://tinyurl.com/33s2uwz

-----

38) "So is she gay?"
In These Times
by Jeremy Gantz

"Two hours after President Barack Obama's May 10 announcement that
Solicitor General Elena Kagan was his nominee to replace U.S. Supreme
Court Justice John Paul Stevens, journalist Andrew Sullivan asked a
question on his popular blog the Daily Dish: 'So is she gay?' At
almost the exact same moment, Christian Newswire posted an urgent
press release from 'Americans For Truth About Homosexuality' (AFTAH),
titled: 'If Elena Kagan Is a Lesbian, She Should Say So because Public
Has a Right to Know.' The organization demanded that Kagan -- who is
single and has never married -- answer a question familiar to students
of the McCarthy era: 'Are you now or have you ever been a
homosexual?'" [editor's note: If there was ever a time for
"colorblindness" it's now; Kagan's sexual leanings are so trivial,
compared with serious questions about her views on the constitution,
and liberty in general! It's as dumb as Lewinsky's hummers
overshadowing Clinton's real abuses of his office (which themselves
seem trivial after seeing his successors to the throne - SAT]
(06/20/10)

http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/6080/so_is_she_gay

-----

39) Interview: Primary concern
The American Prospect
by Nicolas Mendoza

"On June 8th, California's voters passed Proposition 14, a measure
that would end California's semi-closed primary system, replacing it
with a system in which all primary voters receive a single ballot
listing all candidates running for each office. The top two vote
getters proceed to the fall election regardless of party. Supporters
say that the 'top two' primary is less polarizing and empowers
moderate candidates who can have a real effect in a state legislature
mired in gridlock and budgetary crisis. Critics of the measure say it
undermines each party's right to determine its own candidates, and
increases the influences of special interests by making primaries more
competitive and thus more expensive. Primary reform has been tried
before in California and elsewhere. Eric McGhee, a research fellow at
the Public Policy Institute of California, looked at these experiments
to see how they affected partisanship in state politics." (06/18/10)

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=primary_concern

-----

40) Obama tackles the oil spill
Reason
by Chip Bok

Cartoon. (06/18/10)

http://reason.com/archives/2010/06/18/friday-funnies

-----

41) Context matters: A better libertarian approach to
antidiscrimination law
Cato Unbound
by David E. Bernstein

"Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul, a Republican with libertarian
leanings, recently questioned the provision of the 1964 Civil Rights
Act that bans discrimination in restaurants, hotels, and other
businesses. Bloggers and editorialists responded with a deluge of
negative, and often unfair or inaccurate, commentary about the
libertarian position on antidiscrimination laws. The most serious
charge has been that libertarian skepticism of antidiscrimination laws
that apply to private entities reflects, at best, insensitivity to
race discrimination. One blogger, reflecting a significant swath of
progressive sentiment, argued that no matter how committed to racial
egalitarianism any individual libertarian claims to be,
'Libertarianism is a racist philosophy. Libertarians are
racists.'" (06/16/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2wupdfv

-----

42) Will oil drilling become a pipe dream?
Independent Institute
by Robert Higgs

"If President Obama's Oval Office speech made one thing clear, it is
that his administration and the activists who back it view the Gulf
oil spill as simply an opportunity to advance their pre-existing
agenda -- which has nothing to do with cleaning up the Gulf,
protecting the fragile coastal environment or fostering the region's
economy. The Obama administration's May 27 order to stop all deep-
water exploratory drilling in U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico for
six months, pending the report of a commission investigating the
causes of BP's Deepwater Horizon accident, is a case in point. Public
and political reaction to the devastating oil release in the Gulf has
revitalized a coalition of environmental and anti-energy lobbies that
oppose not only deep-water drilling, but all offshore oil production
and, in some cases, all use of fossil fuels. As usual, political
opportunists have been quick to seize the moment." (06/16/10)

