07/09 -- Judge rules DOMA unconstitutional; Latest Newspeak vocabulary addition: "Perfect Citizen"
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Thomas L. Knapp
Jul 9, 2010, 1:04:14 AM7/9/10
to Rational Review News Digest
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In The News:
0) RRND/FND 3rd quarter fundraiser
1) Judge rules DOMA unconstitutional
2) Latest Newspeak vocabulary addition: "Perfect Citizen"
3) Iraq: 33 killed, 119 wounded
4) Afghanistan: Three occupation troops killed
5) Pakistan: 14 militants killed in Orokzai Agency
6) FL: Crist calls for special session on offshore drilling
7) Obama claims economic turnaround, bashes GOP
8) WV: AG okays special election for Byrd's US Senate seat
9) PA: Gun rights advocates get new energy in their push for a
"castle doctrine"
10) Italy: Newspapers strike over Berlusconi "gag law" proposal
11) US to crack down on smearing of olive oil's reputation
12) US Presbyterians to lift ban on gay clergy
13) Federal appeals panel denies Obama regime's bid to reinstate
drilling ban
14) CA: Cop convicted of manslaughter in on-camera murder of BART
passenger
15) UN to condem sinking of South Korean warship
16) Iran: Regime may still murder woman, but not by stoning
17) 10 Russian spy suspects plead guilty in New York hearing
18) Norway: Three arrested in New York bomb plot probe
19) IMF to US: Lower deficit
20) Aircraft completes first solar-powered night flight
Everybody Has An Opinion:
21) Contempt of state -- an indispensable virtue
22) In defense of Lindsay Lohan
23) Why optimism seems so irrational
24) Protect the police -- abolish gun control
25) Why not get personal with pushy government officials?
26) Parasitic tort lawyers
27) The war drones on
28) Don't tinker with the vetting rules: Scrap them
29) Jump starting the First Amendment
30) Government stopping charities from feeding the homeless
31) Civilian deaths and vengeance in Afghanistan
32) Porcupines
33) If you liked Mcdonald v. Chicago, you'll love Benson v. Chicago
34) In self defense
35) Watch out for taxation road's potholes
36) The disaster of government-run businesses
37) Pandemic: The contagious crisis
38) Time to board the gold stocks train?
39) Don't ban the burqa
40) Invitation to a Tea Party
41) Two insidious trends in America
42) Non-believer
43) Understanding the BP oil tragedy: Time blindness
44) The rats are cornered
45) Conservatives in disguise?
46) The education debacle of the decade
47) Your money back
48) Mitt Romney: The George HW Bush of 2012?
49) Read the Bills Act: Follow the president's example
50) Taxes: A negative externality?
51) "You just don't get it"
52) Assessing legal prospects for lawsuit over federal health care
reform
53) Will Gitmo shrinks lose their credentials?
54) Keynes vs. Hayek: The great debate continues
55) Argentina's tragic hero
56) The FBI closes a window to the truth
57) The Heinlein-Konkin birthday party
58) Views now acceptable
59) It's not a democracy unless we call it our own -- 6 ways to make
it happen
60) Will the Tea Party usher in a more limited view of government?
See No Evil, Hear No Evil:
61) Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
62) Stefan Molyneux on Declare Your Independence
63) MPP Insider #011
64) Scott Horton on Antiwar Radio
65) Free Talk Live, 07/07/10
What's Up In The Freedom Movement:
66) Today's events
***************
* In The News
***************
0) RRND/FND 3rd quarter fundraiser
Update, 07/08/10: Thanks to DF, DT, KB and (another!) DF, whose
combined $295 in contributions yesterday brings our total to $615 --
29% of our $2,083 goal!
It's Friday, so I'll take it easy on y'all. See those four people
above? Goest thou now and do likewise, and have a great weekend! - TLK
http://www.rationalreview.com/content/83890
-----
1) Judge rules DOMA unconstitutional
MSNBC
"A U.S. judge in Boston has ruled that a federal gay marriage ban is
unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to
define marriage. U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro on Thursday ruled in
favor of gay couples' rights in two separate challenges to the 1996
Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA. The state had argued the law
denied benefits such as Medicaid to gay married couples in
Massachusetts, where same-sex unions have been legal since 2004. Tauro
agreed, and said the act forces Massachusetts to discriminate against
its own citizens." (07/08/10)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38154952
-----
2) Latest Newspeak vocabulary addition: "Perfect Citizen"
Wall Street Journal
"The federal government is launching an expansive program dubbed
'Perfect Citizen' to detect cyber assaults on private companies and
government agencies running such critical infrastructure as the
electricity grid and nuclear-power plants, according to people
familiar with the program. The surveillance by the National Security
Agency, the government's chief eavesdropping agency, would rely on a
set of sensors deployed in computer networks for critical
infrastructure that would be triggered by unusual activity suggesting
an impending cyber attack .... Some industry and government officials
familiar with the program see Perfect Citizen as an intrusion by the
NSA into domestic affairs, while others say it is an important program
to combat an emerging security threat that only the NSA is equipped to
provide." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/24pfgzc
-----
3) Iraq: 33 killed, 119 wounded
AntiWar.Com
"Solemn observances at the Imam Kadhim shrine in Baghdad culminated
today. Although pilgrims began to return to their homes, they remain
vulnerable to attacks. At least 33 Iraqis were killed and 119 more
were wounded, mostly in the capital. Due to the nature of these
reports an exact count is difficult at best: The confusion of numerous
or larger attacks can lead to wildly conflicting numbers and vague
locations. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Parliament is to meet next Tuesday,
just ahead of a constitutional deadline." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/25hfsdc
-----
4) Afghanistan: Three occupation troops killed
CNN
"Three service members from the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan were
killed in action Thursday, NATO's International Security Assistance
Force said. One died in an insurgent attack in the east and two died
in bombings in the south." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2w6jmnk
-----
5) Pakistan: 14 militants killed in Orokzai Agency
SAMAA TV [Pakistan]
"According to sources, security forces backed by fighter jets targeted
militant's hideouts in Nandarmela and Kot Taley region of Orakzai
agency, killing 14 militants. The air strikes by fighter jet caused
heavy losses and destroyed three militants' hideouts." (07/09/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2dg49mq
-----
6) FL: Crist calls for special session on offshore drilling
Lakeland Ledger
"In a dramatic political gamble, Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday called
state lawmakers back to Tallahassee to pass a state constitutional
amendment banning oil drilling near Florida's shoreline. Crist, who is
running as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate, took the
unusual step of invoking his power as governor to unilaterally call
lawmakers into a four-day special session on July 20-23. Normally,
governors call special sessions after reaching an agreement with
legislative leaders on the agenda. But facing an Aug. 4 deadline to
get the amendment on November ballot, Crist decided to act on his own
after being ignored by House leaders." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2d766qw
-----
7) Obama claims economic turnaround, bashes GOP
CNN
"President Barack Obama said Thursday the U.S. economy is 'headed in
the right direction,' and he challenged Republican critics to work
with him to continue making progress instead of trying to obstruct his
agenda. 'What is absolutely clear is that we are headed in the right
direction -- and that the surest way out of this storm is to keep
moving forward,' Obama told workers at a Kansas City, Missouri,
electric vehicle company that had been helped by economic stimulus
funds." (07/08/10)
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/08/obama.economy/
-----
8) WV: AG okays special election for Byrd's US Senate seat
Beckley Register-Herald
"Gov. Joe Manchin is empowered under state law to set up a special
election this year to fill the vacant seat of the late Sen. Robert C.
Byrd, the attorney general's office held Thursday. In the same
opinion, Attorney General Darrell McGraw advised the governor that a
special primary must be conducted before the November general election
in plenty of time to serve voters and potential candidates alike.
Byrd, the longest serving senator in American history, died June 28 at
age 92, and speculation since then has run rampant about his possible
successor." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/22norgu
-----
9) PA: Gun rights advocates get new energy in their push for a
"castle doctrine"
Patriot News
"Gun rights advocates got a monumental boost last week when the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled local governments can't ban guns. Now,
Pennsylvania gun rights advocates are aiming at their next target:
giving gun owners the right to fire rather than flee when threatened
in their homes or cars or, ideally, any public place where they have a
right to be. The court decision gives new energy to the push for a so-
called 'castle doctrine' in Pennsylvania. ... Gun rights advocates
further feel the ruling adds firepower to their challenges of assorted
gun restrictions, such as bans on guns in municipal buildings and
parks." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/38fcrha
-----
10) Italy: Newspapers strike over Berlusconi "gag law" proposal
Guardian [UK]
"There will be no news in Italy today; or, at least, hardly any. That
is not a prediction, but fact: none of the main newspapers are
appearing because their reporters and editors are on a 24-hour strike.
