12/23 -- WI: 2004 Libertarian prez nominee Badnarik hospitalized; Iran "holding bin Laden relatives"
Thomas L. Knapp
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
* The Freedom Movement's Daily Newspaper
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* Volume VIII, Issue #1,818
* Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
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In The News:
0) Happy birthday to us!
00) Notice: Ad space auction
1) WI: 2004 Libertarian prez nominee Badnarik hospitalized
2) Iran "holding bin Laden relatives"
3) Iraq: Three killed, 13 wounded
4) Gunfight kills Taliban militants in Afghan city center
5) FBI monitored Michael Jackson for more than a decade
6) Colombia: Body of abducted governor found
7) Military mentors discreetly hired, fired
8) Veterans still waiting for GI Bill payments
9) Five million doses of nasal H1N1 vaccine recalled
10) Ahmadinejad dismisses US deadline for nuclear deal
11) Pregnant soldiers won't be court-martialed, commander says
12) AL: Dem defects to GOP over health care, policy
13) Feds address concerns about safety of Illinois prison
14) Top South Carolina prosecutor, others probing health care deal
15) Nurses explain how "health" bill could make crisis worse
16) TN: State appeals guns-in-restaurants ruling
17) NZ cop to nude cyclists: Put on your helmets!
18) Griffith party switch: Will other Dems follow suit?
19) France: Sarkozy orders Chunnel to resume
20) MA: Scalpers cloud free skating at Fenway
21) UK: Do your degree in two years
22) UK: "Legal high" clubbing drugs banned
23) TN: Homeowner kills burglar
24) TX: Yolanda Madden freed from prison, granted new trial
25) UK: Drug tests to catch pie cheats
Everybody Has An Opinion:
26) Santa Claus isn't coming to town
27) Relocating Gitmo
28) The Supreme Court has spoken: You have no rights
29) The health care debate has been "meaningful?" It just ain't so!
30) Health care: Happy holidays!
31) The awards!
32) Neocon of the Year
33) A cool wind braces the hot air crowd
34) Listening to Afghanistan
35) Free speech, for art's sake
36) US-Pakistan partnership: Make it work for both sides
37) The folding chair returns
38) Pakistan's trump card
39) Iran sanctions a precursor to war
40) In war, winners can be losers
41) Lustful money and hateful religion
42) War
43) Jesus: An historical figure, too
44) American's crazed corn habit
45) Obama passed up opportunity for real reform
46) Multiplication and division
47) Serious problems with Obama's plan to move Guantanamo to Illinois
48) ObamaCare's budget trickery
49) We're screwed!
50) Why not a "Constitutional US government?"
51) Your boss and your BlackBerry
52) President plans another (misguided) stimulus rush
53) In defense of Senate "obstructionism"
54) Obama, left behind
55) In Tea Parties we trust
56) The "slow money" movement may revolutionize the way you think
about food
57) Deniers without borders
58) Libertarians for junk science
59) Jewish law, oaths, and expensive religious rules
60) Obama: "I didn't campaign on the public option"
61) What's next for the stock market?
62) Global warming, Climategate, and the dangers of "expert consensus"
63) Strands of British conservatism
64) I met God -- God without religion, scripture, or faith: First
doubts
65) Malice or stupidity?
See No Evil, Hear No Evil:
66) Russ Jones on Freedom Rings Radio, 12/28/09
What's Up In The Freedom Movement:
67) Today's events
WaYbAcK:
68) The pacification of Boho
***************
* In The News
***************
0) Happy birthday to us!
Rational Review News Digest published its first edition on Monday,
December 23rd, 2002, making us seven years old (and marking
commencement of our eighth year of independent publication) today.
We look forward to many more years of serving up the freedom
movement's daily newspaper (RRND and FND, which preceded us and the
hiatus of which was what got us started) -- with your help. Please
visit rationalreview.chipin.com, or the sidebar of most pages at
rationalreview.com, to support our continued publication.
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review
-----
00) Notice: Ad space auction
See link for more information! Top bid as of 4:45am Central, 12/23/09
-- $150.
http://www.rationalreview.com/content/74432
-----
1) WI: 2004 Libertarian prez nominee Badnarik hospitalized
Independent Political Report
"[T]he President of the 2009 Continental Congress and 2004
Presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party, Michael Badnarik had
a Heart Attack this morning and [is] in an unconscious state. His
condition is serious." [editor's note: Updates at IPR say that
Badnarik has regained consciousness - TLK] (12/22/09)
-----
2) Iran "holding bin Laden relatives"
Al Jazeera [Quatar]
"Iranian authorities are holding several family members of Osama bin
Laden, according to Abdul Rahman bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader's
second son. In an interview published on Al Jazeera Arabic's website
on Monday, Abdul Rahman bin Laden said that Eman, his sister, one of
his stepmothers and five of his brothers have been detained in Tehran
since 1997." (12/21/09)
-----
3) Iraq: Three killed, 13 wounded
AntiWar.Com
"In Mosul, an Iraqi soldier was killed and his brother was wounded in
a small arms attack. Gunmen stormed a clinic, where they killed a
soldier and wounded a medic. One civilian was killed and four were
wounded during a blast on a minibus in Iskandariya. In Baghdad, a bomb
in Yarmouk wounded two people." (12/22/09)
-----
4) Gunfight kills Taliban militants in Afghan city center
Detroit News
"Police fought a three-hour gun battle in the center of an Afghan
provincial capital Monday, finally killing two Taliban militants who
stormed a multi-story market with dozens of civilians inside, an
official said. During the shootout, terrified shopkeepers shuttered
their doors and residents stayed inside for fear of being caught in
the crossfire as army and police rushed to the scene, reportedly
backed up by NATO forces. Three civilians and one police officer were
wounded in the fighting in the eastern province of Paktia, said the
deputy provincial police chief." (12/22/09)
-----
5) FBI monitored Michael Jackson for more than a decade
Dallas Morning News
"Police concerns that media-hungry terrorists would attack Michael
Jackson's child-molestation trial as a 'soft target' led to a request
for federal help, according to FBI files kept on the late pop star.