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2813

-----

43) Geopolitics and the pill
Reason
by Katherine Mangu-Ward

"When the Food and Drug Administration approved oral contraception in
1960, everybody understood that it was a big deal. But according to
Elaine Tyler May, author of America + The Pill: A History of Promise,
Peril, and Liberation, an awful lot of people were wrong about why it
was a big deal. Contrary to the expectations of the time, the Pill did
not 1) defuse the population bomb, 2) end the Cold War, or 3) turn
American women into sexually ravenous maneaters." (for publication
07/10)

http://reason.com/archives/2010/06/18/geopolitics-and-the-pill

-----

44) What Would Coolidge Do?
The American Conservative
by Sean Scallon

"The idea that any branch of the government cannot do something is
unfathomable and [the] President gets the blame for it. This is what
happened to President Bush II during the course of his second term. In
his first term, immediately after 9-11, Bush II may not have done
anything more meaningful than give a speech at Ground Zero but the
speech gave the impression he was [in] charge, he was leading. That
perception helped him enormously in his first term. By contrast, even
though Federal relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina were often
hampered by the incompetence of local officials like former New
Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, the
inability of Bush II to similarly seem to be in 'command' of the
situation after the storm began the downfall of his Presidency.
Perhaps it's best to ask in this situation WWCD, What Would Coolidge
Do?" (06/19/10)

http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2010/06/19/wwcd-what-would-coolidge-do/

-----

45) Mythbuster: Libertarianism and unchosen obligations
The Libertarian Standard
by Geoffrey Allan Plauche

"Libertarians generally make two important sets of distinctions
regarding obligation: that between negative and positive obligations
and that between enforceable and unenforceable obligations. One can go
further and recognize that obligations can have different weightings
relative to one another such that one obligation can override or
delimit the legitimate means of fulfilling another." (06/18/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2ga62lr

-----

46) Tax credits are an undesirable strategy for Missouri
Show-Me Institute
by Christine Harbin

"There was some classic rent-seeking behavior in the editorial section
of the Post-Dispatch yesterday: An architect touts historic
preservation tax credits. (Thanks to John Combest for the link.)
According to his tagline, the author 'has worked on many renovation
projects on Washington Avenue,' a location that has received many of
these tax credits. We witness this type of behavior all too frequently
in Missouri -- in the film industry, in the local agriculture
industry, in the dental industry, etc. Although the actors may change,
the plot remains the same: One group asks the government to adopt
policies (e.g., tax credits, occupational licenses) that would benefit
that group only, and at the expense of all other groups." (06/18/10)

http://www.showmedaily.org/2010/06/tax-credits-are-an-undesirable.html

-----

47) The right's latest faux Obama outrage
Mother Jones
by Stephanie Mencimer

"Usually Dick Armey gets worked up over things like taxes and the
deficit. But at a conference on Wednesday about the Tea Party
movement, the former House majority leader and current chair of
FreedomWorks was jumping out of his chair over something even more
arcane: the Jones Act -- a 1920s-era maritime law that bars foreign-
flagged vessels from shuttling goods between American ports. To hear
Armey talk, the act -- and President Obama's support for it -- are all
that's keeping eager Norwegian skimmers from mopping up the oil
destined for Florida's pristine sands. 'How do you explain a president
who does not waive the Jones Act on day one?' he fumed. 'No press is
even asking the questions.' His explanation: It's a 'silly little
labor sop.'" (06/18/10)

http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/06/jones-act-bp-spill

-----

48) Truth And Reconciliation hoopla and the Canadian genocide of
aboriginal people
Porcupine Blog
by Kevin D. Annett

"A group of child rapists and serial killers recently issued a public
apology to their victims, who responded this past week by gathering in
their thousands in Ottawa to proclaim a 'Statement of Forgiveness' to
their torturers. Only in Canada. The fact that the 'apologetic'
criminal is the government and mainstream churches, and the victims
are aboriginal, should make this scenario no less absurd. What is it
with us Canadians, anyway? Are we really the most self-duplicitous
nation on earth? Do we actually believe that 50,000 little corpses can
vanish that easily, and generations of slaughter somehow erased, with
a few lawyer-crafted phrases followed by orchestrated hosannas by
clusters of government paid Indian flunkies?" (06/17/10)

http://tinyurl.com/27c3ajv

-----

49) Portugal liberalizes drugs, world doesn't end
Libertarian News Examiner
by Garry Reed

"[T]he apocalypse that drug alarmists predicted never happened;
Portugal did not become a 'haven for drugs tourism' and drug abuse and
drug crime actually fell. And even with its flaws it's monumentally
better than the continuing drug thugocracy in the United States.
America's Drug Warriors will never willingly back off. It would mean
that drug enforcers would have to give up their government careers,
paychecks, benefits, pensions and self-righteousness. It would mean
that the media would have to give up its sensationalistic headlines
and ass-kicking SWAT footage on News At Eleven." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/22taubx