Today they are due to be joined by radio, TV and some internet
journalists. The action is over a parliamentary bill proposing a law
that Silvio Berlusconi's government claims safeguards privacy. Most of
Italy's editors, judges and prosecutors say it is intended to shield
politicians, and particularly the prime minister, whose career has
been ridden with financial and sexual scandals. The so-called 'gagging
law' would curb the ability of police and prosecutors to record phone
conversations and plant listening devices. It would also stop
journalists publishing the resulting transcripts. Investigators
seeking to listen in on a suspect would need permission from three
judges. Regardless of circumstances, eavesdropping warrants would
expire after 75 days, after which they must be renewed every three
days." [editor's note: Apart from the newspaper provision, sounds like
a move in the right direction! - TLK] (07/09/10)
http://tinyurl.com/35ptfsj
-----
11) US to crack down on smearing of olive oil's reputation
Los Angeles Times
"The federal government has become serious about virginity -- at least
when it comes to olive oil. Propelled by complaints about slippery
food purveyors selling low-end product as high-end goods, or olive
oils being doctored with cheaper canola, safflower or peanut oils, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture this fall will roll out new standards
to help ensure that consumers buying '100% extra virgin' olive oil get
what they pay for." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/29m9vyz
-----
12) US Presbyterians to lift ban on gay clergy
Louisville Courier-Journal
"A Presbyterian assembly voted Thursday to endorse the ordination of
non-celibate gays and lesbians, sending the measure for ratification
votes to regional presbyteries where resistance to such changes has
diminished in recent years. Church representatives, meeting in
Minneapolis at the weeklong General Assembly, voted 373-323 to lift
the ban in the Louisville-based Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which
has 2.1 million members. The assembly also was scheduled to consider
on Thursday night a proposal to redefine marriage in the church's
constitution to encompass any two people, regardless of gender. Both
measures would require approval by a majority of the regional
presbyteries to become part of the church constitution." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2bc48j4
-----
13) Federal appeals panel denies Obama regime's bid to reinstate
drilling ban
CNN
"A federal appeals panel on Thursday upheld a district judge's order
to block the Obama administration's six-month ban on deepwater
drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. In a brief ruling just a few hours
after the hearing, the three-judge appellate panel denied the
government's request to reinstate the moratorium while the full appeal
of the case continues. The government declared the moratorium in
response to the April 20 explosion and fire on a deepwater rig that
led to the Gulf oil disaster, with millions of gallons gushing into
the ocean and oil giant BP unable to stop it." (07/08/10)
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/07/08/oil.drilling.moratorium
-----
14) CA: Cop convicted of manslaughter in on-camera murder of BART
passenger
Reuters
"A white transit police officer was found guilty of involuntary
manslaughter on Thursday in the videotaped shooting death of an
unarmed black man that triggered a night of rioting in Oakland,
California. The defendant in the racially charged trial, Johannes
Mehserle, 28, testified that he mistakenly drew his pistol instead of
his electric Taser weapon and shot Oscar Grant, 22, while trying to
subdue him during a New Year's Day 2009 confrontation. But prosecutors
said in closing arguments that Mehserle 'lost all control' and
intentionally shot Grant because he was resisting arrest." (07/08/10)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66763A20100708
-----
15) UN to condem sinking of South Korean warship
Agence France-Presse
"The UN Security Council is set to adopt a text condemning the attack
which sank a South Korean warship earlier this year, according to a
draft of the statement released Thursday. The statement, set to be
adopted on Friday, 'condemns the attack which led to the sinking of
the Cheonan' in the Yellow Sea near a disputed border. ... But the
text does not directly blame North Korea (DPRK) for the March 26
attack in which 46 sailors died, despite the findings of a
multinational inquiry which blamed the sinking of the ship on a North
Korean torpedo." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/29z8cgr
-----
16) Iran: Regime may still murder woman, but not by stoning
CNN
"Iran's government is denying reports that an Iranian woman convicted
of adultery will be executed by stoning, though her death sentence may
still be carried out by some other method. In the Islamic republic's
first public statement on the case of Sakineh Mohammedie Ashtiani, 42,
the Iranian Embassy in London, England, said Thursday that 'this
mission denies the false news aired in this respect and ... according
to information from the relevant judicial authorities in Iran, she
will not be executed by stoning punishment.' ... But Ashtiani still
faces the possibility of execution for her 2006 adultery conviction,
said Drewery Dyke of Amnesty International in London. 'We have noted
in the past that those who have been sentenced to stonings have gone
on to be hanged,' he said." (07/08/10)
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/07/08/iran.stoning/
-----
17) 10 Russian spy suspects plead guilty in New York hearing
Washington Post
"All 10 of the accused Russian spies held in the United States pleaded
guilty Thursday at a hearing in Manhattan, a key step in a reported
deal under negotiation with Russia for the largest swap of espionage
detainees since the Cold War. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Farbiarz
said at the start of the hearing in federal court that the 10
defendants wanted to enter guilty pleas. An 11th person indicted in
the case is a fugitive. Prosecutors agreed to allow the 10 to plead
guilty to one charge each of secretly conspiring to act as agents of
the Russian government, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of
five years. Nine of the 11 defendants in the case were also originally
charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2upmxzr
-----
18) Norway: Three arrested in New York bomb plot probe
All Headline News
"Norwegian police arrested three men linked to al-Qaeda Thursday on
suspicion of plotting a terrorist bomb attack. Police did not disclose
their target. However, they did say they have evidence linking the men
to failed bomb attacks last year in New York City and Manchester,
England. All three of the men arrested by Norwegian police are legal
residents of Norway, one is a citizen. The other two have permanent
residency cards." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/28cuuy9
-----
19) IMF to US: Lower deficit
The Hill
"The United States must rein in its deficits sooner than President
Barack Obama wants, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said
Thursday. In an annual report on the U.S. economy, the IMF said the
U.S. faces a 'central challenge' in implementing a 'credible fiscal
strategy' to ensure that public debt is put on a sustainable path
without putting the economic recovery in jeopardy. It predicted the
recovery would be slightly weaker than what's anticipated by the Obama
administration, and that the U.S. as a result would have to do more to
lower its debt." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2ekrplf
-----
20) Aircraft completes first solar-powered night flight
Reuters
"A giant glider-like aircraft has completed the first night flight
propelled only by solar energy, organizers said on Thursday. Solar
Impulse, whose wingspan is the same as an Airbus A340, flew 26 hours
and 9 minutes, powered only by solar energy stored during the day. It
was also the longest and highest flight in the history of solar
aviation, organizers said." (07/08/10)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6671WK20100708
*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 07/09/10
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 96,872 ... Max - 105,624
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 4,412
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************
****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************
21) Contempt of state -- an indispensable virtue
LewRockwell.Com
by Karen Kwiatkowski
"To show solidarity with Bradley Manning, we should support his
defense and laud his actions, but know -- with great contempt -- that
his government trial will be no less a show trial than that of German
patriots Sophie and Hans Scholl, as portrayed in the movie Sophie
Scholl: The Final Days. A better and more immediate way to support
Bradley Manning might be to work on developing within ourselves and
our families a more finely honed sense of contempt for the state, and
a deeper understanding of one of the state's favorite tools of
control, the misapplied idea of utilitarianism." (07/09/10)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski252.html
-----
22) In defense of Lindsay Lohan
The Libertarian Standard
by Manuel Lora
"If you thought prohibition was repealed, think again. From minimum
drinking age laws to laws that prohibit even parents, in some states,
from responsibly introducing alcohol to kids, the state still manages
to control not just the alcohol industry but those consuming it.
Indeed, if you consume alcohol in places and times that the state
deems 'illegal,' you will be treated like cattle -- literally. Indeed,
Lohan has been in the past required to wear an alcohol monitoring
bracelet. She has also been required to forcibly attend rehab (let's
see: a chain, involuntary migration -- yep, sounds like a form of
slavery to me) and comply with various others threats by the
state. ... if Lohan committed a real crime against someone else's
property or body, then she'd be guilty. However, the government's
gauntlet was thrown because she had the audacity to say
no." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/28br5w7
-----
23) Why optimism seems so irrational
Foundation for Economic Education
by Steven Horwitz
"No explanation of why human beings understand the world as we do can
afford to ignore the effects of evolution on our psychological and
cognitive make-up. For the vast majority of our biological history we
lived in a world that was constantly throwing up large challenges to
our survival. I'm not just thinking of a bad harvest six thousand
years ago. I have in mind our pre-human ancestors who faced predators
everywhere and whose survival was a day-to-day if not an hour-to-hour
challenge. With survival so precarious it would make sense that we
evolved to be much more concerned about possible negative outcomes
than positive ones." (07/08/10)
http://www.thefreemanonline.org/headline/optimism-seems-irrational/
-----
24) Protect the police -- abolish gun control
Libertarian Alliance
by Christopher Houseman
"On the one hand, can we doubt any longer that even the most rigorous
psychological profiling can't ensure that lawfully registered gun
owners will never pose a threat to the general public? On the other,
what good are stringent gun control laws which can't be consistently
enforced? Raoul Moat, a violent felon known to have possessed guns and
other weapons in the past, seems to have obtained both an illegal
firearm and ammunition within 48 hours of being released from prison.
It's time to acknowledge that the so-called 'war on guns' has been
lost. We might also reflect on how much heartache, blood, time and
money might have been saved if the late Mr. Chris Brown had been
allowed to take a gun to a gunfight instead of an iron
bar." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/23dssvj
-----
25) Why not get personal with pushy government officials?
Disloyal Opposition
by JD Tuccille
"I no longer have a commercial publisher, so I don't have to pretend
that I disapprove of directly targeting government officials. Yet I'm
not specifically advocating putting bear traps on the front seats of
cop cars -- for one thing, the unwashed masses are likely to get
offended that one of the brave 'thin blue line' got his steroid-
shriveled testicles caught in the trap, and, for another, there's an
unfortunate likelihood of being caught, like the apparently rather dim
Nicholas Smit, in Hemet. But I'm surprised that we don't hear more
about direct, creative targeting of abusive law-enforcement officers
and presumptuous officeholders." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/28ptor9
-----
26) Parasitic tort lawyers
Reason
by John Stossel
"Tort lawyers lie. They say their product liability suits are good for
us. But their lawsuits rarely make our lives better. They make lawyers
and a few of their clients better off -- but for the majority of us,
they make life much worse." (07/08/10)
http://reason.com/archives/2010/07/08/parasitic-tort-lawyers
-----
27) The war drones on
AntiWar.Com
by Robert Koehler
"When we bomb children, we garner 'complaints,' same as we would if we
trample on someone's flowerbed. These complaints then 'stir concern'
-- you know, like when the milk goes sour -- not among people in
general, but specifically among professional do-gooders, 'human rights
advocates,' who monitor and fuss over dead civilians anyway. Nothing
in this language presses on the conscience or interrupts America's
daily business. There is no hint of the value of the lives we destroy,
no laying of those lives in our laps. There is only fog and numbness,
and the war drones on." (07/09/10)
http://tinyurl.com/26b2dce
-----
28) Don't tinker with the vetting rules: Scrap them
Spiked
by Josie Appleton
"The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act is based on a poisonous
assumption: that every adult is a potential abuser unless state-
approved. My vote for the law to be scrapped goes to the Safeguarding
Vulnerable Groups Act. The Act was passed in October 2006 -- with
cross-party backing and virtually no detractors -- and means an
unprecedented degree of state intervention into everyday adult-child
relations." (07/08/10)
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/9173/
-----
29) Jump starting the First Amendment
CounterPunch
by Jayne Stahl
"In May, four reporters were banned from covering military commissions
at Gitmo, and now, in an effort to jump start the First Amendment,
McClatchy reports that major news organizations are organizing to
challenge the ban as illegal in that it 'bars publication of
information considered 'protected' even if the information is already
widely known and publicly available.'" (07/08/10)
http://counterpunch.org/stahl07082010.html
-----
30) Government stopping charities from feeding the homeless
Say Anything Blog
by Rob Port
"The National Coalition for the Homeless has issued a report detailing
laws and ordinances in a couple of dozen localities across the nation
that prohibit charities -- churches, civic organizations, charities,
etc. -- from feeding the homeless. Or, at least, inhibit their ability
to do so with burdensome regulation. ... This seems like lunacy to me.