The documents also show that the FBI helped facilitate interviews in
the Philippines by California authorities investigating Jackson over
allegations that he had sexually abused boys. The FBI monitored
Jackson for more than a decade, but the files have no revelations
about his private life, and the bureau apparently never developed
solid evidence against him." (12/23/09)
-----
6) Colombia: Body of abducted governor found
The Press Association [UK]
"The governor of a southern Colombian state has been found dead less
than 24 hours after being abducted by leftist rebels in the the first
kidnapping of a major Colombian politician since 2002. The body of
Governor Luis Francisco Cuellar of Caqueta state was found not far
from Florencia, the state capital where the 69-year-old was kidnapped
late on Monday, security official Edilberto Ramon Endo
said." (12/22/09)
-----
7) Military mentors discreetly hired, fired
USA Today
"The Pentagon's Joint Forces Command fired a former top U.S. commander
in Iraq from his role as paid adviser to the military after he
publicly criticized the Bush administration's conduct of the Iraq war,
according to interviews with command officials and e-mails. Retired
lieutenant general Ricardo Sanchez, who led U.S. forces in Iraq from
June 2003 to June 2004, became a senior mentor for the Joint Forces
Command in 2006. Sanchez worked 18 days as a mentor in 2007, according
to the command. At the current rate of about $1,600 per day, his pay
would have totaled $28,800." (12/22/09)
-----
8) Veterans still waiting for GI Bill payments
MSNBC
"Universities and colleges are still waiting for tuition payments for
thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who attended school last
fall under the new GI Bill, leaving the veterans panicked that they'll
be unable to return to class in January. Veterans Affairs Department
officials promise to get them back into the classroom. The VA says the
number of veterans with claims unprocessed is now fewer than 5,000 --
down from tens of thousands -- and the goal is to have them all
processed by the end of the year." (12/22/09)
-----
9) Five million doses of nasal H1N1 vaccine recalled
MSNBC
"Drugmaker MedImmune is recalling nearly 5 million doses of swine flu
vaccine because the nasal spray appears to lose strength over time,
federal health officials announced Tuesday. The vaccine recall is the
second this month caused by declining potency and comes as public
health officials urge millions of Americans to get vaccinated against
swine flu. The action affects more than 4.6 million doses, but the
vast majority have already been used, according to the Food and Drug
Administration. Agency officials said the vaccine was strong enough
when it was distributed in October and November." (12/22/09)
-----
10) Ahmadinejad dismisses US deadline for nuclear deal
Juneau Empire
"Iran's president on Tuesday dismissed a year-end deadline set by the
Obama administration and the West for Tehran to accept a U.N.-drafted
deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel. The United States
warned Iran to take the deadline seriously. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also
accused the U.S. of fabricating a purported Iranian secret document
that appears to lay out a plan for developing a critical component of
an atomic bomb." (12/22/09)
-----
11) Pregnant soldiers won't be court-martialed, commander says
CNN
"The commander who instituted a policy cracking down on pregnancy
among soldiers defended it Tuesday as necessary to maintain troop
strength, but said no soldier would ever be court-martialed for
violating the directive. The policy -- which would punish soldiers who
get pregnant or impregnate another soldier -- was included in Maj.