-----

50) Small people rule!
The Weekly Standard
by William Kristol

"It was a bad week for the big people. On Tuesday night, President
Obama, surely the biggest big, delivered his first speech from the
Oval Office to the American people. It was a bust. The next day, after
a big people's meeting at the White House, BP chairman Carl-Henric
Svanberg explained that he and his fellow bigs cared about us small
people. And then on Thursday, at the big spectacle in the hearing room
of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, big-deal chairman Henry
Waxman waxed ridiculously demagogic, big-shot BP CEO Tony Hayward
played unconvincingly dumb, and GOP-big Joe Barton was remarkably
dumb. But at least they care about us. Well, actually, they don't --
as even a cursory observation of the careers and behavior of Messrs.
Obama, Svanberg, Hayward, Waxman, and Barton reveals." (for
publication 06/28/10)

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/small-people-rule

-----

51) The fear factor
Slate
by Dahlia Lithwick

"One of the hottest new trends in litigation is fear. Witnesses in an
important gay-rights case claimed they were too afraid to testify
because they would be subject to reprisals for their unpopular views.
Plaintiffs in another case claimed they're afraid for their very lives
if their names are disclosed publicly. Contributors to political
campaigns want to shield their names out of fear of death threats.
It's one thing to hear this kind of talk from eyewitnesses in gang
shootings. But claims that you are too scared to publicly state your
beliefs have become common among opponents of gay rights, especially.
Which raises the question: What happens to our civic life when we're
all too scared to participate?" (06/19/10)

http://www.slate.com/id/2257500/

-----

52) Memo to the victims: You yourself will pay for the crimes of the
ruling class
The Power of Narrative
by Arthur Silber

"One aspect of the profoundly evil system that has been destroying us
for over a hundred years -- and make no mistake, it is deeply evil in
design, intent and effect, if by evil we designate those actions which
destroy the very possibility of thriving life -- is especially awful.
The authoritarian-corporatist-militarist system victimizes untold
millions of individual human beings, as well as many other forms of
life as we see again today, both here and abroad. That would be a
momentous evil in itself, but this particular evil is unsatisfied with
only this first form of destruction. Thus, the victims are targeted a
second time, and they are forced to become collaborators in their own
destruction." (06/18/10)

http://tinyurl.com/26aj9zk

-----

53) He blinded me with science
National Review
by Jonah Goldberg

"At his inauguration, Obama pledged to 'restore science to its
rightful place.' Fast-forward to the oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico." (06/18/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2vnoevn

-----

54) This Mac devotee is moving to Linux
Salon
by Dan Gillmor

"Apple is pushing computer users as fast as it can toward a centrally
controlled computing ecosystem where it makes all the decisions about
what native applications may be used on the devices it sells -- and
takes a cut of every dollar that is spent inside that ecosystem. This
is a direct repudiation of its own history, and more broadly that of
the larger personal-computing ecosystem, where no one can stop anyone
else from writing and distributing software that other people might
want to use. Steve Jobs says Apple is a curator, nothing more. This
grossly understates the control. Jobs says Apple has 'made mistakes'
in being the police, judge, jury and executioner in its Disney-style
world, and is working hard to perfect the system. But this is a
disconnect with reality. Central control, no matter how well-
intentioned, is itself the problem, not the solution. The 'enlightened
dictator' is fiction. And dangerous." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2bz4jzc

-----

55) Explosive!
Liberty For All
by Kevin Tuma

Cartoon. (06/20/10)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=4465

-----

56) The exploitation of entrepreneurs
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Aaron Smith

"In our society of victims, entrepreneurs are blamed for many of the
hardships that ail our economy. Whether it is because of high prices,
low wages, or substandard economic conditions, they are often accused
of exploitation in their quest for profits. The real victims in our
economy, however, are usually not workers who voluntarily enter
contracts to sell their labor nor consumers who voluntarily purchase
products and services but instead entrepreneurs who are involuntarily
subjected to the not-so-invisible hand of our government
caretakers." (06/18/10)

http://mises.org/daily/4483

-----

57) The Senate's global warming circus
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Iain Murray

"The Senate undermined its constitutional role last week with a vote
that allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate
greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. The 53 senators favoring
this huge delegation of authority to the executive branch disregarded
the principle of separation of powers. The low quality of the debate
that preceded the vote, as well as its result, should put an end to
the Senate's reputation as the world's greatest deliberative
body." (06/15/10)

http://tinyurl.com/376mbap

-----

58) "Smoke-free air" laws vs. property rights in Louisiana
Campaign For Liberty
by Len Gillerpine