There are people who are destitute and hungry. There are other people
who are willing to give of their own time, talent and wealth to
provide for those people. But the government is limiting their ability
to do so, or in some instances stopping them." (07/01/10)
http://tinyurl.com/29et6ks
-----
31) Civilian deaths and vengeance in Afghanistan
Mind Hacks
by staff
"Wired's Danger Room reports on a new study finding that civilian
causalities in Afghanistan lead to anti-coalition feelings and an
increase in insurgent attacks. Although this would seem to be blindly
obvious, the study adds some morbid detail to the picture and provides
evidence for some in the US military who had suggested no such link
existed. The study was completed by four economists and it reports its
uncomfortable results in stark statistical terms. Interestingly, not
all civilian casualties are created equal in terms of their
backlash." (07/06/10)
http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2010/07/civilian_deaths_and_.html
-----
32) Porcupines
Strike the Root
by Jim Davies
"In June I had the pleasure of visiting PorcFest 2010, a friendly
festival of freedom-seekers held in Northern New Hampshire; so far
north that, had one traveled much further, one would have entered Her
Majesty's jurisdiction. One of her subjects had in fact come south,
from his freedomain somewhere near the North Pole, to enhance the
Festival; and it was an honor to meet both him and several other
heroes of liberty. The setting was awesome, with a wonderful vista
from the campground across a broad valley to the majestic White
mountains, which the Feds call the Presidential Range, perhaps on the
false premise that Presidents are also magnificent, or that they rise
high above plain mortals. Or perhaps that they have rocks for
brains." (907/07/10)
http://www.strike-the-root.com/porcupines
-----
33) If you liked Mcdonald v. Chicago, you'll love Benson v. Chicago
Chicago Gun Rights Examiner
by Don Gwinn
"The main difference between McDonald and Benson may be how one-sided
the new lawsuit is, based on the precedent set in McDonald. The four
plaintiffs, Brett Benson, Raymond Sledge, Kenneth Pacholski and
Kathryn Tyler, are challenging the new ordinance on eight separate
counts based on their various experiences as businessmen, educators,
and residents of Chicago, while the IL Association of Firearms
Retailers (ILAFR) are challenging the ordinance's total prohibition on
firing ranges and gun shops within city limits." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/29ay2qa
-----
34) In self defense
Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
by Dave Workman
"It has been nearly four years -- and will be this coming Sunday, July
11 -- that Seattle resident Mary Cooper and her daughter, Susanna
Stodden, were murdered along the Pinnacle Lake trail .... Cooper and
Stodden were unarmed, and there is no reason to believe that they ever
would have been; probably quite the opposite. Other hikers do carry
firearms, and in Washington State, to carry a concealed handgun while
hiking ... or engaging in any other legitimate outdoor activity, one
does not even need a concealed pistol license. They do this because
bad things do happen to good people in unlikely places, including a
quiet mountain trail where people are supposed to be enjoying the
serenity, not being slain by a killer still at large." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/28fjoae
-----
35) Watch out for taxation road's potholes
Jeffersonville Evening News
by Debbie Harbeson
"When Clark County politicians were considering whether or not to
implement the wheel tax yet again, I noticed some erratic driving on
taxation road. Some officials headed to the no-tax ramp from the
start. Later, when others noticed the skid marks made by angry voters,
they merged over too, so the wheel tax failed to pass. In other words,
they saw the light -- the one emitting from all the headlights on the
voter's cars that were headed right for their jobs, so they got the
heck out of the way." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/27qcxgt
-----
36) The disaster of government-run businesses
Campaign for Liberty
by Jim Powell
"Barack Obama defied experience everywhere when he stubbornly claimed
he could make a government-run health program work. The standard
practice of any government-run business is to provide favored interest
groups with something for nothing, forcing other people to pay for it,
and there always seem to be complications. " (07/08/10)
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=999
-----
37) Pandemic: The contagious crisis
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Leland B. Yeager
"If you think the free market should be blamed for our current
economic woes, you are on the wrong track. Libertarians face charges
these days that capitalism has failed or at least that deregulation
has invited our current economic troubles. These charges are not
persuasive. A more realistic view is that a housing boom and bust
happened to strike a fragile financial system whose fragility was
worsened by ill-conceived government interventions. Before commenting
on how to fix the system, I should outline what happened to damage
it." (originally published 2007; posted 07/08/10)
http://mises.org/daily/4531
-----
38) Time to board the gold stocks train?
Freedom's Phoenix
by Jeff Clark
"One of the big hints that gold stocks will be ready for take-off is
when they stop following the broader markets and strictly track gold,
particularly if the market falls and gold stocks don't. We now have
data showing this has just occurred. From April 2009 to April 2010,
gold stocks mirrored the S&P. The two markets held hands as often as
high school sweethearts; there was very little separation between
them. While it wasn't always a daily connection, any weekly and
especially monthly chart showed them moving in tandem. Until
now." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2bb4zsz
-----
39) Don't ban the burqa
Adam Smith Institute
by Anton Howes
"Belgium and France plan to ban the burqa in public. Belgium lawmakers
have approved a draft ban to wearing the full Islamic veil in public
places. France's will most likely become law in September. These are
highly worrying developments for supporters of liberty, not least
because of the growing calls to emulate the ban here in Britain. Some
say that the burqa prevents 'social cohesion', others that its
endurance is a symbol of radical Islamism's triumph over Western
values. Others cite its use as a means of repressing women, or the
threat it poses to security. However, a ban on the burqa is not only
an ill-judged and flawed response to these concerns, but goes against
everything that Britain stands for." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2aodhk6
-----
40) Invitation to a Tea Party
The American Spectator
by Christopher Orlet
"As a journalist, I receive a lot of invitations to luncheons and
dinners where I am expected to work and not eat. A recent get-together
of the local Tea Party was no exception. I went to the meeting well
prepared. (Specifically, I ate a baloney sandwich in the car.) I'd
read that left wingers considered the Tea Party to be a bunch of
racist religious kooks, and the right wing -- well, the Tea Party was
the right wing, except for its libertarian wing and the wing that
hates Wall Street. If you're keeping count, that's three wings, which
is too many to fly and not enough for the guy who ordered the buffalo
chicken dip." (07/08/10)
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/07/08/invitation-to-a-tea-party
-----
41) Two insidious trends in America
A Passion for Liberty
by Tibor R. Machan
"Two powerful intellectual developments are ruining America. One is
egalitarianism, the other pragmatism." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/376f4af
-----
42) Non-believer
The New Republic
by Andrew Bacevich
"The 43d president was a well-intentioned fool, who inflicted grievous
harm on his country. Yet when Bush stands before his Maker (or the bar
of History), he will say without fear of contradiction: 'I did what I
thought was right.' Barack Obama is anything but a fool. Yet when
called upon to account for his presidency, honesty will prevent him
from making a comparable claim. 'The problems I inherited were
difficult ones,' he will say. 'None of the choices were good ones.
Things were complicated.' The Afghanistan war forms part of that
complicated inheritance where good choices are hard to come by. Much
as Iraq was Bush's war, Afghanistan has become Obama's war. Yet the
president clearly wants nothing more than to rid himself of his war.
Obama has prolonged and escalated a conflict in which he himself
manifestly does not believe." (07/07/10)
http://www.tnr.com/blog/foreign-policy/76091/non-believer
-----
43) Understanding the BP oil tragedy: Time blindness
Nolan Chart
by Joel S. Hirschhorn
"A loss expected to happen next year looks smaller than that same loss
happening next week. Worse yet, a loss or catastrophe that may happen
(indeed, is highly likely to happen) decades away is essentially
invisible, unthinkable or unworthy of attention now. In other words,
humans suffer from an intrinsic thinking defect best described as time
blindness. It is the inability to correctly foresee and take seriously
long term consequences of current actions. No wonder that people
easily spend decades eating unhealthy foods or living a sedentary
lifestyle, or both, without appreciating or internalizing the
inevitable negative and serious health impacts, from heart disease to
all kinds of cancers, for example. No wonder that all kinds of
technologies that offer immediate rewards or benefits are embraced
while long term negative impacts are easily ignored. Maybe cell phones
really do cause brain cancer. Maybe deep ocean drilling for oil will
fail and cause exactly what we are now witnessing in the Gulf of
Mexico from the BP fiasco." (07/08/10)
http://www.nolanchart.com/article7840.html
-----
44) The rats are cornered
Economic Policy Journal
by Mike Krieger
"The stimulus and gimmicks initiated by a desperate political class
prodded on by our Keynesian witch-doctors Summers and Geithner ran
their course and at the end of that road was a massive pile of debt,
chronic unemployment, a populace that doesn't believe or trust
anything the government says or does and a housing market set to
resume its downward spiral. So basically the forces of deflation have
taken over once again. Banana Ben Bernanke knows it and he knows what
he wants to do about it. He wants to print so much money it would make
your head spin." (07/08/10)
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2010/07/rats-are-cornered.html
-----
45) Conservatives in disguise?
Classically Liberal
by CLS
"There is a religious publication for conservatives who try to take
the same views as the Moral Majoritarians without sounding completely
unhinged and rabid. They advocate the same sort of moralistic, big
government policies of the fanatical fundamentalists but try to do so
without sounding like fundamentalists. One of their publications is
First Things. They assume that their fantasies about being in
communication with some supernatural being gives them a right, even a
duty, to use the state to violate the rights of peaceful individuals
who act in ways disapproved of by their imaginary friend. Since they
want to trample on the rights of 'immoral' people in the name of their
religion they know that libertarians are their enemy. They are right,
libertarians are their enemies for the same reason libertarians are
the enemy of socialism. Conservatives are just socialists of the
soul." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/25rllwg
-----
46) The education debacle of the decade
WendyMcElroy.Com
by Bob Ewing
"Simply put, OSP has a profoundly positive effect not just on
students, but on the city and the country as a whole. So when it came
time for Congress to reauthorize OSP, it would seem to be a no-
brainer: Expand the program. Instead, they killed it. Buried deep
inside a 1000+ page, half-trillion-dollar spending bill was a
provision that prohibited any new students from entering the program.
To top it off, the 216 new students added to OSP for the new academic
year were pulled out by Education Secretary Arne Duncan just before
the school year started. Why did this happen? According to former DC
Mayor Anthony Williams and former DC Councilman Kevin Chavous (both
Democrats), the answer is politics at its worst." (07/07/10)
http://www.wendymcelroy.com/news.php?extend.3376
-----
47) Your money back
National Review
by Gary Wolfram
"Is Ron Paul's suggestion that the Federal Reserve be eliminated a
'fringe position,' as Josh Barro suggested in the June 21 issue of
National Review ('Mend the Fed')? It depends on what 'fringe' means.