Gen. Anthony Cucolo's orders to troops regarding conduct while
deployed under his command in northern Iraq." (12/22/09)
-----
12) AL: Dem defects to GOP over health care, policy
Coeur d'Alene Press
"A U.S. House Democrat who opposes the health care overhaul announced
Tuesday he is defecting to the GOP, another blow to Democrats ahead of
the midterm elections. U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith spoke to reporters at
his home in northern Alabama, a region that relies heavily on defense
and aerospace jobs. 'I believe our nation is at a crossroads and I can
no longer align myself with a party that continues to pursue
legislation that is bad for our country, hurts our economy, and drives
us further and further into debt,' Griffith said as his wife Virginia
stood by his side." (12/22/09)
-----
13) Feds address concerns about safety of Illinois prison
Aberdeen News
"Federal officials tried on Tuesday to allay fears that moving terror
suspects from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a rural western Illinois prison
could make the state a terrorist target. The director of the Federal
Bureau of Prisons, Harley Lappin, told a legislative panel that a new
perimeter fence and other measures would make Thomson Correctional
Center 'the most secure of all federal prisons in the
country.'" (12/22/09)
-----
14) Top South Carolina prosecutor, others probing health care deal
ABC News
"The top prosecutors in seven states are probing the constitutionality
of a political deal that cut a funding break for Nebraska in order to
pass a federal health care reform bill, South Carolina's attorney
general said Tuesday. Attorney General Henry McMaster said he and his
counterparts in Alabama, Colorado, Michigan, North Dakota, Texas and
Washington state -- all Republicans -- are jointly taking a look at
the deal they've dubbed the 'Nebraska compromise.'" (12/22/09)
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=9405283
-----
15) Nurses explain how "health" bill could make crisis worse
Raw Story
"The newly-formed nurses' 'mega-union' has issued a scathing
indictment of the Senate health bill expected to be voted on this
week, calling it a 'deeply flawed' piece of legislation that could
make the US healthcare system's problems worse. National Nurses
United, the US's largest nurses' union since it was formed earlier
this month, issued a statement Monday implying that it doesn't support
the healthcare reform bill championed by the White House and Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid. ... The nurses' statement implied that it
would be better if Congress passed no reform legislation, rather than
the current proposed bill." (12/22/09)
http://rawstory.com/2009/12/nurses-health-bill-crisis-worse/
-----
16) TN: State appeals guns-in-restaurants ruling
Tennessean
"The state attorney general's office is appealing a recent court
ruling that overturned a law allowing licensed handgun owners to take
their weapons into restaurants that serve alcohol. Attorney General
Robert E. Cooper's office filed notice to the Tennessee Court of
Appeals today. Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman ruled on
Nov. 20 that the law, passed by the General Assembly last spring over
Gov. Phil Bredesen's veto, was unconstitutionally vague. The law,
which was in effect for about four months, allowed handgun carry
permit holders to take their guns into restaurants and bars that
served alcohol as long as they didn't drink and the establishments'
owners didn't post signs prohibiting them." [editor's note: Creating
more "gun-free zones" might work if all the bartenders had shotguns &
knew how to use 'em to preserve the peace ... or maybe not! - SAT]
(12/22/09)
-----
17) NZ cop to nude cyclists: Put on your helmets!
Fox News
"Police picked up two naked men on a late night bike ride in a New
Zealand town but let them off with a warning: put on helmets. 'They
were wanting to experience total freedom,' said Senior Constable Cathy
Duder, who stopped the pair about 10 p.m. on a recent night in the
beach resort town of Whangamata. She told them: 'You may experience
total confinement. You should head home and get helmets.' The duo
turned tail and headed directly back to their house, Duder told The
Associated Press on Wednesday. She said she did not see them again
during her shift, and it was not known if they donned helmets and
resumed their ride." (12/22/09)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,580938,00.html
-----
18) Griffith party switch: Will other Dems follow suit?
Christian Science Monitor
"Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith's surprise switch of parties on Tuesday
shows how quickly electoral dynamics are shifting under the weight of
massive social and economic policy gambits in Washington. In fact, Mr.
Griffith's defection could put pressure on other conservative and even
moderate Democrats, especially in the Deep South, to jump ship to save
their seats. They've been encountering backlash from the public
against a Democrat-controlled progressive agenda in Washington.
Griffith took over the seat of retiring congressman Robert 'Bud'
Cramer (D) last year. Now, the freshman lawmaker is angry about being
marginalized in the Democratic power structure. An oncologist,
Griffith voted against healthcare reform, as well as against the
stimulus package and cap-and-trade legislation." (12/22/09)
-----
19) France: Sarkozy orders Chunnel to resume
Associated Press
"President Nicolas Sarkozy summoned the head of the French train
authority to the Elysee Palace yesterday and ordered him to get the
Eurostar moving again after a three-day suspension of the cross-
Channel train service that has wreaked havoc on the holiday travel
plans of some 40,000 people. Officials at Eurostar -- a rail link
between [sic] England, France and Belgium -- said they were confident
that service would restart Tuesday morning, with two-thirds of
scheduled trains running. Richard Brown, Eurostar's chief executive
officer, said the company 'will be doing our very best to get everyone
home by Christmas.' Such changes might come in the nick of time, with
more snow forecast last night and today in Calais, where the train
ducks into the tunnel on the French side of the Channel." (12/22/09)
-----
20) MA: Scalpers cloud free skating at Fenway
Boston Globe
"It was supposed to be a dream opportunity. But it wasn't supposed to
cost $1,800. Scalpers used to hawking game tickets at exorbitant
prices are now doing the same with tickets that were supposed to be
free for city residents to ice skate at Fenway Park, in what could be
the first trip for many to the hallowed field. Tickets for the
extraordinary skating opportunity at Fenway, handed out to city
families as part of Boston's New Year's celebrations, were going for
as much as $1,800 for four on websites such as Craigslist and eBay,
outraging city officials and event organizers who want to know the
identities of the people conniving against others for a
buck." [editor's note: This one brings mixed emotions; the "giveaway"
should've probably had strings attached if it was to remain a freebie,
while the "free market" aspects insist on choice - SAT] (12/22/09)
-----
21) UK: Do your degree in two years
Independent [UK]
"Universities face a move towards two-year degree courses as the
Government dramatically reduces higher education spending. The
announcement of the cuts, which will see #518m lopped off university
funding next year, provoked an outcry from vice-chancellors, students,
lecturers and opposition MPs last night." (12/22/09)
-----
22) UK: "Legal high" clubbing drugs banned
BBC News [UK]
"A ban on several drugs known as 'legal highs' has come into force.