"According to the Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living (TFL),
their mission is to 'implement and evaluate comprehensive tobacco
control initiatives that prevent and reduce tobacco use and exposure
to secondhand smoke,' also stating that 'TFL envisions a healthier
Louisiana through 100% tobacco-free living.' Based on such rhetoric,
one can't help but come to the conclusion that their ultimate goal is
outright tobacco prohibition." (06/20/10)

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=947

-----

59) Why welfare states hemorrhage
Tibor's Space
by Tibor R. Machan

"One central reason welfare states -- or call them social democracies
or whatever runaway mob rule most developed and developing countries
are subject to these days (for the last thing they are is capitalist)
-- go broke is a basic flaw of the system, not the particular fault of
politicians or bureaucrats or the devil. Nearly all democracies now
are unlimited, illiberal, and unrestrained by firm constitutional
principles that prohibit spending more than what the treasury can
bear. So the politicians are impelled by democratic forces to dole out
support for their constituents without any regard for budgetary
constraints. No budgets can be enforced since the very lawmakers and
bureaucrats who would do the enforcement are themselves impelled by
the democratic process to drain the treasury beyond rhyme or reason.
Also, people just cannot be taxed endlessly -- in time they just give
up seeking to prosper." (06/19/10)

http://tibikem.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!B2FD693F4B9A5746!2241.entry

-----

60) Justice and BP
A Passion for Liberty
by Tibor R. Machan

"It is very probable that BP and its associated firms will be found
guilty of malpractice and assessed major fines and punishment.
However, this hasn't yet happened so it's premature to punish BP at
this point. Nor is it the role of the President of the U.S. to act as
prosecutor, judge and jury in this case or any other. Where is due
process in all of what he and Congress have been doing lately? Or has
an anti-British or anti-business attitude wiped out the need for
justice? Urging or imploring -- even attempting to persuade -- BP to
set up the $20 billion fund could be a good idea but treating this as
demanded by justice is utterly misguided. There should be no
compromise of principle even in the heat of anger and the grips of
outrage and sorrow. It is imperative to wait until the verdict is
in." (06/18/10)

http://tibormachan.rationalreview.com/2010/06/column-on-justice-bp/

-----

61) What price Afghanistan?
Human Events
by Patrick J. Buchanan

"It is simply not credible that the United States and its NATO allies,
some of whom -- like the Dutch -- are pulling out, can prevail in this
war in 12 months so America can begin coming home, as Obama has
promised, unless Obama is willing to write Afghanistan off. If he is,
he should tell us now and save those Americans lives. If he is not
wiling to see Afghanistan fall, he should tell us what it will take,
and how long, to avoid a defeat and win this war." (06/18/10)

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=37568

-----

62) Liberal despair and the cult of the presidency
The New Republic
by Jonathan Chait

"Few people follow the arcana of Congressional debate. They attribute
all political outcomes to the president, and thus when the outcome is
unsatisfactory, the reason must be a failure of presidential
willpower. ... Rachel Maddow offered a perfect example of the
phenomenon the other night. She delivered her fantasy version of the
speech President Obama should have given." (06/17/10)

http://tinyurl.com/29eszgt

-----

63) Educashun, educashun, educashun
Libertarian Alliance
by David Davis

"Someone 'high-up' in the British Political EnemyClass has suggested
that the State monkeys yet further with end-of-school qualifications,
to play to the different skills of boys and girls. This is the wrong
solution addressing the wrong problem. The problem is that there is
nothing left wort 'If I were you, I wouldn't be starting from
here!'" (06/19/10)

http://libertarianalliance.wordpress.com/2010/06/19/13452/

-----

64) On how to really solve our economic problems
Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall

"I think we're all aware of what we really need to do to get out from
under our current economics woes, yes? We need to cut spending, but
not so much that we crater the economy while doing so. We also need to
grow the economy so that the debt burden is a percentage of a larger
economy: and thus easier to bear/pay off. I don't think there's anyone
at all who would disagree with that little thumbnail sketch, from the
most dedicated Keynesian to the most ferociously Austrian of my
colleagues. There will be disagreement about what 'too much' means in
reference to cutting spending of course, but the two basic points
aren't, I think, argued about by anyone. So, I argue that we leave the
EU and adopt unilateral free trade as a solution." (06/20/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2cjcbws