If it means simply that a large majority disagrees, then
Representative Paul's position deserves that characterization. But if
'fringe' is meant to imply that abolishing the Fed is a lunatic idea
that is not supported by economic theory, then Paul's position is far
from it. In fact, a number of economists argue that the economy would
operate more smoothly without a Federal Reserve." (07/08/10)
http://article.nationalreview.com/437459/your-money-back/gary-wolfram
-----
48) Mitt Romney: The George HW Bush of 2012?
Salon
by Steve Kornacki
"Mitt Romney's decision to use a Tuesday Op-Ed in the Washington Post
to blast the new START between the U.S. and Russia has prompted plenty
of head-scratching, with numerous commentators dissecting his
arguments and finding them thoroughly nonsensical and inflammatory.
From a policy standpoint, their critiques, I'm sure, are entirely
valid. I just don't know why they're assuming that Mitt actually
believes anything he wrote. For instance, the Atlantic's Marc Ambinder
noted that Romney, based on his Op-Ed, would take America back in 'a
radical old direction' and that he 'subscribes to an essentialist
model of the world, where humility is only used as a preamble to
assert strength, project strength, be strong.' Well, maybe. Or maybe
Mitt is simply doing what he's always done in politics: identify his
target audience and pander to it." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2alaz7o
-----
49) Read the Bills Act: Follow the president's example
Downsize DC
by James Leroy Wilson
"President Obama is starting to do something Congress refuses to do.
He is posting bills on-line for five days before signing them. But
this is just a token gesture. If you want real 'change,' Congress must
be more transparent in how it writes and signs bills before they
pass." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2aole2j
-----
50) Taxes: A negative externality?
Libertarian Minds
by Steven Handel
"One of the most commonly argued disadvantages of uninhibited private
property and free markets is that they result in too many negative
externalities. In this post, I hope to make the point that state
intervention imposes just as many of these negative externalities as
free trade, and by no means are these economic phenomena particular to
so-called 'market failures.'" (07/08/10)
http://www.libertarianminds.com/taxes-a-negative-externality
-----
51) "You just don't get it"
Slate
by John Dickerson
"Do you get it? It is the question of the 2010 campaign so far, and
the answer is always the same: no. 'Republican leaders in Washington
just don't get it,' President Obama said this weekend after the GOP
senators voted to block an extension of unemployment benefits. During
the House debate last week over financial services reform, Mike Pence,
the Republican conference chairman, criticized the Democrats: 'When
you look at this legislation, it is proof positive again that this
majority just doesn't get it.' In Arizona, backers of the state's
controversial immigration law are selling T-shirts that read: 'The
President Just Doesn't Get It.' When the Justice Department announced
Tuesday that it would file suit to overturn the law, Rep. Harry
Mitchell of Arizona responded, 'The only thing this lawsuit will do is
demonstrate to Arizonans that Washington still doesn't get
it.'" (07/07/10)
http://www.slate.com/id/2259796/
-----
52) Assessing legal prospects for lawsuit over federal health care
reform
Show-Me Institute
by Dave Roland
"Yesterday morning, Missouri's lieutenant governor filed suit against
the recently passed federal health care reform. It's difficult to know
exactly what to make of certain aspects of this lawsuit, because it
assumes the manner in which the federal health care law will function
-- and it is not clear that the lawsuit's assumptions are correct.
Even if they are correct, however, there are a few issues that may
prevent this lawsuit from proceeding." (07/08/10)
http://www.showmedaily.org/2010/07/assessing-legal-prospects-for.html
-----
53) Will Gitmo shrinks lose their credentials?
Mother Jones
by Daniel Schulman
"The role of doctors, psychiatrists, and psychologists in
interrogations has been a source of considerable controversy, since it
seemingly violates the medical professions' central tenet: 'Do no
harm.' Over the years, a handful of efforts to hold caregivers
accountable for complicity in detainee abuse have come up empty. But
human rights advocates are hoping this track record will soon change.
On Wednesday, the San Francisco-based Center for Justice and
Accountability (CJA) and Harvard Law School's International Human
Rights Clinic filed separate complaints against two former Gitmo
shrinks with their state licensing boards." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2a5b7qv
-----
54) Keynes vs. Hayek: The great debate continues
Cato Institute
by Gerald P. O'Driscoll, Jr.
"The debates raging over what policies will pull the U.S. economy out
of its Great Recession replicate one that occurred during the Great
Depression. Thanks to the efforts of Richard Ebeling, a professor of
economics at Northwood University, we have compelling and concise
documentary evidence. He has unearthed letters to the Times of London
from the two sides that mirror today's debates." (07/07/10)
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11960
-----
55) Argentina's tragic hero
Independent Institute
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
"If the Greeks had not invented tragedy, the Argentines would. Nobody
does it better, as demonstrated by the tragedy of their soccer squad,
kicked out of the World Cup amid howls of national humiliation after
being crushed by Germany. And not since Eva Peron has Argentina
produced a more tragic figure than coach Diego Maradona, who went from
being one of the two best soccer players in history to a life of drug
addiction; and from befriending Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez and other
thugs to coaching the national team with scant prior
experience." (07/07/10)
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2822
-----
56) The FBI closes a window to the truth
Reason
by Steve Chapman
"Modern recording devices are a boon to law enforcement. Wiretaps
betray crooks plotting their crimes. Surveillance cameras on city
streets identify muggers and drug dealers. Video gear in patrol cars
shows drivers who can barely stand, much less walk a straight line.
All these provide devastating evidence in court: Jurors can witness
exactly what happened. But when it comes to capturing some of the most
important information available for fighting crime, the Federal Bureau
of Investigation would rather see no evil and hear no
evil." (07/08/10)
http://reason.com/archives/2010/07/08/the-fbi-closes-a-window-to-the
-----
57) The Heinlein-Konkin birthday party
J. Neil Schulman @ Rational Review
by J. Neil Schulman
"For many years my friend Samuel Edward Konkin III -- SEK3, for
brevity -- always celebrated his July 8th birthday in conjunction with
Robert A. Heinlein's July 7th birthday. When both were alive, it was
not uncommon for me to put in a phone call to Mr. Heinlein so I could
put Sam on the phone with him, and they could wish each other Happy
Birthday." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/39jtpu9
-----
58) Views now acceptable
The American Conservative
by Sean Scallon
"Call it opportunism if you like or say it's a part of the grand GOP
strategy of OEOP (Oppose Everything Obama Proposes) regardless, RNC
Chairman Michael Steele's comments about Obama's War in Afghanistan
show a far different Michael Steele than back in 2007 when he attacked
Rep. Ron Paul for suggesting 'blowback' was part of the reason for the
9-11 terrorist attacks. In the face of the neocons calling for
Steele's resignation, Rep. Paul stepped up and defended Steele and it
paid off, Steel[e] will survive the brouhaha still RNC Chairman unless
he bumbles into another crisis (entirely possible knowing his track
record) he can't escape from." (07/07/10)
http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2010/07/07/youve-come-a-long-way-baby/
-----
59) It's not a democracy unless we call it our own -- 6 ways to make
it happen
AlterNet
by Jim Hightower
"On the Fourth of July, we celebrated Jefferson, Franklin, Adams,
Madison and all the other great men who created our democracy, right?
Not exactly. The Founders did create the framework for a democratic
republic, but they didn't create much democracy. Indeed, in America's
first presidential election, only 4 percent of the people were even
eligible to vote. The Founders created the possibility for democracy,
but it took the struggle (often bloody and always hard) of ordinary
people over the years to create the substance." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2e8fr6k
-----
60) Will the Tea Party usher in a more limited view of government?
The Weekly Standard
by Jim Prevor
"Typically, presidents of both parties come to the office as
politicians, not ideologues. Yet it seems somewhat unsatisfying to say
the difference between conservatives and liberals is that
conservatives will only abandon their principles if something really
big is at stake, whereas liberals don't believe in the same principles
at all. Somewhere in this ambiguity is the Tea Party movement, seeking
to express coherently a dissatisfaction with the policies of President
Obama, but well aware that the last Republican president in office,
though different in inclination, did not, when the chips were down at
the time of the Bear Stearns debacle, feel either constrained in what
he could do, nor hesitant in what he should do -- namely, whatever it
took to avoid a bad outcome. An intellectually robust and politically
adept conservatism has to come down against the kind of ad hoc
machinations that characterized the end of the Bush term as it relates
to the economic crisis -- and continue to characterize the Obama
administration." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/29un6yl
*****************************
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************
61) Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Ludwig von Mises Institute
Mises Institute podcast featuring Jeff Riggenbach. [Silverlight or
MP3] (07/08/10)
http://mises.org/media/5155
-----
62) Stefan Molyneux on Declare Your Independence
Freedom's Phoenix
Stefan Molyneux, host of Freedomain Radio, joins host Ernest Hancock.
[MP3] (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2ew4r76
-----
63) MPP Insider #011
Marijuana Policy Project
"We revisit a story we first brought you weeks ago about Walmart
discriminating against a medical marijuana patient in Michigan, we've
got coverage of happenings in New York, Oregon, and Washington, and
we'll look at both victims of marijuana prohibition as well as
marijuana prohibition by the numbers!" [Flash video] (07/07/10)
http://www.youtube.com/mppstaff#p/a/u/0/i2YrxAh6NgA
-----
64) Scott Horton on Antiwar Radio
AntiWar.Com
"The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights
lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper's magazine,
discusses how the UK courts are forcing the government to open up
their torture files detailing how the CIA helped torture Binyam
Mohammed, Federal Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's prosecution of
Chicago police prolific torturer John Burge and his witch-hunt against
Gitmo defense attorneys, how the Obama administration is just
pretending to close down Gitmo and why McChrystal was better than
Patraeus because he can admit we are losing in Afghanistan." [Flash
audio or MP3] (07/07/10)
http://antiwar.com/radio/2010/07/07/scott-horton-31/
-----
65) Free Talk Live, 07/07/10
Free Talk Live
"Fireworks Ban and Regulations :: Nation of Laws? :: Protection from
Government :: State Broken Budgets :: Postal Service Not-so-
Independent :: Money Orders and Unclaimed Assets :: Illegal Private
Delivery Competition to the USPS :: Lack of Incentive :: Postage
Increase :: Postal Innovation? :: Immigration Nightmare :: Cop Beats
Teen :: The Supposed Voluntaryism vs Ministatism Divide :: Mark
Interviews Greg Lukianoff." [MP3] (07/07/10)
http://media.libsyn.com/media/ftl/FTL2010-07-07.mp3
*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************
66) 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/
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
* The Freedom Movement's Daily Newspaper
*
* Volume VIII, Issue #1,958
* Friday, July 9th, 2010
* Email Circulation 1,892
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
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*************************SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS****
In The News:
0) RRND/FND 3rd quarter fundraiser
1) Judge rules DOMA unconstitutional
2) Latest Newspeak vocabulary addition: "Perfect Citizen"
3) Iraq: 33 killed, 119 wounded
4) Afghanistan: Three occupation troops killed
5) Pakistan: 14 militants killed in Orokzai Agency
6) FL: Crist calls for special session on offshore drilling
7) Obama claims economic turnaround, bashes GOP
8) WV: AG okays special election for Byrd's US Senate seat
9) PA: Gun rights advocates get new energy in their push for a
"castle doctrine"
10) Italy: Newspapers strike over Berlusconi "gag law" proposal
11) US to crack down on smearing of olive oil's reputation
12) US Presbyterians to lift ban on gay clergy
13) Federal appeals panel denies Obama regime's bid to reinstate
drilling ban
14) CA: Cop convicted of manslaughter in on-camera murder of BART
passenger
15) UN to condem sinking of South Korean warship
16) Iran: Regime may still murder woman, but not by stoning
17) 10 Russian spy suspects plead guilty in New York hearing
18) Norway: Three arrested in New York bomb plot probe
19) IMF to US: Lower deficit
20) Aircraft completes first solar-powered night flight
Everybody Has An Opinion:
21) Contempt of state -- an indispensable virtue
22) In defense of Lindsay Lohan
23) Why optimism seems so irrational
24) Protect the police -- abolish gun control
25) Why not get personal with pushy government officials?