The substances, including GBL and BZP, become Class C drugs, with a
possible two-year jail sentence for possession. Ministers moved to
classify them after a recommendation from the Advisory Council on the
Misuse of Drugs and fears they are a threat to user health. GBL was
linked to the death of medical student Hester Stewart, 21, in Brighton
last April. Her mother, Maryon, campaigned nationally for the ban. So-
called legal highs are typically man-made chemical substances designed
to act like banned drugs." (12/22/09)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8427439.stm
-----
23) TN: Homeowner kills burglar
Knoxville News
"A homeowner fatally shot a 19-year-old Rockwood man during a
burglary, and authorities have charged an alleged accomplice in the
break-in. Michael S. Johnson died at the Roane Medical Center of
injuries sustained about 7:55 p.m. Sunday after he entered through a
window of the home. ... the homeowner alerted authorities that someone
had broken into his home and he believed he shot the intruder.
Responding officers located Johnson and Harvest, but the report did
not state where they were found. 'Mr. Harvest admitted to RCSO
deputies at the scene that he and the shooting victim had planned on
burglarizing the resident's home earlier that day, and added that
later they had come back to the home and had attempted to force the
homeowner's front door open,' Scalf wrote in the report. Harvest said
he waited outside as Johnson entered the home through a window. A few
moments later Harvest said he heard gunfire." (12/21/09)
-----
24) TX: Yolanda Madden freed from prison, granted new trial
Raw Story
"On Friday, Dec. 18, a federal judge in Odessa granted Yolanda Madden
her freedom, allowing her to walk out of state custody for the first
time in nearly five years. ... Madden, jailed in 2005 on a conviction
of intent to distribute methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school
zone, was the reason that Barry Cooper came to Odessa, Texas last
December. After being hired to embarrass the local police by Yolanda's
father Raymond, Cooper set up a fake marijuana grow house and baited
officers to stage an illegal raid. When they did, police were
confronted by an empty house and lots of cameras, with a hand-written
poster explaining they had become part of a new reality show called
'KopBusters.' For Yolanda, the stunt was just the beginning of efforts
to secure her freedom." (12/19/09)
-----
25) UK: Drug tests to catch pie cheats
Ananova [UK]
"Organisers of a world-famous pie-eating contest have been forced to
introduce tests for performance-enhancing drugs. The World Pie Eating
Championships in Wigan bans competitors from using gravy as a
lubricant, reports Sky News. But organisers say some competitors have
been using cough medicine to help the pies slide down instead. They
outlawed the substance for this year's event -- held earlier this week
-- and warned that security would be carrying out spot
checks." (12/22/09)
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3602363.html
*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 12/23/09
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 94,902 ... Max - 103,549
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 4,371
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************
****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************
26) Santa Claus isn't coming to town
Liberty For All
by Kevin Joseph Tull
"(BSWire) Breaking News: It has been confirmed by government sources
at Immigration and Naturalization Services and the Justice Department
that a potential terrorist threat has been averted. A man calling
himself Kris Kringle was apprehended at Ronald Reagan International
Airport as he was handing out contraband to young children who were
part of an elaborate government sting operation designed to capture
the suspected leader of the Elf-Qaida terrorist organization, known by
US forces as Osanta Bin Claus." (written 12/20/02; posted 12/22/09)
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=3555
-----
27) Relocating Gitmo
CounterPunch
by Paul Craig Roberts
"Obama's dwindling band of true believers has taken heart that their
man has finally delivered on one of his many promises -- the closing
of the Guantanamo prison. But the prison is not being closed. It is
being moved to Illinois, if the Republicans permit. In truth, Obama
has handed his supporters another defeat. Closing Guantanamo meant
ceasing to hold people in violation of our legal principles of habeas
corpus and due process and ceasing to torture them in violation of US
and international laws. All Obama would be doing would be moving 100
people, against whom the US government is unable to bring a case, from
the prison in Guantanamo to a prison in Thomson, Illinois." (12/22/09)
http://counterpunch.org/roberts12222009.html
-----
28) The Supreme Court has spoken: You have no rights
Liberty & Power
by Robert Higgs
"In truth, any 'constitutionally protected rights' you are now
exercising exist solely at the pleasure and convenience of the rulers.
The minute the continuation of your life or liberty no longer pleases
them, they will, as the Court's decision makes clear, simply declare
you an unperson to be dealt with as they choose, whether they choose
to torture you, confine you in a steel cage for the rest of your life,
or peremptorily kill you. They recognize NO rights in anyone (except
themselves, of course) that they are bound to respect. This horror is
the end to which a brave experiment has come. If the rulers can, at
their pleasure, declare ANYONE THEY SELECT a legal unperson, the
notion that the United States is a free country is nothing but the
sickest of sick jokes." (12/22/09)
http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/121551.html
-----
29) The health care debate has been "meaningful?" It just ain't so!
The Freeman
by Charles Johnson
"For the individualist, half of human decency in political thinking is
just learning to keep your personal pronouns straight. There is no
right outcome in this debate except to reject the conventional
political premise that 'we all' need to decide on anything when it
comes to health care. Life is full of tradeoffs. But the right
question to ask is not which choice to take, but rather who should
choose and who should bear the costs of the choice taken. And the
answer is that each person should choose how much of her own resources
she wants to devote to health care and to insuring against future
disasters. These tradeoffs only become 'brutal' when I am forced to
take your risks or you are forced to fund my security." (12/22/09)
-----
30) Health care: Happy holidays!
Center for a Stateless Society
by Thomas L. Knapp
"Ah, Christmas! The season of good cheer and caroling and presents
under the tree! So why is the US Congress and the Obama administration
going instead with a more Halloween-type routine? You know, the one
where they put a bag full of dog feces on the porch, set a match to
it, ring the doorbell and run away. Answer: They're politicians. It's
what they do. And in their minds, it really is a gift they're giving
you." (12/22/09)
-----
31) The awards!
AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo
"I love tradition, and after all these years of writing this column --
seems like one hundred, but it's actually closer to ten -- it's high
time to start one (a tradition, that is). Thus, the Antiwar.com awards
are born! Taking our cues from another tradition -- the Sicilian
tradition of revenge -- I'm going to name these various awards after
certain well-known persons, people who are famous for one reason or
another, that is, well enough known so that the mere mention of their
name evokes the characteristic that the award
memorializes." (12/23/09)
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2009/12/22/the-awards/
-----
32) Neocon of the Year
LewRockwell.Com
by Christopher Manion
"My old friend John Bolton toasts Dick Cheney as the 'HUMAN EVENTS'
Conservative of the Year.' I must demur. In explanation, one need go
no further than the reasons Bolton cites as Cheney's qualifications:
'In particular, [Cheney's] vigorous defense of 'enhanced-interrogation
techniques,'' as well as 'the critical need to understand that we are
in a long, continuing war against international terrorism.' On the
backs of torture and endless war, the conservative movement will roar
back in 2010. Q.E.D." (12/23/09)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/manion/manion93.1.html
-----
33) A cool wind braces the hot air crowd
San Francisco Chronicle
by Debra J. Saunders
"For years, global warming alarmists have pointed to every drought and
heat wave as proof that global warming was a real environmental
threat. They had few qualms about blurring the line between weather
and climate to make a PR point. Perhaps, then, it was karma that
brought a blizzard and freezing temperatures to the U.N. climate
change Conference of Parties confab in Copenhagen (or COP-15 for
short) last week. You may have read about the 1,200 limos and 140
private planes commissioned to transport COP-15 dignitaries in style.
Critics love to point to the hypocrisy of world leaders -- such as
Prince Charles and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown -- touching
down in separate private planes to a conference ostensibly dedicated
to curbing greenhouse gas emissions. But it's the Flying High Lords of
Greendom's air of unreality that concerns me." (12/22/09)
http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/saunders/#ixzz0aU6b6T3o
-----
34) Listening to Afghanistan
The American Prospect
by Ann Friedman
"In the spring of 2008 I wrote a column, 'Listening to Iraq,' in which
I lamented the lack of access that most Americans had to the voices
and opinions of the people most affected by the ongoing war. This made
it difficult, I wrote, 'for even the best-intentioned anti-war
American to see Iraqis as partners, rather than as a political
project.' I was reminded of that column after Obama's speech
announcing his Afghanistan strategy. ... As the American left debates,
I'm struck by a desire to know what Afghan women, who have been living
under the U.S. occupation for roughly eight years now, think would be
best for their country. ... To me, the answer is tragically apparent:
It doesn't matter whether U.S. military intervention can be a force
for humanitarianism because, in Afghanistan, it never has been and
won't become one." (12/22/09)
-----
35) Free speech, for art's sake
In These Times
by Robin Peterson
"On November 13, the hordes of holiday season shoppers encountered a
sight rarely seen in downtown Chicago: an artist selling art on the
sidewalk. Near the entrance to Macy's at the corner of Randolph and
State Streets, artist and activist Chris Drew displayed an array of $1
patches and a prominent 'Art for Sale' sign affixed to his bright red
poncho. ... Four police officers stopped to tell him that what he was
doing was illegal. One wrote him a ticket. Today, however, this
attention was welcome. Drew knows it's illegal to sell art in most of
downtown Chicago and other prohibited districts. As the leader of the
Free Speech Artists' Movement group, he chose to violate this law and
incur a fine because he intends to sue the city for violating his
First Amendment rights." (12/22/09)
-----
36) US-Pakistan partnership: Make it work for both sides
Christian Science Monitor
by Teresita C. Schaffer
"President Obama's Dec. 1 address to the nation correctly listed a
partnership with Pakistan as a crucial foundation of policy toward
Afghanistan. Sustaining that partnership may be his most formidable
challenge. The Achilles' heel of our past alliances with Pakistan has
been both countries' unwillingness to confront the discrepancies in
their goals. This time, we need to be clear on where our goals do and
don't coincide, and what we are prepared to do about them." (12/22/09)
-----
37) The folding chair returns
Boston Globe
by staff
"Sunday's storm, the first major one of the month, brought out some
signs of the season. No, not the wreaths and Christmas lights, but
rather the barrels, cones, crates, chairs and boxes now occupying
street parking spaces in Boston. Saving spaces has long been a local
custom, but shoveling a spot doesn't give someone the right to claim
it indefinitely. Under the city's parking policy, when there's a storm
big enough to qualify as a snow emergency, spots can be saved for 48
hours after that emergency has ended. The Department of Public Works
will remove space savers that linger longer." [editor's note: The
outright WARS waged over this issue were something to behold; it will
be interesting to see how this new law affects that - SAT] (12/23/09)
-----
38) Pakistan's trump card
The Nation
by Robert Dreyfuss
"The Pakistani army may or may not decide to take power once again in
Islamabad. Off and on, for decades, Pakistan has been ruled by its
military, usually with American support or acquiescence. During the
1980s, General Zia ruled Pakistan, after seizing power in a coup
d'etat against President Bhutto, later hanging him, and he Islamicized
Pakistan, squashing the country's secular tradition, then cooperating
with the CIA and Saudi Arabia in the 1980s jihad against the USSR and
its Afghan allies. In the 1990s, General Musharraf seized power, and
he ruled for more than a decade, overtly and covertly supporting the
Taliban's rule -- and, after 2001, the Taliban-led insurgency. To this
day, for reasons of state, Pakistan's army continues to support the
Taliban." (12/22/09)
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss/508603/pakistan_s_trump_card
-----
39) Iran sanctions a precursor to war
Information Clearinghouse
by Ron Paul
"This policy is pure isolationism. It is designed to foment war by
cutting off trade and diplomacy. Too many forget that the quagmire in
Iraq began with an embargo. Sanctions are not diplomacy. They are a
precursor to war and an embarrassment to a country that pays lip
service to free trade. It is ironic that people who decry isolationism
support actions like this." (12/22/09)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24238.htm
-----
40) In war, winners can be losers
Truthout
by Lawrence Wittner
"For many years, Americans prided themselves on their nation never
having lost a war and this fed into the assumption that it never could
lose one. During the Vietnam War, J. William Fulbright, chair of the
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned repeatedly of 'the
arrogance of power.'" (12/21/09)
http://www.truthout.org/topstories/1221093
-----
41) Lustful money and hateful religion
Strike the Root
by Bob Wallace
"In a nutshell, the arrogance and blindness of hubris and overweening
pride always leads to some kind of a collapse. It doesn't matter at
all how convinced people are that their economic policies and their
religion are absolutely true. Reality always trumps their falsehoods.