-----

65) Barack Obama's square box
The American Spectator
by Daniel Oliver

"When John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane crashed into Atlantic Ocean off the
coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, in July 1999 some observers
said he had gotten himself into a "square box," meaning that he had
run into the limits of his experience and his imagination. Barack
Obama is in a square box, and observers are now beginning to talk
about his inevitable crash." (06/18/10)

http://spectator.org/archives/2010/06/18/barack-obamas-square-box

-----

66) Powerbrokers, pimps and prostitutes, part 1
Freedom's Phoenix
by Dave Hodges

"The individual members of the American military are the best trained,
the brightest and the bravest of all military personnel in the world.
Without reservation, the American fighting men and women deserve our
loyalty and faithful support as they bravely carryout their assigned
missions, risking their lives, in what they believe is the defense of
the American people. However, the powerbrokers of the financial and
political world are hiding behind the bravery of our brave military
men and women in order to carry out their heinous agenda involving the
acquisition of resources and ultimately, total power." (06/19/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2coul2p

-----

67) A second civil war
Ayn R. Key
by Ayn R. Key

"It comes up every once in a while in libertarian circles, more often
in some boards than in others and more often as we near the
anniversary of the secession of 1776 -- a discussion of a potential
future civil war that could theoretically restore liberty in the
United States. Although entertaining to think about an uprising can
have disastrous consequences, or if it is the wrong uprising can be a
disaster itself. One of the ways it could go horribly wrong is if the
conflict is steered into red versus blue, red states versus blue
states. Neither the Democrats and their supporters nor the Republicans
and their supporters represent greater liberty, but instead offer
competing versions of how the government should run the lives of the
people. The leadership of both parties believe that they are entitled
to rule others. Yet this is a particularly likely form of civil war
due to it perpetuating the basic right versus left division that has
kept the freedom movement divided against each other instead of the
common foe, and kept the people divided so that they do not notice the
common foe." (06/19/10)

http://aynrkey.blogspot.com/2010/06/second-civil-war.html

-----

68) About that $20 billion
LewRockwell.Com
by Jim Davies

"Government transfers are never fast, and always expensive -- the
bureau-rats administering them always manage to skim off a rich layer
for themselves -- so those idled fishermen and hoteliers may have to
wait a while. Some of them are already complaining that BP is too
slow, and now that the Feds have the job of making payments, they will
find out what waiting really means. That will increase hostility to
Washington, and so is no bad result. One other potentially good result
is that scrutiny of applications for money is likely to be poor (what
do b-rats know about meeting small-business payrolls?). This $20
billion could prove a bonanza for all manner of malingerers and
spongers, so rather than complain, why not join them? Above, I
mentioned my sleepless night. I do worry about this matter, it
deprives me of rest and brings emotional distress. I'm not sure how to
put a price on that damage, but think it cannot be less than $1,000.
Where's the application form?" (06/19/10)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/davies5.1.1.html

-----

69) Remember, it's not socialism
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by SM Oliva

"A few days after telling the American Medical Association that he was
not a socialist, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz went
right back to implementing health care socialism. On Friday, the FTC
announced its 36th 'consent order' since 2001 against a physician
group for the crime of negotiating a contract without FTC consent. The
only wrinkle in this case is the physician group is located in
Minnesota, where the state legislature recently enacted a law giving
the state power to review and approve 'jointly negotiated' contracts;
the FTC, however, decided that law didn't apply here -- the second
instance this week of the unelected FTC claiming the right to make
binding interpretations of laws enacted by elected state
legislatures." (06/19/10)

http://blog.mises.org/13010/remember-its-not-socialism/

-----

70) Rent or own? What a free market would do to the housing market
Nolan Chart
by Gene DeNardo

"It is almost a sure bet that in your locale the monthly cost of
'owning' a house or building exceeds the cost of renting that same
structure. We usually don't even question this basic assumption, but
when we do we attribute it to something as vague as the 'work of the
free market.' Yet, it is actually the exact opposite. In reality, both
the cost of owning and renting a structure fall under the umbrella of
'rent.' In a real honest to goodness free market, which option is the
most costly might surprise us." (06/20/10)

http://www.nolanchart.com/article7799.html

-----

71) Revitalizing America
Liberty & Power
by Charles W. Nuckolls

"Anthropologists, like Peter Worsley, termed a 'revitalization
movement' the attempt to restore, by ritual means, an imagined lost of
age of abundance. The Seneca rel[i]gion of Handsome Lake; the Sioux
ghost dance; the Melanesian cargo cults: all examples of societies
near collapse making a last ditch effort through fantasy to reverse
the decline reality had in store for them. One sees the same thing in
the United States today in our increasingly furtive efforts to breath
life back into the American Dream -- a dream based on perpetual growth
and unlimited, cheap fossil fuel." (06/19/10)

http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/128175.html

-----

72) Subtle modern tyranny at work
Fr33 Agents
by Szandor Blestman

"The quest for freedom is worldwide. People have been tyrannized for
too long and wish relief from such tyranny that freedom would provide.
Governments wish to maintain their power and control over the common
folk and continue striving to keep them down and obedient in any way
possible. In some countries, particularly those of lesser means,
governments brutalize their citizens without a qualm. There is a
multitude of examples of this happening throughout history, but these
governments continue such practices even in modern times. More
'civilized' countries, such as those we in the Western world reside
in, use far more subtle means to apply their tyranny." (06/18/10)

http://www.fr33agents.com/3062/subtle-modern-tyranny-at-work/

-----

73) Libertarians in Kyrgyzstan spearhead peace campaign, help victims
of violence: You can help, too
Cato @ Liberty
by Tom G. Palmer

"Kyrgyz libertarians are leading a series of coordinated voluntary
efforts to provide emergency aid to the victims of the vicious attacks
of the last few days in their country and to promote peace throughout
the nation and the region. I've been in regular touch with our friends
there, and on Tuesday evening I talked to Central Asian Free Market
Institute (CAFMI) Director Mirsulzhan Namazaliev by Skype, as he was
interrupted by a stream of volunteers working late into the night in
the CAFMI offices." (06/17/10)

http://tinyurl.com/37vr79w

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74) Build a monument to liberty
Albuquerque Libertarian Examiner
by Kent McManigal

"One big monument, 'Liberty Enlightening the World,' or 'The Statue of
Liberty,' was built without theft, to celebrate something actually
worth celebrating. Of course, it was then stolen by government and
turned into a parody of itself. Unfortunately, it is now a 'liberty-
free zone' all its own, due to the policies of the government that
confiscated it. The same could be said about The Liberty Bell, which
is held hostage in the statist 'paradise' of Philadelphia." (06/17/10)

http://tinyurl.com/22rg53t

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75) Playoff series
Daily Speculations
by Victor Niederhoffer

"The games between the playoff teams in basketball resemble nothing
more than a battle between the bulls and bears with the individual
star and goat players resembling the best and worst performing stocks.
What can we learn from the games that will help up in
markets?" (06/18/10)

http://www.dailyspeculations.com/wordpress/?p=4908

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* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
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76) Brad Spangler on Freedom Rings Radio, 06/21/10
Freedom Rings Radio

Brad Spangler, director of the Center for a Stateless Society, joins
host Kenneth John. 9-10am Central on WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin, IL or live
on the web. [live radio or stream] (06/21/10)

http://freedomrings.net/

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77) Free Talk Live, 06/19/10
Free Talk Live

"Drug War :: Jodie Emery's Trip to Federal Prison :: One-Man-Decrim ::
Sad Obedience and Cognitive Dissonance :: Dave the Antagonist :: Jim
Babka joins us with a Downsize DC update. :: Draconian Drug
Punishments :: Gene's Critique :: Prohibition Advocates :: Oil
Spill." [MP3] (06/19/10)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/ftl/FTL2010-06-19.mp3

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78) Edward Peck on Antiwar Radio
AntiWar.Com

"Former US Ambassador Edward Peck discusses his participation in the
Gaza aid flotilla and his subsequent deportation from Israel, bogus
excuses that impede progress toward a free Palestine, Joe Biden's
unwavering devotion to Israel, American ignorance about foreign
affairs and why (if they really do hate us for our freedoms) the
disposition of terrorists is improving." [Flash audio or MP3]
(06/19/10)

http://antiwar.com/radio/2010/06/19/edward-peck-3/

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79) Freedomain Radio #1683
Freedomain Radio

"The grim, lengthy and tragic history behind the terrible Gulf Oil
spill ..." [MP3] (06/19/10)

http://tinyurl.com/fdr1683

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80) Cato Daily Podcast, 06/18/10
Cato Institute

"Speechnow.org and the DISCLOSE Act," featuring Steve Simpson. [MP3]
(06/18/10)

http://tinyurl.com/cato061810

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

81) Today's events

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Don't see your event? Drop us a line at in...@rationalreview.com ... or
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