26) Parasitic tort lawyers
27) The war drones on
28) Don't tinker with the vetting rules: Scrap them
29) Jump starting the First Amendment
30) Government stopping charities from feeding the homeless
31) Civilian deaths and vengeance in Afghanistan
32) Porcupines
33) If you liked Mcdonald v. Chicago, you'll love Benson v. Chicago
34) In self defense
35) Watch out for taxation road's potholes
36) The disaster of government-run businesses
37) Pandemic: The contagious crisis
38) Time to board the gold stocks train?
39) Don't ban the burqa
40) Invitation to a Tea Party
41) Two insidious trends in America
42) Non-believer
43) Understanding the BP oil tragedy: Time blindness
44) The rats are cornered
45) Conservatives in disguise?
46) The education debacle of the decade
47) Your money back
48) Mitt Romney: The George HW Bush of 2012?
49) Read the Bills Act: Follow the president's example
50) Taxes: A negative externality?
51) "You just don't get it"
52) Assessing legal prospects for lawsuit over federal health care
reform
53) Will Gitmo shrinks lose their credentials?
54) Keynes vs. Hayek: The great debate continues
55) Argentina's tragic hero
56) The FBI closes a window to the truth
57) The Heinlein-Konkin birthday party
58) Views now acceptable
59) It's not a democracy unless we call it our own -- 6 ways to make
it happen
60) Will the Tea Party usher in a more limited view of government?
See No Evil, Hear No Evil:
61) Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
62) Stefan Molyneux on Declare Your Independence
63) MPP Insider #011
64) Scott Horton on Antiwar Radio
65) Free Talk Live, 07/07/10
What's Up In The Freedom Movement:
66) Today's events
***************
* In The News
***************
0) RRND/FND 3rd quarter fundraiser
Update, 07/08/10: Thanks to DF, DT, KB and (another!) DF, whose
combined $295 in contributions yesterday brings our total to $615 --
29% of our $2,083 goal!
It's Friday, so I'll take it easy on y'all. See those four people
above? Goest thou now and do likewise, and have a great weekend! - TLK
http://www.rationalreview.com/content/83890
-----
1) Judge rules DOMA unconstitutional
MSNBC
"A U.S. judge in Boston has ruled that a federal gay marriage ban is
unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to
define marriage. U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro on Thursday ruled in
favor of gay couples' rights in two separate challenges to the 1996
Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA. The state had argued the law
denied benefits such as Medicaid to gay married couples in
Massachusetts, where same-sex unions have been legal since 2004. Tauro
agreed, and said the act forces Massachusetts to discriminate against
its own citizens." (07/08/10)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38154952
-----
2) Latest Newspeak vocabulary addition: "Perfect Citizen"
Wall Street Journal
"The federal government is launching an expansive program dubbed
'Perfect Citizen' to detect cyber assaults on private companies and
government agencies running such critical infrastructure as the
electricity grid and nuclear-power plants, according to people
familiar with the program. The surveillance by the National Security
Agency, the government's chief eavesdropping agency, would rely on a
set of sensors deployed in computer networks for critical
infrastructure that would be triggered by unusual activity suggesting
an impending cyber attack .... Some industry and government officials
familiar with the program see Perfect Citizen as an intrusion by the
NSA into domestic affairs, while others say it is an important program
to combat an emerging security threat that only the NSA is equipped to
provide." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/24pfgzc
-----
3) Iraq: 33 killed, 119 wounded
AntiWar.Com
"Solemn observances at the Imam Kadhim shrine in Baghdad culminated
today. Although pilgrims began to return to their homes, they remain
vulnerable to attacks. At least 33 Iraqis were killed and 119 more
were wounded, mostly in the capital. Due to the nature of these
reports an exact count is difficult at best: The confusion of numerous
or larger attacks can lead to wildly conflicting numbers and vague
locations. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Parliament is to meet next Tuesday,
just ahead of a constitutional deadline." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/25hfsdc
-----
4) Afghanistan: Three occupation troops killed
CNN
"Three service members from the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan were
killed in action Thursday, NATO's International Security Assistance
Force said. One died in an insurgent attack in the east and two died
in bombings in the south." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2w6jmnk
-----
5) Pakistan: 14 militants killed in Orokzai Agency
SAMAA TV [Pakistan]
"According to sources, security forces backed by fighter jets targeted
militant's hideouts in Nandarmela and Kot Taley region of Orakzai
agency, killing 14 militants. The air strikes by fighter jet caused
heavy losses and destroyed three militants' hideouts." (07/09/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2dg49mq
-----
6) FL: Crist calls for special session on offshore drilling
Lakeland Ledger
"In a dramatic political gamble, Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday called
state lawmakers back to Tallahassee to pass a state constitutional
amendment banning oil drilling near Florida's shoreline. Crist, who is
running as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate, took the
unusual step of invoking his power as governor to unilaterally call
lawmakers into a four-day special session on July 20-23. Normally,
governors call special sessions after reaching an agreement with
legislative leaders on the agenda. But facing an Aug. 4 deadline to
get the amendment on November ballot, Crist decided to act on his own
after being ignored by House leaders." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2d766qw
-----
7) Obama claims economic turnaround, bashes GOP
CNN
"President Barack Obama said Thursday the U.S. economy is 'headed in
the right direction,' and he challenged Republican critics to work
with him to continue making progress instead of trying to obstruct his
agenda. 'What is absolutely clear is that we are headed in the right
direction -- and that the surest way out of this storm is to keep
moving forward,' Obama told workers at a Kansas City, Missouri,
electric vehicle company that had been helped by economic stimulus
funds." (07/08/10)
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/08/obama.economy/
-----
8) WV: AG okays special election for Byrd's US Senate seat
Beckley Register-Herald
"Gov. Joe Manchin is empowered under state law to set up a special
election this year to fill the vacant seat of the late Sen. Robert C.
Byrd, the attorney general's office held Thursday. In the same
opinion, Attorney General Darrell McGraw advised the governor that a
special primary must be conducted before the November general election
in plenty of time to serve voters and potential candidates alike.
Byrd, the longest serving senator in American history, died June 28 at
age 92, and speculation since then has run rampant about his possible
successor." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/22norgu
-----
9) PA: Gun rights advocates get new energy in their push for a
"castle doctrine"
Patriot News
"Gun rights advocates got a monumental boost last week when the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled local governments can't ban guns. Now,
Pennsylvania gun rights advocates are aiming at their next target:
giving gun owners the right to fire rather than flee when threatened
in their homes or cars or, ideally, any public place where they have a
right to be. The court decision gives new energy to the push for a so-
called 'castle doctrine' in Pennsylvania. ... Gun rights advocates
further feel the ruling adds firepower to their challenges of assorted
gun restrictions, such as bans on guns in municipal buildings and
parks." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/38fcrha
-----
10) Italy: Newspapers strike over Berlusconi "gag law" proposal
Guardian [UK]
"There will be no news in Italy today; or, at least, hardly any. That
is not a prediction, but fact: none of the main newspapers are
appearing because their reporters and editors are on a 24-hour strike.
Today they are due to be joined by radio, TV and some internet
journalists. The action is over a parliamentary bill proposing a law
that Silvio Berlusconi's government claims safeguards privacy. Most of
Italy's editors, judges and prosecutors say it is intended to shield
politicians, and particularly the prime minister, whose career has
been ridden with financial and sexual scandals. The so-called 'gagging
law' would curb the ability of police and prosecutors to record phone
conversations and plant listening devices. It would also stop
journalists publishing the resulting transcripts. Investigators
seeking to listen in on a suspect would need permission from three
judges. Regardless of circumstances, eavesdropping warrants would
expire after 75 days, after which they must be renewed every three
days." [editor's note: Apart from the newspaper provision, sounds like
a move in the right direction! - TLK] (07/09/10)
http://tinyurl.com/35ptfsj
-----
11) US to crack down on smearing of olive oil's reputation
Los Angeles Times
"The federal government has become serious about virginity -- at least
when it comes to olive oil. Propelled by complaints about slippery
food purveyors selling low-end product as high-end goods, or olive
oils being doctored with cheaper canola, safflower or peanut oils, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture this fall will roll out new standards
to help ensure that consumers buying '100% extra virgin' olive oil get
what they pay for." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/29m9vyz
-----
12) US Presbyterians to lift ban on gay clergy
Louisville Courier-Journal
"A Presbyterian assembly voted Thursday to endorse the ordination of
non-celibate gays and lesbians, sending the measure for ratification
votes to regional presbyteries where resistance to such changes has
diminished in recent years. Church representatives, meeting in
Minneapolis at the weeklong General Assembly, voted 373-323 to lift
the ban in the Louisville-based Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which
has 2.1 million members. The assembly also was scheduled to consider
on Thursday night a proposal to redefine marriage in the church's
constitution to encompass any two people, regardless of gender. Both
measures would require approval by a majority of the regional
presbyteries to become part of the church constitution." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2bc48j4
-----
13) Federal appeals panel denies Obama regime's bid to reinstate
drilling ban
CNN
"A federal appeals panel on Thursday upheld a district judge's order
to block the Obama administration's six-month ban on deepwater
drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. In a brief ruling just a few hours
after the hearing, the three-judge appellate panel denied the
government's request to reinstate the moratorium while the full appeal
of the case continues. The government declared the moratorium in
response to the April 20 explosion and fire on a deepwater rig that
led to the Gulf oil disaster, with millions of gallons gushing into
the ocean and oil giant BP unable to stop it." (07/08/10)
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/07/08/oil.drilling.moratorium
-----
14) CA: Cop convicted of manslaughter in on-camera murder of BART
passenger
Reuters
"A white transit police officer was found guilty of involuntary
manslaughter on Thursday in the videotaped shooting death of an
unarmed black man that triggered a night of rioting in Oakland,
California. The defendant in the racially charged trial, Johannes
Mehserle, 28, testified that he mistakenly drew his pistol instead of
his electric Taser weapon and shot Oscar Grant, 22, while trying to
subdue him during a New Year's Day 2009 confrontation. But prosecutors
said in closing arguments that Mehserle 'lost all control' and
intentionally shot Grant because he was resisting arrest." (07/08/10)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66763A20100708
-----
15) UN to condem sinking of South Korean warship
Agence France-Presse
"The UN Security Council is set to adopt a text condemning the attack
which sank a South Korean warship earlier this year, according to a
draft of the statement released Thursday. The statement, set to be
adopted on Friday, 'condemns the attack which led to the sinking of
the Cheonan' in the Yellow Sea near a disputed border. ... But the
text does not directly blame North Korea (DPRK) for the March 26
attack in which 46 sailors died, despite the findings of a
multinational inquiry which blamed the sinking of the ship on a North
Korean torpedo." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/29z8cgr
-----
16) Iran: Regime may still murder woman, but not by stoning
CNN
"Iran's government is denying reports that an Iranian woman convicted
of adultery will be executed by stoning, though her death sentence may
still be carried out by some other method. In the Islamic republic's
first public statement on the case of Sakineh Mohammedie Ashtiani, 42,
the Iranian Embassy in London, England, said Thursday that 'this
mission denies the false news aired in this respect and ... according
to information from the relevant judicial authorities in Iran, she
will not be executed by stoning punishment.' ... But Ashtiani still
faces the possibility of execution for her 2006 adultery conviction,
said Drewery Dyke of Amnesty International in London. 'We have noted
in the past that those who have been sentenced to stonings have gone
on to be hanged,' he said." (07/08/10)
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/07/08/iran.stoning/
-----
17) 10 Russian spy suspects plead guilty in New York hearing
Washington Post
"All 10 of the accused Russian spies held in the United States pleaded
guilty Thursday at a hearing in Manhattan, a key step in a reported
deal under negotiation with Russia for the largest swap of espionage
detainees since the Cold War. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Farbiarz
said at the start of the hearing in federal court that the 10
defendants wanted to enter guilty pleas. An 11th person indicted in
the case is a fugitive. Prosecutors agreed to allow the 10 to plead
guilty to one charge each of secretly conspiring to act as agents of
the Russian government, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of
five years. Nine of the 11 defendants in the case were also originally
charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2upmxzr
-----
18) Norway: Three arrested in New York bomb plot probe
All Headline News
"Norwegian police arrested three men linked to al-Qaeda Thursday on
suspicion of plotting a terrorist bomb attack. Police did not disclose
their target. However, they did say they have evidence linking the men
to failed bomb attacks last year in New York City and Manchester,
England. All three of the men arrested by Norwegian police are legal
residents of Norway, one is a citizen. The other two have permanent
residency cards." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/28cuuy9
-----
19) IMF to US: Lower deficit
The Hill
"The United States must rein in its deficits sooner than President
Barack Obama wants, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said
Thursday. In an annual report on the U.S. economy, the IMF said the
U.S. faces a 'central challenge' in implementing a 'credible fiscal
strategy' to ensure that public debt is put on a sustainable path
without putting the economic recovery in jeopardy. It predicted the
recovery would be slightly weaker than what's anticipated by the Obama
administration, and that the U.S. as a result would have to do more to
lower its debt." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2ekrplf
-----
20) Aircraft completes first solar-powered night flight
Reuters
"A giant glider-like aircraft has completed the first night flight
propelled only by solar energy, organizers said on Thursday. Solar
Impulse, whose wingspan is the same as an Airbus A340, flew 26 hours
and 9 minutes, powered only by solar energy stored during the day. It
was also the longest and highest flight in the history of solar
aviation, organizers said." (07/08/10)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6671WK20100708
*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 07/09/10
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 96,872 ... Max - 105,624
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 4,412
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************
****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************
21) Contempt of state -- an indispensable virtue
LewRockwell.Com
by Karen Kwiatkowski
"To show solidarity with Bradley Manning, we should support his
defense and laud his actions, but know -- with great contempt -- that
his government trial will be no less a show trial than that of German
patriots Sophie and Hans Scholl, as portrayed in the movie Sophie
Scholl: The Final Days. A better and more immediate way to support
Bradley Manning might be to work on developing within ourselves and
our families a more finely honed sense of contempt for the state, and
a deeper understanding of one of the state's favorite tools of
control, the misapplied idea of utilitarianism." (07/09/10)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski252.html
-----
22) In defense of Lindsay Lohan
The Libertarian Standard
by Manuel Lora
"If you thought prohibition was repealed, think again. From minimum
drinking age laws to laws that prohibit even parents, in some states,
from responsibly introducing alcohol to kids, the state still manages
to control not just the alcohol industry but those consuming it.
Indeed, if you consume alcohol in places and times that the state
deems 'illegal,' you will be treated like cattle -- literally. Indeed,
Lohan has been in the past required to wear an alcohol monitoring
bracelet. She has also been required to forcibly attend rehab (let's
see: a chain, involuntary migration -- yep, sounds like a form of
slavery to me) and comply with various others threats by the
state. ... if Lohan committed a real crime against someone else's
property or body, then she'd be guilty. However, the government's
gauntlet was thrown because she had the audacity to say
no." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/28br5w7
-----
23) Why optimism seems so irrational
Foundation for Economic Education
by Steven Horwitz
"No explanation of why human beings understand the world as we do can
afford to ignore the effects of evolution on our psychological and
cognitive make-up. For the vast majority of our biological history we
lived in a world that was constantly throwing up large challenges to
our survival. I'm not just thinking of a bad harvest six thousand
years ago. I have in mind our pre-human ancestors who faced predators
everywhere and whose survival was a day-to-day if not an hour-to-hour
challenge. With survival so precarious it would make sense that we
evolved to be much more concerned about possible negative outcomes
than positive ones." (07/08/10)
http://www.thefreemanonline.org/headline/optimism-seems-irrational/
-----
24) Protect the police -- abolish gun control
Libertarian Alliance
by Christopher Houseman
"On the one hand, can we doubt any longer that even the most rigorous
psychological profiling can't ensure that lawfully registered gun
owners will never pose a threat to the general public? On the other,
what good are stringent gun control laws which can't be consistently
enforced? Raoul Moat, a violent felon known to have possessed guns and
other weapons in the past, seems to have obtained both an illegal
firearm and ammunition within 48 hours of being released from prison.
It's time to acknowledge that the so-called 'war on guns' has been
lost. We might also reflect on how much heartache, blood, time and
money might have been saved if the late Mr. Chris Brown had been
allowed to take a gun to a gunfight instead of an iron
bar." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/23dssvj
-----
25) Why not get personal with pushy government officials?
Disloyal Opposition
by JD Tuccille
"I no longer have a commercial publisher, so I don't have to pretend
that I disapprove of directly targeting government officials. Yet I'm
not specifically advocating putting bear traps on the front seats of
cop cars -- for one thing, the unwashed masses are likely to get
offended that one of the brave 'thin blue line' got his steroid-
shriveled testicles caught in the trap, and, for another, there's an
unfortunate likelihood of being caught, like the apparently rather dim
Nicholas Smit, in Hemet. But I'm surprised that we don't hear more
about direct, creative targeting of abusive law-enforcement officers
and presumptuous officeholders." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/28ptor9
-----
26) Parasitic tort lawyers
Reason
by John Stossel
"Tort lawyers lie. They say their product liability suits are good for
us. But their lawsuits rarely make our lives better. They make lawyers
and a few of their clients better off -- but for the majority of us,
they make life much worse." (07/08/10)
http://reason.com/archives/2010/07/08/parasitic-tort-lawyers
-----
27) The war drones on
AntiWar.Com
by Robert Koehler
"When we bomb children, we garner 'complaints,' same as we would if we
trample on someone's flowerbed. These complaints then 'stir concern'
-- you know, like when the milk goes sour -- not among people in
general, but specifically among professional do-gooders, 'human rights
advocates,' who monitor and fuss over dead civilians anyway. Nothing
in this language presses on the conscience or interrupts America's
daily business. There is no hint of the value of the lives we destroy,
no laying of those lives in our laps. There is only fog and numbness,
and the war drones on." (07/09/10)
http://tinyurl.com/26b2dce
-----
28) Don't tinker with the vetting rules: Scrap them
Spiked
by Josie Appleton
"The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act is based on a poisonous
assumption: that every adult is a potential abuser unless state-
approved. My vote for the law to be scrapped goes to the Safeguarding
Vulnerable Groups Act. The Act was passed in October 2006 -- with
cross-party backing and virtually no detractors -- and means an
unprecedented degree of state intervention into everyday adult-child
relations." (07/08/10)
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/9173/
-----
29) Jump starting the First Amendment
CounterPunch
by Jayne Stahl
"In May, four reporters were banned from covering military commissions
at Gitmo, and now, in an effort to jump start the First Amendment,
McClatchy reports that major news organizations are organizing to
challenge the ban as illegal in that it 'bars publication of
information considered 'protected' even if the information is already
widely known and publicly available.'" (07/08/10)
http://counterpunch.org/stahl07082010.html
-----
30) Government stopping charities from feeding the homeless
Say Anything Blog
by Rob Port
"The National Coalition for the Homeless has issued a report detailing
laws and ordinances in a couple of dozen localities across the nation
that prohibit charities -- churches, civic organizations, charities,
etc. -- from feeding the homeless. Or, at least, inhibit their ability
to do so with burdensome regulation. ... This seems like lunacy to me.
There are people who are destitute and hungry. There are other people
who are willing to give of their own time, talent and wealth to
provide for those people. But the government is limiting their ability
to do so, or in some instances stopping them." (07/01/10)
http://tinyurl.com/29et6ks
-----
31) Civilian deaths and vengeance in Afghanistan
Mind Hacks
by staff
"Wired's Danger Room reports on a new study finding that civilian
causalities in Afghanistan lead to anti-coalition feelings and an
increase in insurgent attacks. Although this would seem to be blindly
obvious, the study adds some morbid detail to the picture and provides
evidence for some in the US military who had suggested no such link
existed. The study was completed by four economists and it reports its
uncomfortable results in stark statistical terms. Interestingly, not
all civilian casualties are created equal in terms of their
backlash." (07/06/10)
http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2010/07/civilian_deaths_and_.html
-----
32) Porcupines
Strike the Root
by Jim Davies
"In June I had the pleasure of visiting PorcFest 2010, a friendly
festival of freedom-seekers held in Northern New Hampshire; so far
north that, had one traveled much further, one would have entered Her
Majesty's jurisdiction. One of her subjects had in fact come south,
from his freedomain somewhere near the North Pole, to enhance the
Festival; and it was an honor to meet both him and several other
heroes of liberty. The setting was awesome, with a wonderful vista
from the campground across a broad valley to the majestic White
mountains, which the Feds call the Presidential Range, perhaps on the
false premise that Presidents are also magnificent, or that they rise
high above plain mortals. Or perhaps that they have rocks for
brains." (907/07/10)
http://www.strike-the-root.com/porcupines
-----
33) If you liked Mcdonald v. Chicago, you'll love Benson v. Chicago
Chicago Gun Rights Examiner
by Don Gwinn
"The main difference between McDonald and Benson may be how one-sided
the new lawsuit is, based on the precedent set in McDonald. The four
plaintiffs, Brett Benson, Raymond Sledge, Kenneth Pacholski and
Kathryn Tyler, are challenging the new ordinance on eight separate
counts based on their various experiences as businessmen, educators,
and residents of Chicago, while the IL Association of Firearms
Retailers (ILAFR) are challenging the ordinance's total prohibition on
firing ranges and gun shops within city limits." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/29ay2qa
-----
34) In self defense
Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
by Dave Workman
"It has been nearly four years -- and will be this coming Sunday, July
11 -- that Seattle resident Mary Cooper and her daughter, Susanna
Stodden, were murdered along the Pinnacle Lake trail .... Cooper and
Stodden were unarmed, and there is no reason to believe that they ever
would have been; probably quite the opposite. Other hikers do carry
firearms, and in Washington State, to carry a concealed handgun while
hiking ... or engaging in any other legitimate outdoor activity, one
does not even need a concealed pistol license. They do this because
bad things do happen to good people in unlikely places, including a
quiet mountain trail where people are supposed to be enjoying the
serenity, not being slain by a killer still at large." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/28fjoae
-----
35) Watch out for taxation road's potholes
Jeffersonville Evening News
by Debbie Harbeson
"When Clark County politicians were considering whether or not to
implement the wheel tax yet again, I noticed some erratic driving on
taxation road. Some officials headed to the no-tax ramp from the
start. Later, when others noticed the skid marks made by angry voters,
they merged over too, so the wheel tax failed to pass. In other words,
they saw the light -- the one emitting from all the headlights on the
voter's cars that were headed right for their jobs, so they got the
heck out of the way." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/27qcxgt
-----
36) The disaster of government-run businesses
Campaign for Liberty
by Jim Powell
"Barack Obama defied experience everywhere when he stubbornly claimed
he could make a government-run health program work. The standard
practice of any government-run business is to provide favored interest
groups with something for nothing, forcing other people to pay for it,
and there always seem to be complications. " (07/08/10)
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=999
-----
37) Pandemic: The contagious crisis
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Leland B. Yeager
"If you think the free market should be blamed for our current
economic woes, you are on the wrong track. Libertarians face charges
these days that capitalism has failed or at least that deregulation
has invited our current economic troubles. These charges are not
persuasive. A more realistic view is that a housing boom and bust
happened to strike a fragile financial system whose fragility was
worsened by ill-conceived government interventions. Before commenting
on how to fix the system, I should outline what happened to damage
it." (originally published 2007; posted 07/08/10)
http://mises.org/daily/4531
-----
38) Time to board the gold stocks train?
Freedom's Phoenix
by Jeff Clark
"One of the big hints that gold stocks will be ready for take-off is
when they stop following the broader markets and strictly track gold,
particularly if the market falls and gold stocks don't. We now have
data showing this has just occurred. From April 2009 to April 2010,
gold stocks mirrored the S&P. The two markets held hands as often as
high school sweethearts; there was very little separation between
them. While it wasn't always a daily connection, any weekly and
especially monthly chart showed them moving in tandem. Until
now." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2bb4zsz
-----
39) Don't ban the burqa
Adam Smith Institute
by Anton Howes
"Belgium and France plan to ban the burqa in public. Belgium lawmakers
have approved a draft ban to wearing the full Islamic veil in public
places. France's will most likely become law in September. These are
highly worrying developments for supporters of liberty, not least
because of the growing calls to emulate the ban here in Britain. Some
say that the burqa prevents 'social cohesion', others that its
endurance is a symbol of radical Islamism's triumph over Western
values. Others cite its use as a means of repressing women, or the
threat it poses to security. However, a ban on the burqa is not only
an ill-judged and flawed response to these concerns, but goes against
everything that Britain stands for." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2aodhk6
-----
40) Invitation to a Tea Party
The American Spectator
by Christopher Orlet
"As a journalist, I receive a lot of invitations to luncheons and
dinners where I am expected to work and not eat. A recent get-together
of the local Tea Party was no exception. I went to the meeting well
prepared. (Specifically, I ate a baloney sandwich in the car.) I'd
read that left wingers considered the Tea Party to be a bunch of
racist religious kooks, and the right wing -- well, the Tea Party was
the right wing, except for its libertarian wing and the wing that
hates Wall Street. If you're keeping count, that's three wings, which
is too many to fly and not enough for the guy who ordered the buffalo
chicken dip." (07/08/10)
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/07/08/invitation-to-a-tea-party
-----
41) Two insidious trends in America
A Passion for Liberty
by Tibor R. Machan
"Two powerful intellectual developments are ruining America. One is
egalitarianism, the other pragmatism." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/376f4af
-----
42) Non-believer
The New Republic
by Andrew Bacevich
"The 43d president was a well-intentioned fool, who inflicted grievous
harm on his country. Yet when Bush stands before his Maker (or the bar
of History), he will say without fear of contradiction: 'I did what I
thought was right.' Barack Obama is anything but a fool. Yet when
called upon to account for his presidency, honesty will prevent him
from making a comparable claim. 'The problems I inherited were
difficult ones,' he will say. 'None of the choices were good ones.
Things were complicated.' The Afghanistan war forms part of that
complicated inheritance where good choices are hard to come by. Much
as Iraq was Bush's war, Afghanistan has become Obama's war. Yet the
president clearly wants nothing more than to rid himself of his war.
Obama has prolonged and escalated a conflict in which he himself
manifestly does not believe." (07/07/10)
http://www.tnr.com/blog/foreign-policy/76091/non-believer
-----
43) Understanding the BP oil tragedy: Time blindness
Nolan Chart
by Joel S. Hirschhorn
"A loss expected to happen next year looks smaller than that same loss
happening next week. Worse yet, a loss or catastrophe that may happen
(indeed, is highly likely to happen) decades away is essentially
invisible, unthinkable or unworthy of attention now. In other words,
humans suffer from an intrinsic thinking defect best described as time
blindness. It is the inability to correctly foresee and take seriously
long term consequences of current actions. No wonder that people
easily spend decades eating unhealthy foods or living a sedentary
lifestyle, or both, without appreciating or internalizing the
inevitable negative and serious health impacts, from heart disease to
all kinds of cancers, for example. No wonder that all kinds of
technologies that offer immediate rewards or benefits are embraced
while long term negative impacts are easily ignored. Maybe cell phones
really do cause brain cancer. Maybe deep ocean drilling for oil will
fail and cause exactly what we are now witnessing in the Gulf of
Mexico from the BP fiasco." (07/08/10)
http://www.nolanchart.com/article7840.html
-----
44) The rats are cornered
Economic Policy Journal
by Mike Krieger
"The stimulus and gimmicks initiated by a desperate political class
prodded on by our Keynesian witch-doctors Summers and Geithner ran
their course and at the end of that road was a massive pile of debt,
chronic unemployment, a populace that doesn't believe or trust
anything the government says or does and a housing market set to
resume its downward spiral. So basically the forces of deflation have
taken over once again. Banana Ben Bernanke knows it and he knows what
he wants to do about it. He wants to print so much money it would make
your head spin." (07/08/10)
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2010/07/rats-are-cornered.html
-----
45) Conservatives in disguise?
Classically Liberal
by CLS
"There is a religious publication for conservatives who try to take
the same views as the Moral Majoritarians without sounding completely
unhinged and rabid. They advocate the same sort of moralistic, big
government policies of the fanatical fundamentalists but try to do so
without sounding like fundamentalists. One of their publications is
First Things. They assume that their fantasies about being in
communication with some supernatural being gives them a right, even a
duty, to use the state to violate the rights of peaceful individuals
who act in ways disapproved of by their imaginary friend. Since they
want to trample on the rights of 'immoral' people in the name of their
religion they know that libertarians are their enemy. They are right,
libertarians are their enemies for the same reason libertarians are
the enemy of socialism. Conservatives are just socialists of the
soul." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/25rllwg
-----
46) The education debacle of the decade
WendyMcElroy.Com
by Bob Ewing
"Simply put, OSP has a profoundly positive effect not just on
students, but on the city and the country as a whole. So when it came
time for Congress to reauthorize OSP, it would seem to be a no-
brainer: Expand the program. Instead, they killed it. Buried deep
inside a 1000+ page, half-trillion-dollar spending bill was a
provision that prohibited any new students from entering the program.
To top it off, the 216 new students added to OSP for the new academic
year were pulled out by Education Secretary Arne Duncan just before
the school year started. Why did this happen? According to former DC
Mayor Anthony Williams and former DC Councilman Kevin Chavous (both
Democrats), the answer is politics at its worst." (07/07/10)
http://www.wendymcelroy.com/news.php?extend.3376
-----
47) Your money back
National Review
by Gary Wolfram
"Is Ron Paul's suggestion that the Federal Reserve be eliminated a
'fringe position,' as Josh Barro suggested in the June 21 issue of
National Review ('Mend the Fed')? It depends on what 'fringe' means.
If it means simply that a large majority disagrees, then
Representative Paul's position deserves that characterization. But if
'fringe' is meant to imply that abolishing the Fed is a lunatic idea
that is not supported by economic theory, then Paul's position is far
from it. In fact, a number of economists argue that the economy would
operate more smoothly without a Federal Reserve." (07/08/10)
http://article.nationalreview.com/437459/your-money-back/gary-wolfram
-----
48) Mitt Romney: The George HW Bush of 2012?
Salon
by Steve Kornacki
"Mitt Romney's decision to use a Tuesday Op-Ed in the Washington Post
to blast the new START between the U.S. and Russia has prompted plenty
of head-scratching, with numerous commentators dissecting his
arguments and finding them thoroughly nonsensical and inflammatory.
From a policy standpoint, their critiques, I'm sure, are entirely
valid. I just don't know why they're assuming that Mitt actually
believes anything he wrote. For instance, the Atlantic's Marc Ambinder
noted that Romney, based on his Op-Ed, would take America back in 'a
radical old direction' and that he 'subscribes to an essentialist
model of the world, where humility is only used as a preamble to
assert strength, project strength, be strong.' Well, maybe. Or maybe
Mitt is simply doing what he's always done in politics: identify his
target audience and pander to it." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2alaz7o
-----
49) Read the Bills Act: Follow the president's example
Downsize DC
by James Leroy Wilson
"President Obama is starting to do something Congress refuses to do.
He is posting bills on-line for five days before signing them. But
this is just a token gesture. If you want real 'change,' Congress must
be more transparent in how it writes and signs bills before they
pass." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2aole2j
-----
50) Taxes: A negative externality?
Libertarian Minds
by Steven Handel
"One of the most commonly argued disadvantages of uninhibited private
property and free markets is that they result in too many negative
externalities. In this post, I hope to make the point that state
intervention imposes just as many of these negative externalities as
free trade, and by no means are these economic phenomena particular to
so-called 'market failures.'" (07/08/10)
http://www.libertarianminds.com/taxes-a-negative-externality
-----
51) "You just don't get it"
Slate
by John Dickerson
"Do you get it? It is the question of the 2010 campaign so far, and
the answer is always the same: no. 'Republican leaders in Washington
just don't get it,' President Obama said this weekend after the GOP
senators voted to block an extension of unemployment benefits. During
the House debate last week over financial services reform, Mike Pence,
the Republican conference chairman, criticized the Democrats: 'When
you look at this legislation, it is proof positive again that this
majority just doesn't get it.' In Arizona, backers of the state's
controversial immigration law are selling T-shirts that read: 'The
President Just Doesn't Get It.' When the Justice Department announced
Tuesday that it would file suit to overturn the law, Rep. Harry
Mitchell of Arizona responded, 'The only thing this lawsuit will do is
demonstrate to Arizonans that Washington still doesn't get
it.'" (07/07/10)
http://www.slate.com/id/2259796/
-----
52) Assessing legal prospects for lawsuit over federal health care
reform
Show-Me Institute
by Dave Roland
"Yesterday morning, Missouri's lieutenant governor filed suit against
the recently passed federal health care reform. It's difficult to know
exactly what to make of certain aspects of this lawsuit, because it
assumes the manner in which the federal health care law will function
-- and it is not clear that the lawsuit's assumptions are correct.
Even if they are correct, however, there are a few issues that may
prevent this lawsuit from proceeding." (07/08/10)
http://www.showmedaily.org/2010/07/assessing-legal-prospects-for.html
-----
53) Will Gitmo shrinks lose their credentials?
Mother Jones
by Daniel Schulman
"The role of doctors, psychiatrists, and psychologists in
interrogations has been a source of considerable controversy, since it
seemingly violates the medical professions' central tenet: 'Do no
harm.' Over the years, a handful of efforts to hold caregivers
accountable for complicity in detainee abuse have come up empty. But
human rights advocates are hoping this track record will soon change.
On Wednesday, the San Francisco-based Center for Justice and
Accountability (CJA) and Harvard Law School's International Human
Rights Clinic filed separate complaints against two former Gitmo
shrinks with their state licensing boards." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2a5b7qv
-----
54) Keynes vs. Hayek: The great debate continues
Cato Institute
by Gerald P. O'Driscoll, Jr.
"The debates raging over what policies will pull the U.S. economy out
of its Great Recession replicate one that occurred during the Great
Depression. Thanks to the efforts of Richard Ebeling, a professor of
economics at Northwood University, we have compelling and concise
documentary evidence. He has unearthed letters to the Times of London
from the two sides that mirror today's debates." (07/07/10)
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11960
-----
55) Argentina's tragic hero
Independent Institute
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
"If the Greeks had not invented tragedy, the Argentines would. Nobody
does it better, as demonstrated by the tragedy of their soccer squad,
kicked out of the World Cup amid howls of national humiliation after
being crushed by Germany. And not since Eva Peron has Argentina
produced a more tragic figure than coach Diego Maradona, who went from
being one of the two best soccer players in history to a life of drug
addiction; and from befriending Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez and other
thugs to coaching the national team with scant prior
experience." (07/07/10)
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2822
-----
56) The FBI closes a window to the truth
Reason
by Steve Chapman
"Modern recording devices are a boon to law enforcement. Wiretaps
betray crooks plotting their crimes. Surveillance cameras on city
streets identify muggers and drug dealers. Video gear in patrol cars
shows drivers who can barely stand, much less walk a straight line.
All these provide devastating evidence in court: Jurors can witness
exactly what happened. But when it comes to capturing some of the most
important information available for fighting crime, the Federal Bureau
of Investigation would rather see no evil and hear no
evil." (07/08/10)
http://reason.com/archives/2010/07/08/the-fbi-closes-a-window-to-the
-----
57) The Heinlein-Konkin birthday party
J. Neil Schulman @ Rational Review
by J. Neil Schulman
"For many years my friend Samuel Edward Konkin III -- SEK3, for
brevity -- always celebrated his July 8th birthday in conjunction with
Robert A. Heinlein's July 7th birthday. When both were alive, it was
not uncommon for me to put in a phone call to Mr. Heinlein so I could
put Sam on the phone with him, and they could wish each other Happy
Birthday." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/39jtpu9
-----
58) Views now acceptable
The American Conservative
by Sean Scallon
"Call it opportunism if you like or say it's a part of the grand GOP
strategy of OEOP (Oppose Everything Obama Proposes) regardless, RNC
Chairman Michael Steele's comments about Obama's War in Afghanistan
show a far different Michael Steele than back in 2007 when he attacked
Rep. Ron Paul for suggesting 'blowback' was part of the reason for the
9-11 terrorist attacks. In the face of the neocons calling for
Steele's resignation, Rep. Paul stepped up and defended Steele and it
paid off, Steel[e] will survive the brouhaha still RNC Chairman unless
he bumbles into another crisis (entirely possible knowing his track
record) he can't escape from." (07/07/10)
http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2010/07/07/youve-come-a-long-way-baby/
-----
59) It's not a democracy unless we call it our own -- 6 ways to make
it happen
AlterNet
by Jim Hightower
"On the Fourth of July, we celebrated Jefferson, Franklin, Adams,
Madison and all the other great men who created our democracy, right?
Not exactly. The Founders did create the framework for a democratic
republic, but they didn't create much democracy. Indeed, in America's
first presidential election, only 4 percent of the people were even
eligible to vote. The Founders created the possibility for democracy,
but it took the struggle (often bloody and always hard) of ordinary
people over the years to create the substance." (07/07/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2e8fr6k
-----
60) Will the Tea Party usher in a more limited view of government?
The Weekly Standard
by Jim Prevor
"Typically, presidents of both parties come to the office as
politicians, not ideologues. Yet it seems somewhat unsatisfying to say
the difference between conservatives and liberals is that
conservatives will only abandon their principles if something really
big is at stake, whereas liberals don't believe in the same principles
at all. Somewhere in this ambiguity is the Tea Party movement, seeking
to express coherently a dissatisfaction with the policies of President
Obama, but well aware that the last Republican president in office,
though different in inclination, did not, when the chips were down at
the time of the Bear Stearns debacle, feel either constrained in what
he could do, nor hesitant in what he should do -- namely, whatever it
took to avoid a bad outcome. An intellectually robust and politically
adept conservatism has to come down against the kind of ad hoc
machinations that characterized the end of the Bush term as it relates
to the economic crisis -- and continue to characterize the Obama
administration." (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/29un6yl
*****************************
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************
61) Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Ludwig von Mises Institute
Mises Institute podcast featuring Jeff Riggenbach. [Silverlight or
MP3] (07/08/10)
http://mises.org/media/5155
-----
62) Stefan Molyneux on Declare Your Independence
Freedom's Phoenix
Stefan Molyneux, host of Freedomain Radio, joins host Ernest Hancock.
[MP3] (07/08/10)
http://tinyurl.com/2ew4r76
-----
63) MPP Insider #011
Marijuana Policy Project
"We revisit a story we first brought you weeks ago about Walmart
discriminating against a medical marijuana patient in Michigan, we've
got coverage of happenings in New York, Oregon, and Washington, and
we'll look at both victims of marijuana prohibition as well as
marijuana prohibition by the numbers!" [Flash video] (07/07/10)
http://www.youtube.com/mppstaff#p/a/u/0/i2YrxAh6NgA
-----
64) Scott Horton on Antiwar Radio
AntiWar.Com
"The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights
lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper's magazine,
discusses how the UK courts are forcing the government to open up
their torture files detailing how the CIA helped torture Binyam
Mohammed, Federal Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's prosecution of
Chicago police prolific torturer John Burge and his witch-hunt against
Gitmo defense attorneys, how the Obama administration is just
pretending to close down Gitmo and why McChrystal was better than
Patraeus because he can admit we are losing in Afghanistan." [Flash
audio or MP3] (07/07/10)
http://antiwar.com/radio/2010/07/07/scott-horton-31/
-----
65) Free Talk Live, 07/07/10
Free Talk Live
"Fireworks Ban and Regulations :: Nation of Laws? :: Protection from
Government :: State Broken Budgets :: Postal Service Not-so-
Independent :: Money Orders and Unclaimed Assets :: Illegal Private
Delivery Competition to the USPS :: Lack of Incentive :: Postage
Increase :: Postal Innovation? :: Immigration Nightmare :: Cop Beats
Teen :: The Supposed Voluntaryism vs Ministatism Divide :: Mark
Interviews Greg Lukianoff." [MP3] (07/07/10)
http://media.libsyn.com/media/ftl/FTL2010-07-07.mp3
*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************
66) Today's events
Check our sidebar calendar for this week's freedom movement events.
Don't see your event? Drop us a line at in...@rationalreview.com ... or
see:
www.rationalreview.com/add-your-event-to-our-calendar
... for instructions on adding your events directly!
http://upcoming.yahoo.com/group/4042/
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