" (12/22/09)
http://www.strike-the-root.com/92/wallace/wallace4.html
-----
42) War
The Libertarian Enterprise
by Paul Bonneau
"It's funny how things look different, after one abandons the
collectivist mindset. It's actually quite hard to do that; I see hints
of collectivism all the time, even around here. Just a subconscious
way of looking at the rest of the human race. For example, it's not
unusual to read libertarians talking about war between countries -- as
if countries could war. Countries can't war, any more than countries
can think or feel. It's all just a collection of individuals, some who
war, and some (most, actually) who don't war." (12/20/09)
http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle549-20091220-06.html
-----
43) Jesus: An historical figure, too
Liberty For All
by Roderick T. Beaman
"Another holiday season is upon us and, I can just see the lawsuits
materializing against various towns, cities and municipalities over an
improper display of a nativity scene. Of course, they will be driven
by various civil liberties organizations such as People for the
American Way and the American Civil Liberties Union (both of them
misnomers at all levels). The grounds for these lawsuits will be that
they represent an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by
government." (12/22/09)
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=3560
-----
44) American's crazed corn habit
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Justin Rohrlich
"According to a recent Congressional Budget Office report, the
increased use of ethanol is responsible for a rise in food prices of
approximately 10 to 15 percent. Why? We're turning corn into fuel -- a
highly inefficient one, at that -- instead of food. The Mackinac
Center for Public Policy points out that 'mixing food and fuel markets
for political reasons has done American consumers no discernable good,
while producing measurable harm.'" (12/22/09)
-----
45) Obama passed up opportunity for real reform
Heartland Institute
by John Goodman
"No one really likes any of the various health care reform proposals
passed by Congress. Why would the majority of Members of Congress vote
for bills that no one really likes and no one thinks will control
costs or improve quality and possibly not even improve access to care?
The health care reform legislation is much worse than it ever needed
to be, because of two decisions by President Obama: Not to take a
principled approach to health care reform, and not to try for
bipartisan legislation." (12/22/09)
-----
46) Multiplication and division
Hawaii Reporter
by Paul Jacob
"John Maynard Keynes's most popular notion was his infamous
'multiplier' effect. Spend some government (taxpayer) money, and the
effects 'multiply' in the economy, as if the Invisible Hand were on
speed. The truth is the reverse: 'the divider' effect. Create
government jobs and progress in the marketplace 'divides' as a result
of the increased taxes needed to support the jobs. Our orator-in-chief
also says he's in the business of 'saving jobs.' Like most
politicians, he loves 'multiplier' talk, because it gives him the
green light to spend." (12/22/09)
-----
47) Serious problems with Obama's plan to move Guantanamo to Illinois
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Andy Worthington
"Last Tuesday, in a letter to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, five senior
Obama administration officials -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
Attorney General Eric Holder, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Director
of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, and Secretary of the Department
of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano -- announced that 'the president
has directed, with our unanimous support, that the federal government
proceed with the acquisition' of Thomson Correctional Center, a
maximum-security prison about 150 miles north-west of Chicago, to
house prisoners from Guantanamo." (12/21/09)
http://www.fff.org/comment/com0912h.asp
-----
48) ObamaCare's budget trickery
FreedomWorks
by Matthew Clemente
"Yesterday, President Obama asserted that Harry Reid's healthcare
takeover bill is in fact deficit neutral. But when he and other
Democrats claim that the government takeover of the healthcare system
will cost less than $900 billion and reduce the deficit, they fail to
take into account the elaborate budget gimmicks that were
strategically placed within the bill." (12/22/09)
-----
49) We're screwed!
Fairfield County Weekly
by Phil Maymin
"Do you believe everything the government tells you? Economist and
statistician John Williams sure doesn't. Williams, who has consulted
for individuals and Fortune 500 companies, now uncovers the truth
behind the U.S. government's economic numbers on his Web site at
ShadowStats.com. Williams says, over the last several decades, the
feds have been infusing their data with optimistic biases to make the
economy seem far rosier than it really is. His site reruns the numbers
using the original methodology. What he found was not good." (for
publication 12/31/09)
http://www.fairfieldweekly.com/article.cfm?aid=16014
-----
50) Why not a "Constitutional US government?"
Albuquerque Libertarian Examiner
by Kent McManigal
"Could I live in America under a 'Constitutional US government?' Well,
sure. Why not? I have been living in America under an unconstitutional
US government all my life. I'm a good adapter and don't usually mind
being an outlaw and ignoring government edicts. A 'Constitutional US
government' would be a lot less intrusive than the criminal government
America is occupied by today, but why stop there?" (12/22/09)
-----
51) Your boss and your BlackBerry
Cato Institute
by Timothy B. Lee
"Permissive workplace policies are an important way to attract and
retrain the best workers. They are also one side of a quid pro quo:
the same employee who spends an afternoon ordering Christmas presents
on Amazon.com may be expected to take time away from his family to
deal with a weekend emergency at work. As the line between company and
personal communications blurs, employees are understandably worried
about their privacy. But trying to regulate employer policies on the
use of company-owned equipment is the wrong approach." (12/22/09)
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11077
-----
52) President plans another (misguided) stimulus rush
Independent Institute
by William F. Shughart II
"Fresh from his recent White House-sponsored jobs summit, President
Barack Obama is pushing a new economic stimulus plan intended to
soften the pain of a 26-year-high unemployment rate that sees one in
10 Americans out of work. Against all expectations, $200 billion of
the money originally appropriated by Congress for bailing out
financial institutions under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
either remains unspent or already has been repaid to the Treasury.
Will wonders ever cease? Rather than use that $200 billion to either
pay down the monumental federal debt or, better yet, return it to
taxpayers, Obama proposes spending $50 billion to 'create' additional
jobs." (12/21/09)
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2687
-----
53) In defense of Senate "obstructionism"
Washington Examiner
by Gene Healy
"Liberals are screaming bloody murder about Republican obstructionism.
But thank God for obstructionism, and the Senate rules facilitating it
-- because the longer this debate goes on, the less Americans like
what the Dems are trying to sell them. No wonder Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is desperate to force a vote before
senators go home: As CBS's Nancy Cordes put it, he otherwise runs 'the
risk that any Democrats change their minds over the holidays or get
swayed by all those tea party protests.'" (12/22/09)
-----
54) Obama, left behind
Reason
by Matt Welch
"Boy, this 'Obama Derangement Syndrome' really has gotten out of hand.
Why, just this past week the decreasingly popular president has been
called a 'bald-faced liar,' 'an executive who can't bring himself to
lead,' and even an 'Uncle Tom.' And that's just by liberals. The
progressive crack-up, before Obama even reaches the end of his first
year, has been an awesome and occasionally humorous sight to
see." (12/22/09)
http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/22/obama-left-behind
-----
55) In Tea Parties we trust
The American Conservative
by Patrick J. Buchanan
"While Tea Party types played a role in the GOP's comeback -- helping
take down Gov. Jon Corzine in New Jersey and turning a John McCain
deficit of 6 points in the Old Dominion into a 17-point victory for
Bob McDonnell -- the movement is no subsidiary of the GOP. For it
played a major role in routing liberal Republican 'Dede' Scozzafava in
New York's 23rd and came within a point of electing a third-party
conservative. As Congressional elections are 10 months off, though
primaries begin in the spring, where do Tea Party types find the
battles to keep them in fighting trim? Copenhagen may have provided an
answer" (12/21/09)
http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2009/12/21/in-tea-parties-we-trust/
-----
56) The "slow money" movement may revolutionize the way you think
about food
AlterNet
by Kari Lydersen
"The slow food movement that started in Italy two decades ago has
gained much attention and popularity, with a blossoming of community
supported agriculture (CSA), local organic farms and general awareness
of where our food comes from. But money doesn't grow on trees, and in
an economy structured around industrial-scale global agriculture,
starting and sustaining small farms and local, sustainable food
processing and delivery systems can be a challenge. About five years
ago, veteran financial manager Woody Tasch and his colleagues at the
Investors' Circle began discussing how an intentional and organized
influx of investment into localized sustainable food systems could be
paired with a general increasing philosophical commitment to slow food
principles." (12/22/09)
-----
57) Deniers without borders
Mother Jones
by Josh Harkinson
"Founded in 1981 and named after Ayn Rand's free-market amorality
tale, Atlas Shrugged, the Atlas Foundation has spent more than $20
million seeding some 200 libertarian think tanks across the globe as
part of its Atlas Network. Much of its money has come from Phillip
Morris; foundations tied to the Koch family, oil magnates who are
leading funders of denier groups; and the Earhart Foundation, which
was created from the profits of the now-defunct White Star Oil
Company. Since 1998, ExxonMobil and its foundations have given Atlas
nearly $1 million. Between 2002 and 2008, the last year for which tax
records are available, Atlas' budget more than tripled, nearly hitting
$7 million, with the largest single portion going to grants for 'think
tanks in different regions of the world.' The Atlas Network overlaps
with other international networks that share its climate change
skepticism and fossil fuel funders." (12/22/09)
-----
58) Libertarians for junk science
Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson
"Recently the climate science community suffered something of an
embarrassment with 'Climategate': the servers of the Climatic Research
Unit were hacked, opening thousands of emails over a thirteen year
period to scrutiny. Some of these emails, if not undermining the
validity of all global warming research, at least shows some climate
scientists in the unflattering light of spinning data to promote a
politically predetermined outcome. But global warming advocates don't
have a monopoly on the political abuse of science. It's funny how the
same libertarians who gleefully pounce on 'junk science' when it
serves an agenda they regard as inimical, are so fond of it themselves
when it confirms their own prejudices." (12/22/09)
-----
59) Jewish law, oaths, and expensive religious rules
Ideas
by David Friedman
"Some religions impose costs on their members -- shaved heads for Hare
Krishnas, keeping kosher for orthodox Jews, fasting in Ramadan for
Muslims. Many years ago I heard a talk by Larry Iannacone, an
economist who specializes in the economics of religion, exploring the
reasons for such requirements. The puzzle he raised was why they
survive in an environment like modern day America, where there is a
free market in religions. Why isn't a religion that imposes such costs
outcompeted by a variant that keeps everything else but leaves out the
unnecessary burden? His (interesting) answer to that puzzle is
probably somewhere in his published writings; readers are invited to
find it for themselves. What reminded me of that talk was an
interesting feature I noticed in my study of Jewish law -- the role of
oaths." (12/22/09)
-----
60) Obama: "I didn't campaign on the public option"
Salon
by Alex Koppelman
"The idea has 'become a source of ideological contention between the
left,' Obama said, adding, 'I didn't campaign on the public option.'
The president's claim that he 'didn't campaign on the public option'
is at best on shaky ground, factually speaking. It's unmistakably true
that during the campaign his plan for reform included a public
option." (12/22/09)
-----
61) What's next for the stock market?
Freedom's Phoenix
by Bill Bonner
"Yes, dear reader, the '00s were the worst for investors ever, even
worse than the 1930s. Now, we are wondering: what's next for the stock
market? More of the same. The bear market that began in January '00
still has not fully expressed itself. Stocks have not been beaten down
to bargain levels -- where they sell at 5 to 8 times earnings.
Investors have not given up. There is no widespread sense of disgust
and disillusionment with the stock market. And it still takes about 10
ounces of gold to buy the Dow stocks. At the bottom, you'll be able to
buy the Dow for just 1 or 2 ounces." (12/22/09)
-----
62) Global warming, Climategate, and the dangers of "expert consensus"
Campaign For Liberty
by Jack Hunter
"When our government was insisting that we go to war with Iraq, I told
anyone who would listen that it didn't make any sense, that Saddam
Hussein did not pose a threat to the U.S., and that our leaders were
simply up to no good. My conservative friends angrily disagreed,
almost in unison, declaring that the evidence supplied by the Bush
White House concerning WMDs was comprehensive and concrete, and that
the terror 'crisis' was far too dire to entertain any dissent from
some blind ignoramus like me." (12/22/09)
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=463
-----
63) Strands of British conservatism
Adam Smith Institute
by Tom Clougherty
"The latest Total Politics contains the results of an interesting
poll, which surveys the 'ideology' of MPs. One part of the poll asks
Tory candidates and MPs 'what strand of Conservatism best
characterizes your political philosophy?' -- Cameronism, Thatcherism,
One Nation Toryism, Libertarian or Cornerstone. For MPs, One Nation
Toryism scored 38%, Thatcherism 26%, Cameronism 12%, Cornerstone 6%,
and Libertarian 3%. For candidates, Cameronism scored 43%, One Nation
Toryism 22%, Thatcherism 19%, and Libertarian 7%. But what do these
labels actually mean?" (12/22/09)
-----
64) I met God -- God without religion, scripture, or faith: First
doubts
J. Neil Schulman @ Rational Review
by J. Neil Schulman
"I saw it as quite possible that there could be laws which would be
true to our plane of existence as local phenomena such as the laws of
chemistry, the laws of physics, the laws of how space/time worked,
gravitation, speed of light. All these sorts of things were local
phenomena. But there had to be some overriding natural laws which
would apply in all modes of existence, all the universe, all possible
universes. So in other words, I saw that there had to be some sort of
universal natural laws, laws of logic or something intrinsic to the
nature of reality, which would guide the formation of the physical
laws with the universes." (12/22/09)
-----
65) Malice or stupidity?
The Distributed Republic
by Mark
"There are two stable social systems -- central authoritarian control,
and distributed individual action. A mix of the two is inherently
unstable. When a solution is sought for a problem, the system
incrementally moves in one of the two directions -- either towards
central control or distributed individualism. Someone who believes in
authoritarian control, when faced with an unstable situation, will
suggest to impose greater control, and incrementally move a step
closer toward totalitarian government. Someone who believes in
distributed action will act individually, and reinforce the
distributed system. As the system reaches one of the two equilibria
points, it is more difficult to move toward the opposing
point." (12/21/09)
http://distributedrepublic.net/archives/2009/12/21/malice-or-stupidity
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* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
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66) Russ Jones on Freedom Rings Radio, 12/28/09
Freedom Rings Radio
Russ Jones of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition joins host Kenneth
John. 9-10am Central on WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin, IL or live on the web.
[live radio or stream] (12/28/09)
*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************
67) Today's events
Check our sidebar calendar for this week's freedom movement events.
Don't see your event? Drop us a line at in...@rationalreview.com ... or
see:
www.rationalreview.com/add-your-event-to-our-calendar
... for instructions on adding your events directly!
http://upcoming.yahoo.com/group/4042/
***********
* WaYbAcK
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68) The pacification of Boho
Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at: