06/29 -- Mexico: Candidate killed in pre-election attack; SCOTUS affirms 2nd, 14th Amendments

[Thomas L. Knapp]

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
* The Freedom Movement's Daily Newspaper
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* Volume VIII, Issue #1,950
* Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
* Email Circulation 1,874
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* Published every non-holiday weekday
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In The News:

1) Mexico: Candidate killed in pre-election attack
2) SCOTUS affirms 2nd, 14th Amendments
3) Robert C. Byrd, 1917-2010
4) Iraq: Seven killed, 19 wounded
5) Afghanistan: Occupiers, civilians give two accounts of fatal
operation
6) SCOTUS passes on tobacco cases, takes Arizona Know-Nothing
appeasement law
7) IL: Ex-cop found guilty of perjury in torture case
8) Turkey bans Israeli military flight from its airspace as freeze
deepens
9) China, Taiwan to sign landmark trade pact
10) Iran postpones any nuclear talks until late August
11) More than 500 guard troops headed to Arizona-Mexico border
12) Canada: Police blame "anarchists" for mayhem at summits
13) US to share banking data in terror probes
14) Mullen: Iran will continue to strive for nukes
15) North Korea: US bringing "heavy weapons" to border
16) Under pressure, UK promises torture guidelines
17) Harris: Blagojevich suggested Oprah Winfrey for US Senate seat
18) IL: Daley "disappointed" by SCOTUS gun ruling
19) Bloomberg: SCOTUS won't stop NYC victim disarmament schemes
20) OH: Sleeping store owner awakened to noise, shoots suspected
burglar
21) US spies, academics debate China bond holdings
22) MA: Brown outpolls Kerry, Obama
23) SCOTUS: Law school may ignore homophobic Christian group
24) FTC: Virtual scammers stole millions
25) Study: Airline food could pose threat
26) CIA: No deal with insurgents
27) Ten alleged Russian spies arrested in US
28) Kagan promises to be open-minded on Supreme Court
29) SCOTUS rejects bid to patent business method
30) McChrystal to retire from US Army

Everybody Has An Opinion:

31) What, me McWorry?
32) A "kill switch" for the state
33) The military can waste money too
34) Girl kills attackers, but statists miss the point
35) What's good for Chicago?
36) Afghanistan: The politics of PR by other means
37) America's compulsory dependence on government
38) Barely holding on
39) Murder
40) Where's John Galt when you need him?
41) Stand up for First Amendment
42) Supreme Court stifles humanitarian groups
43) Robert Byrd's American journey
44) How to fix Congress
45) Rethinking jobless benefits
46) Homebuyer Tax Credit: Debt financed public policy
47) Citizenship should remain a birthright
48) Copying is not theft? Part 1
49) Copying is not theft? Part 2
50) Response to J. Neil Schulman on copyright
51) Petraeus holds Obama hostage
52) Second Amendment applied to the states in Supreme Court decision
53) Can gold cause the boom-bust cycle?
54) Congress's Medicare canary
55) Climate change exhibit is bad science
56) Endless occupation?
57) Who says Americans cherish fairness?
58) Is the McDonald gun decision good for liberty?
59) Bio jet fuel -- the real $600 toilet seat?
60) Why closing Ford's Claycomo plant would be good for the economy
61) Reclaiming the Jeffersonian tradition of nullification
62) A response to state terrorism in Toronto
63) The narcissism of the small difference
64) Why the ruling class frequently fills me with blinding rage
65) Good in a godless world
66) Consequences, chapter 11
67) Gun prohibition, RIP
68) Economist to bloggers: Shut up, fools
69) Why military hubris?
70) The state of secession
71) My perennial puzzles
72) Moving to work
73) Repeal USC 18-486: Legalize gold and silver money
74) Free association requires state sanction?
75) We are losing our nation to lies about the necessity of war

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

76) Robert Poole and Adrian Moore on high-speed rail boondoggles
77) The warning signs of unsuccessful satire
78) Cato Daily Podcast, 06/28/10
79) Free Talk Live, 06/27/10
80) Will Grigg on Antiwar Radio

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

81) Today's events

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

1) Mexico: Candidate killed in pre-election attack
Financial Times [UK]

"A leading Mexican gubernatorial candidate was murdered on Monday in
an apparent act of intimidation by the country's powerful drugs
cartels. Rodolfo Torre, who was running as the Institutional
Revolutionary Party's (PRI's) candidate for governor of Tamaulipas in
polls to be held next Sunday, was gunned down together with at least
four other people as they headed for a campaign event near Ciudad
Victoria, the state capital. ... Experts fear that Monday's murder may
presage a more generalised escalation of violence in the run-up to
Sunday's polls in which Mexicans will vote for 12 state governors and
elect state legislators and municipal leaders." (06/29/10)

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/75d9d514-830d-11df-8b15-00144feabdc0.html

-----

2) SCOTUS affirms 2nd, 14th Amendments
CBS News

"In some cities plagued by gun violence, the solution was to ban the
guns. But that didn't stop the gunfire. Chicago resident Otis McDonald
challenged that city's handgun ban, saying he needed to protect
himself. 'If I see innocent and law-abiding citizens on the streets
with guns, I'll be safe,' said McDonald. 'I'll feel safe because
they're not going out there breaking the law.' Today the Court said a
complete ban on handguns is unconstitutional, ruling individuals have
a fundamental right to protect themselves, reports CBS News chief
legal correspondent Jan Crawford." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/259zwxa

-----

3) Robert C. Byrd, 1917-2010
New York Times

"Robert C. Byrd served 51 years in the United States Senate, longer
than anyone else in history, and with his six years in the House of
Representatives, he was the longest-serving member of Congress. But it
was how he used that record tenure that made him a pillar of Capitol
Hill -- fighting, often with florid words, for the primacy of the
legislative branch of government and building, always with canny
political skills, a modern West Virginia with vast amounts of federal
money. ... Senator Byrd died around 3 a.m. Monday at the Inova
Hospital in Fairfax, his office said. He lived not far from there, in
McLean, Va. Gov. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a Democrat, will
appoint an interim successor." (06/28/10)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/us/politics/29byrd.html

-----

4) Iraq: Seven killed, 19 wounded
AntiWar.Com

"At least seven Iraqis were killed and 19 more were wounded in the
latest violence. Also, Turkish warplanes conducted yet another bombing
run on suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) hideouts in northern
Iraq." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/23mnu7l

-----

5) Afghanistan: Occupiers, civilians give two accounts of fatal
operation
ABC News

"NATO said Monday that a Taliban commander was among several armed
people killed during a search operation in Kandahar, but residents
claimed the troops killed eight innocent civilians, including two
elderly men. NATO said in a statement that coalition and Afghan troops
went to a compound outside Kandahar city where they immediately came
under hostile fire." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/24obwt6

-----

6) SCOTUS passes on tobacco cases, takes Arizona Know-Nothing
appeasement law
Washington Post

"The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to review an Arizona law that
sanctions employers for hiring illegal immigrants, but the justices
declined to get involved in landmark anti-tobacco litigation, leaving
in place a ruling that said cigarette makers lied about the dangers of
smoking. The rejection of a series of tobacco cases closes a legal
odyssey that began when the Justice Department sued tobacco companies
and trade groups more than a decade ago." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/22maf5k

-----

7) IL: Ex-cop found guilty of perjury in torture case
Chicago Tribune

"Decades after torture allegations were first leveled against former
Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge's 'Midnight Crew,' a federal jury
convicted him Monday on all three counts of obstruction of justice and
perjury for lying about the torture in a civil lawsuit. Burge showed
no reaction as the verdict was read, but moments after jurors strode
from the courtroom for the last time, he talked and laughed with his
lawyers. Under federal criminal statutes, Burge faces up to 45 years
in prison, but in reality his punishment will be far less
severe." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/244rk6d

-----

8) Turkey bans Israeli military flight from its airspace as freeze
deepens
Guardian [UK]

"Turkey has banned an Israeli military flight from its airspace in
apparent retaliation for Israel's interception of the Free Gaza
flotilla last month, in which nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists
were killed. Officials in Ankara confirmed today that Israeli military
aircraft would be permitted to enter Turkish airspace only on a 'case
by case' basis. There was no suggestion that civilian flights would be
affected. Israeli media reported that Turkey had not allowed a plane
transporting military personnel to a tour of Holocaust memorial sites
in Poland to cross its airspace. The aircraft, with more than 100
people on board, was forced to make a detour. Israel has not commented
on the issue." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/233k2lp

-----

9) China, Taiwan to sign landmark trade pact
USA Today

"Longtime rivals China and Taiwan were set to sign a broad-reaching
trade deal Tuesday to draw their economies closer, which Beijing hopes
could lead to a political accommodation, six decades after they split
amid civil war. For its part, Taiwan hopes better terms of trade under
the pact will keep the island from being economically marginalized as
China's global clout grows." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/23n4lf8

-----

10) Iran postpones any nuclear talks until late August
MSNBC

"Iran will not hold talks with the West over its nuclear program until
late August to 'punish' world powers for imposing tougher sanctions
against the country, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday. He
also vowed that Iran will retaliate should its ships be searched over
suspicions that the cargo may violate the new sanctions approved by
the U.N. Security Council earlier this month." (06/28/10)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37971054/ns/business/

-----

11) More than 500 guard troops headed to Arizona-Mexico border
MSNBC

"Federal officials told Arizona's attorney general and a congresswoman
Monday that 524 of the 1,200 National Guard troops headed to the U.S.-
Mexico border will be deployed in the state by August or September.
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and Attorney General Terry Goddard, both
Democrats, met with Obama administration officials in Tucson along
with dozens of law enforcement officials and community leaders. The
federal officials included John Brennan, deputy national security
adviser for homeland security." (06/28/10)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37985009/ns/us_news/

-----

12) Canada: Police blame "anarchists" for mayhem at summits
Watertown Public Opinion

"Despite a whopping $900 million security budget for the G-summits in
Canada over the weekend, the streets of Toronto were swarmed by an
angry mass of black-clad anarchists who wreaked havoc, leaving a trail
of destruction. A protest organized mainly by labor groups Saturday
began as an upbeat rally over global causes, ranging from anti-poverty
issues to anti-globalization to anti-war." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/23gawlo

-----

13) US to share banking data in terror probes
San Angelo Standard-Times

"The European Union and U.S. signed a long-awaited deal Monday to
share financial data in suspected terrorist cases, after the U.S.
agreed to major concessions to allay European concerns over privacy.
The five-year agreement is due to take effect within weeks. It allows
U.S. officials to request financial data from European banks if they
suspect accounts are being used by individuals with terrorist links.
The U.S. can keep that information for five years." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2cjmesb

-----

14) Mullen: Iran will continue to strive for nukes
Concord Monitor

"Adm. Mike Mullen said Monday he believes Iran will continue to pursue
nuclear weapons, even if sanctions against the country are increased.
Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, the chairman of the joint chiefs
of staff said it would be 'incredibly dangerous' for Iran to achieve
nuclear weapons, and that there's 'no reason to trust' Iran's
assurances that it is only pursuing a peaceful nuclear program,
especially after the discovery of the secret nuclear facility in
Khom." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/27zy943

-----

15) North Korea: US bringing "heavy weapons" to border
CNN

"North Korean officials are criticizing the U.S. for bringing heavy
weapons into a border village in the demilitarized zone that divides
the Korean peninsula, state media reported Monday. State-run KCNA
claims U.S. forces brought weapons into the Panmunjom area Saturday
morning. A U.S. military spokesperson did not immediately return a
call requesting comment." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2d89krt

-----

16) Under pressure, UK promises torture guidelines
Macon Telegraph

"The British government promised Monday to quickly issue its spies a
fresh set of guidelines on how to avoid being complicit in torture.
The announcement addresses a legal challenge to the existing
guidelines, which human rights group Reprieve said allowed British
intelligence agents to gather information extracted through torture --
even if they weren't directly involved in the
mistreatment." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2g7q4yk

-----

17) Harris: Blagojevich suggested Oprah Winfrey for US Senate seat
Chicago Tribune

"The idea of Oprah Winfrey as a U.S. senator may seem far-fetched to
many -- among them Rod Blagojevich's one-time chief of staff John
Harris. The former governor, however, was quite serious when he threw
out the talk show host's name as a possibility for filling Barack
Obama's seat in 2008, according to testimony Monday at Blagojevich's
corruption trial. Blagojevich, of course, didn't pick Winfrey, but
waited until after he was arrested to fill the vacancy with former
Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris. But that doesn't mean Oprah
wasn't very much on his mind." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2aqn4bw

-----

18) IL: Daley "disappointed" by SCOTUS gun ruling
Huffington Post

"Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says he's disappointed by Monday's
Supreme Court decision that Americans have the right to own a gun for
self-defense anywhere they live. He says it's clear the city's handgun
ban will ultimately be struck down. But he says officials are working
to rewrite the ordinance to protect Second Amendment rights and to
protect Chicago residents from gun violence. Monday's Supreme Court
decision did not explicitly strike down the ban on handguns in Chicago
and suburban Oak Park. Instead, it ordered a federal appeals court to
reconsider its ruling. But it left little doubt that the statutes
eventually would fall." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2aznxh6

-----

19) Bloomberg: SCOTUS won't stop NYC victim disarmament schemes
Albany Times Union

"New York City officials said they do not believe Monday's Supreme
Court ruling casting doubt on a Chicago area gun ban will have any
effect on the weapons laws in the city, which has gun restrictions but
no outright ban. ... 'We don't think that it will hurt us,' New York
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. 'We do think it'll probably give us some
bigger legal bills, but I suspect that we will be able to continue to
do exactly what we've been doing -- have reasonable regulations as to
who can buy and where you can carry.' Experts said to expect
challenges to New York's law, which dates to 1911. Under the law, the
New York Police Department is the city's licensing authority and is
required to determine if applicants who seek permits for handguns in
their homes or workplaces are of 'good moral character.' Applicants
seeking carry permits must show 'good cause' in addition to
character." (06/28/10)

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=945658

-----

20) OH: Sleeping store owner awakened to noise, shoots suspected
burglar
WEWS News

"Akron police said a store owner shot a suspect as he tried to break
into his shop overnight. The owner of Pioneer Market on Pioneer Street
said he was sleeping in the store at about 3 a.m. when he heard a
knock at the front door and then the opening of a rear door. Police
said the owner confronted the suspects with a shotgun and fired a
shot. Several minutes later, officers received a call from Akron
General Medical Center about a patient with a gunshot wound to the
left arm." (06/25/10)

http://tinyurl.com/294xjgq

-----

21) US spies, academics debate China bond holdings
Reuters

"U.S. intelligence officials and top academics last week debated the
risk China could wield its massive U.S. debt holdings as a weapon
aimed at influencing U.S. foreign policy, according to a person who
attended the meeting. At a National Intelligence Council meeting last
week, held at a Washington, D.C. hotel, members of U.S. intelligence
agencies and China watchers discussed potential outcomes if China
chose to sell its $900 billion of U.S. Treasury bond holdings, pushing
up interest rates and making life much tougher for U.S. businesses and
consumers." (06/23/10)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2214670220100623

-----

22) MA: Brown outpolls Kerry, Obama
Boston Globe

"US Senator Scott Brown, who only months ago was a little-known figure
even within the tiny band of Republicans in the state Senate, not only
catapulted to national stature with his upset US Senate victory, but
is today the most popular officeholder in Massachusetts, according to
a Boston Globe poll. After less than five months in Washington, Brown
outpolls such Democratic stalwarts as President Obama and US Senator
John F. Kerry in popularity, the poll indicates. He gets high marks
not only from Republicans, but even a plurality of Democrats views him
favorably. The support for Brown, whose victory became a symbol of
voter anger, is consistent with widespread sentiment that incumbents
in Massachusetts and Washington 'need to be replaced with a new crop
of leaders.' That statement was supported by 50 percent of those
polled, while 28 percent said they trust the incumbents." [editor's
note: Anyone not stunned by this news has obviously never lived in the
(former?) "People's Republic of Taxachusetts" - SAT] (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/22knkbu

-----

23) SCOTUS: Law school may ignore homophobic Christian group
Christian Science Monitor

"The US Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a San Francisco law school
did not violate the First Amendment when it refused official
recognition of a Christian student group that restricted its
membership to those who shared a belief that homosexualty is immoral.
In a 5-to-4 decision, the high court said the University of
California's Hastings College of Law was under no constitutional
obligation to recognize the Christian Legal Society as an official
student group. The majority justices said the law school had adopted a
viewpoint-neutral policy requiring its student organizations to pledge
not to discriminate against fellow students on the basis of religious
belief or sexual orientation. In addition, the school reportedly
adopted an 'accept all comers' policy requiring student groups to
permit any student to join their organization -- even when that
student disagreed with the purpose of the group." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2cbeww5

-----

24) FTC: Virtual scammers stole millions
PC World

"The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has disrupted a long-running online
scam that allowed offshore fraudsters to steal millions of dollars
from U.S. consumers -- often by taking just pennies at a time. The
scam, which had been run for about four years, according to the FTC,
provides a case lesson in how many of the online services used to
lubricate business in the 21st century can equally be misused for
fraud. 'It was a very patient scam,' said Steve Wernikoff, a staff
attorney with the FTC who is prosecuting the case. 'The people who are
behind this are very meticulous.' The FTC has not identified those
responsible for the fraud, but in March, it quietly filed a civil
lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Illinois." [Hat Tip to Raw Story]
(06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/22k8dcj

-----

25) Study: Airline food could pose threat
USA Today

"Many meals served to passengers on major airlines are prepared in
unsanitary and unsafe conditions that could lead to illness,
government documents examined by USA Today show. Food and Drug
Administration inspectors have cited numerous catering facilities that
prepare airline food for suspected health and sanitation violations
following inspections of their kitchens this year and last, according
to inspection reports obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
The inspections were at the U.S. facilities of two of the world's
biggest airline caterers, LSG Sky Chefs and Gate Gourmet, and another
large caterer, Flying Food Group." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/29tkxlr

-----

26) CIA: No deal with insurgents
Washington Post

"CIA director Leon Panetta yesterday dismissed reports that a major
element in the insurgency in Afghanistan was open to a Pakistan-
brokered reconciliation process that could usher the group into a
power-sharing arrangement in Kabul. 'We have seen no evidence that
they are truly interested in reconciliation where they would surrender
their arms, where they would denounce Al Qaeda, where they would
really try to become part of that society,' Panetta said on ABC's This
Week. 'Unless they're convinced the United States is going to win and
that they are going to be defeated, I think it is very difficult to
proceed with a reconciliation that is going to be meaningful,' he
said." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/283haoc

-----

27) Ten alleged Russian spies arrested in US
Voice of America

"The U. S. Justice Department has announced the arrest of 10 people
accused of spying for Russia. Eight of those arrested on Sunday are
charged with carrying out long-term, deep cover assignments in the
United States on behalf of the Russian Federation. A total of 11 are
accused of involvement in the spy ring. One remains at
large." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2cmsqlt

-----

28) Kagan promises to be open-minded on Supreme Court
Investor's Business Daily

"It was unclear at times during Monday's Supreme Court confirmation
hearing whether the nominee was Solicitor General Elena Kagan or the
Sphinx. Senator after senator said that what Kagan would do as a
justice was a riddle. While it is widely presumed that Kagan is
liberal because President Obama nominated her, she has never been a
judge herself and she has a scant record for Senate Judiciary
Committee members to chew over. Many senators spent much of the time
talking about recent Supreme Court history. The nominee herself did
little to dispel the mystery." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/285vzln

-----

29) SCOTUS rejects bid to patent business method
Washington Post

"The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday unanimously rejected a bid by two
inventors to patent a business method, ruling that the invention too
much resembled an abstract idea. But the justices split over broad
principles for governing what types of innovations deserve protection
from imitators. The case, Bilski v. Kappos, had been closely watched
because the shift from the industrial era to the information age has
raised numerous questions about whether less tangible inventions
deserve patent protection." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/25eusfe

-----

30) McChrystal to retire from US Army
Reuters

"General Stanley McChrystal, who President Barack Obama fired last
week as the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has informed
the U.S. Army he plans to retire, an official said on Monday.
McChrystal, 55, had been widely expected to retire after he and his
aides enraged the White House by disparaging the president and other
top civilian advisers in an article for Rolling Stone magazine. He was
fired on Wednesday." (06/28/10)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65R63M20100628

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 06/29/10
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 96,813 ... Max - 105,563
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 4,409
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

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

31) What, me McWorry?
AntiWar.Com
by Jeff Huber

"It's obvious from information above and below the radar that Petraeus
has been hiding in the background behind his phony laurels for the
past year or so, hoping to let his little buddies McChrystal and Ray
'Desert Ox' Odierno take the falls for the Bananastans and Iraq.
That's been Petraeus' standard operating procedure throughout his
meteoric career: take charge of a situation, slap a band-aid on
whatever troubles exist, let the underlying problems fester, and then
bail out in time for the disaster to erupt on his successor's watch.
He played this stratagem three times in Iraq." (06/29/10)

http://original.antiwar.com/huber/2010/06/28/what-me-mcworry/

-----

32) A "kill switch" for the state
LewRockwell.Com
by Butler Shaffer

"The bill's principal author, Sen. Joe Lieberman, revealed his
preferences for political despotism in telling us that 'China ... can
disconnect parts of its Internet, and we need to have that here too.'
How wonderful! The model around which Americans are to rally as a
vision is not the Declaration of Independence, but a communist state
best known for its 'Great Leap Forward' that led to the deaths of
close to twenty million people. I can imagine the day when the
American state recreates its concentration camps -- in the name of
'national security,' of course -- accompanied by Oberfuhrer
Lieberman's cooing reassurances that Germany once had concentration
camps, but that they were only temporary measures! Do not allow
yourself to be misled as to what is at stake in all of
this." (06/29/10)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/shaffer/shaffer219.html

-----

33) The military can waste money too
Freedom's Phoenix
by US Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

"There really is nothing for us to win in Afghanistan. Our mission has
morphed from apprehending those who attacked us, to apprehending those
who threaten or dislike us for invading their country, to remaking an
entire political system and even a culture. ... This is an expensive,
bloody, endless exercise in futility. Not everyone is willing to admit
this just yet. But every second they spend in denial has real costs in
lives and livelihoods. Many of us can agree on one thing, however. Our
military spending in general has grown way out of control." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/29pp3dv

-----

34) Girl kills attackers, but statists miss the point
Kent's
by Kent McManigal

"Good for her! I love it when the good guys win by killing the bad
guys. I wish all such attacks ended so nicely. But ... How in the
bloody blazes could it possibly matter in the slightest where the
attackers came from? Would it be better to be murdered or raped by a
person from your home town or your own 'state?'" (06/27/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2ewekn3

-----

35) What's good for Chicago?
Center for a Stateless Society
by Darian Worden

"On June 28, the United States Supreme Court overturned Chicago's
handgun ban, ruling that Second Amendment protections on keeping and
bearing arms applied to state and local governments. Reuters
characterized the ruling as 'a defeat for Chicago.' By 'Chicago' they
mean the current administration of the Chicago government. If
'Chicago' had meant people in the city who don't want to rely on the
armed enforcers of the local political machine, the ruling is a win
for Chicago." (06/28/10)

http://c4ss.org/content/3054

-----

36) Afghanistan: The politics of PR by other means
Spiked
by Brendan O'Neill

"Recent events confirm that the Western powers' main motivation in
Afghanistan is not to 'save the Afghan people,' but to save face. From
President Obama's handling of the General McChrystal debacle to UK
prime minister David Cameron's promise that Britain's 'brave troops'
will be home by 2015, it's becoming increasingly clear that the NATO
forces, led by America and Britain, remain in Afghanistan primarily to
avoid admitting defeat." (06/28/10)

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/9092/

-----

37) America's compulsory dependence on government
Information Liberation
by Scott Lazarowitz

"America will soon be celebrating Independence Day, a reminder of how
the American Founders became independent from British rule and
unshackled their serfdom. But given the U.S. government's growth in
its size and intrusiveness, just how independent are Americans now?
When Friedrich Hayek wrote The Road to Serfdom, I don't think that
Hayek considered that government's monopolies could lead a citizenry
into serfdom. But it may be that the government's monopolies of
territorial protection and monetary production have been paving that
road to serfdom, as they have been also causing widespread economic
turmoil and less security." (06/26/10)

http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=30992

-----

38) Barely holding on
CounterPunch
by David Ker Thomson

"Synopsis: Not all of us who are fighting in the streets here in
Toronto are despondent, but a great many of us are. I am. We are
experiencing in our neighborhoods what brown people have experienced
for centuries around the world at our hands. It has come home to
roost. I woke this morning from a dream of Kanada, and I was weeping
uncontrollably. Our children are attacked by troops openly in the
streets, openly in so-called 'free speech zones.' We chant, 'the world
is watching,' but as we are beaten back from the neighborhoods in
which we have lived for two hundred years by troops who may not even
be Canadian, we see football on the TV's. Is anyone watching
us?" (06/27/10)

http://counterpunch.org/thomson06282010.html

-----

39) Murder
The Libertarian Enterprise
by Jim Davidson

"It isn't negligent homicide when you know enough about what is going
to happen to sell your position to limit the financial impact on you.
It is deliberate homicide. The people on that drilling rig were
deliberately and maliciously, with forethought, left in a position of
danger and harm. Were they even being paid hazardous duty pay?
Presumably not, Hayward is too stingy and mean to do anything of the
sort." (06/27/10)

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2010/tle576-20100627-04.html

-----

40) Where's John Galt when you need him?
John Stossel's Take
by John Stossel

"Ayn Rand was right. The Feds are after our entrepreneurs. Again. A
young Australian named Daniel Tzvetkoff co-founded the online payment
processor Intabil in 2007. By 2009 he was in trouble with the law.
Jacob Sullum says '[h]is crime, according to the U.S. government, was
doing precisely what Intabil purposed to do: facilitate online
payments, including bets by American poker players ...' Yikes.
Tzvetkoff did not even run a gambling business. He was arrested for
violating a law that makes it a federal crime to accept payment in
connection with 'unlawful Internet gambling. ...' Who is the
government, which runs state lotteries with disgusting odds, to say
that others facilitating gambling is unlawful? ... Why can't adults be
left to do what we want to do?" (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2d9wrn2

-----

41) Stand up for First Amendment
Tennessean
by Ken Paulson

"Every July 4, we celebrate the Founding Fathers who gave America the
gift of liberty. Except that they didn't. Actually, the operative word
is 'fathers.' These gentlemen did a fine job of building a nation
founded on freedom -- unless you happened to be a woman, a slave or
poor. For all the poetic flourish of the Declaration of Independence,
the most powerful passage in America's history can be found in the
First Amendment to the Constitution. The five freedoms guaranteed
there gave Americans the right to speak out against injustice, to
report about inequality, to protest and petition, and to draw strength
from freedom of faith. ... Yet despite its pivotal role in making
America what it is today, there are no fireworks celebrating the First
Amendment. The anniversary of its ratification on Dec. 15 goes largely
unnoticed. More tellingly, most Americans have no idea what the First
Amendment says. ... It's Constitutional illiteracy of the highest
order." (06/27/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2cc8tkp

-----

42) Supreme Court stifles humanitarian groups
The American Prospect
by Courtney E. Martin

"According to the Supreme Court, many of our world's most esteemed
Nobel Peace Prize winners just might be criminals. Or at least that's
what it seems when one looks at the broad language in Holder v.
Humanitarian Law Project. Decided a week ago today, the Supreme Court
upheld a federal law that makes it a crime to provide 'material
support' to any foreign organization that the government designates a
terrorist group. ... Because the definition of material support
includes everything from providing aid to distributing literature to
political advocacy, the ruling is a major blow to human-rights and
nonviolent communication organizations." [editor's note: Nice to see
the "progressive left" finding this (even pragmatically) as offensive
a ruling as we libertarians do (on principle) - SAT] (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/279hjnv

-----

43) Robert Byrd's American journey
The Nation
by John Nichols

"Robert Byrd was first elected to Congress when Harry Truman was
serving in the White House and segregationists held enough sway in the
Senate to block even the mildest civil rights laws. Byrd has died, at
age 92, as a senator serving as an ally and champion of the nation's
first African-American president. America's journey was Byrd's
journey. Indeed, Byrd's transit of the arc of history provides one of
the most redemptive stories of this nation's progress." [editor's
note: While Mr. Nichols may extol Byrd's virtues as a redeemed civil
libertarian, he will always to me be just another statist dinosaur,
who just shifted around on a few issues to mollify his constituents
into keeping him in office - SAT] (06/28/10)

http://www.thenation.com/blog/36753/robert-byrds-american-journey

-----

44) How to fix Congress
Boston Globe
by Paul G. Kirk, Jr.

"During my brief tenure in the Senate, I argued repeatedly that the
healthcare debate should not be about one party reaching 60 votes but
rather about 100 senators reaching out to one another to improve a
system that would better reflect our character as a nation. After all,
collaborative bipartisanship can unite a country and give its citizens
trust and confidence in the individuals and institutions entrusted
with the governance of their public affairs. But bipartisan
cooperation was not to be. Regrettably, given the current political
polarization, attaining a 'supermajority' of 60 votes (required to
invoke cloture and, thus, to prevent filibusters designed solely to
delay progress) has become the necessary norm to accomplish the most
routine procedural step in the Senate." [editor's note: With his focus
on developing consensus, this guy sounds like someone who shoulda been
elected back to the Senate honorably -- until he starts ranting about
"public funding" of said elections - SAT] (06/27/10)

http://tinyurl.com/24fcvwc

-----

45) Rethinking jobless benefits
Cato Institute
by Michael D. Tanner

"Few things are as dangerous as Congress when it tries to be
'compassionate.' Exhibit A: Congress is -- yet again -- trying to
extend unemployment benefits. At first glance, this seems like a no-
brainer: Unemployment remains stuck at roughly 9.7 percent. In some
states, like Nevada and Michigan, the number is closer to 14 percent.
More than 15 million Americans are looking for work, and a million
will see their benefits expire in the next few months. What member of
Congress does not want to help out struggling workers? Yet, a closer
look reveals that extending unemployment benefits may do more harm
than good." (06/25/10)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11915

-----

46) Homebuyer Tax Credit: Debt financed public policy
Independent Institute
by Emily Skarbek

"So here is what the federal government accomplished. It succeeded in
increasing home sales in April at the expense of those same home sales
in May, injecting distortions into a relatively stable pattern of home
sales. In addition to these immediate distortions, arbitrary rule
changes increased the uncertainty facing consumers which undermines
economic recovery. Maybe a few people purchased homes they otherwise
wouldn't, but that in itself is poor policy because it encourages
individuals to take on more risk than they can afford. The tax credit
created no permanent jobs, but it did increase the expected value of
cheating on your taxes, thereby incentivizing tax fraud. All of this
with a price tag of more than $12.6 billion, on which taxpayers will
pay about 3% interest ($378 million) per year!" (06/28/10)

http://www.independent.org/blog/?p=6767

-----

47) Citizenship should remain a birthright
Reason
by Steve Chapman

"In 1848, the discovery of gold brought hordes of prospectors to
California. In 1889, millions of acres of free land set off a rush of
settlers into Oklahoma. Today, we are told, the chance to get U.S.
citizenship for their unborn children is rapidly filling the country
with illegal immigrants. Critics see this as a malignant phenomenon
that ought to be stopped. So Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce, author
of the new law directing police to check the immigration status of
people they suspect of being here illegally, has another idea: denying
citizenship privileges to anyone born in his state to undocumented
parents." (06/28/10)

http://reason.com/archives/2010/06/28/citizenship-should-remain-a-bi

-----

48) Copying is not theft? Part 1
J. Neil Schulman @ Rational Review
by J. Neil Schulman

"The argument of 'Copying is Not Theft' is that by copying a novel, a
song, a movie, the owner is still in possession of the original and
therefore by making a copy nobody is doing anything to deprive the
owner of the original of anything of value. Clever. Very clever. But
wrong. Very wrong." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/27n2q79

-----

49) Copying is not theft? Part 2
J. Neil Schulman @ Rational Review
by J. Neil Schulman

"[M]y first premise here is the libertarian premise of self-ownership.
I own my name when it refers back to me, my biographical details, my
resume, my accomplishments, my reputation, my personal expertise and
taste. All of these are elements that when attached to my name make it
a personal brand. Someone else using my name -- my identity -- for
things not owned or authorized by me is committing identity theft --
and I gave examples of that in yesterday's article. But let's say I
write a novel and put my brand -- my author's name on it: J. Neil
Schulman. The first claim of authorship of something I write is my
byline attached to the writing. In a novel this is on the cover and
title page. I write a dedication and acknowledgments, giving the work
a purpose and a pedigree. On the copyright page is a claim of
ownership -- in land terms the posting of a 'No Trespassing' sign, to
[s]take out the boundaries of ownership." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2fa8rew

-----

50) Response to J. Neil Schulman on copyright
Human Advancement
by Kyle Bennett

"Often the price of a movie or song in money pales in comparison to
the indirect costs involved in buying it legitimately, such as
figuring out how to actually effect payment, DRM and other 'protect my
computer from me' BS, and arcane pointless rules about copies for
backups, car vs work vs home, multiple computers, and time-shifting.
Just stop. If I buy a copy of something the copy is mine to do with
whatever I please. Stop expecting the market price of work to be
maintained anywhere near the level that the media companies, with the
help of their captured legislatures, have set. Those days are long
gone, and will not come back." (06/28/10)

http://humanadvancement.net/blog/index.php?itemid=250

-----

51) Petraeus holds Obama hostage
The American Conservative
by Patrick J. Buchanan

"By firing a fighting general, beloved of his troops, Obama just took
upon himself full responsibility for the McChrystal Plan. The general
is off the hook. As of now, the plan is not succeeding. And given the
inability of Kabul to deliver the 'government in a box' to Marja,
after Marines supposedly de-Talibanized the town, the McChrystal Plan
is failing. The Battle of Kandahar has not yet begun, though the June
D-Day has come and gone. Should we be in this same bloody stalemate in
December, Obama will be blamed for having fired his field commander
who devised his battle plan, and was carrying it out, over some stupid
insults from staff officers to some counterculture magazine. More
critically, Obama just made himself hostage to a savvy general who is
said to dream of one day holding Obama's office." (06/28/10)

http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2010/06/28/petraeus-holds-obama-hostage/

-----

52) Second Amendment applied to the states in Supreme Court decision
Disloyal Opposition
by JD Tuccille

"Let me take this opportunity to congratulate my Chicago-area readers!
You can take the gats out of hiding and sport them openly. Well,
openly around the apartment, anyway. (Oh, c'mon. I know you windy city
types are armed to the teeth, no matter what the law says.) The United
States Supreme Court knocked down (by implication, anyway) Chicago's
handgun ban while reaffirming that the Second Amendment is
'incorporated' by the Fourteenth Amendment, and applies to state
governments as much as it does to the federal government." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2cjm33f

-----

53) Can gold cause the boom-bust cycle?
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Robert P. Murphy

"At the Mises Academy we are just wrapping up the inaugural class, on
the Austrian theory of the business cycle. During the class, one issue
that came up repeatedly was whether the Mises/Hayek story of the trade
cycle could occur on a completely free market, using gold as money and
a banking system that operated on 100 percent reserves. As any good
(and annoying) teacher would, I avoided giving a definitive answer one
way or the other. Instead, I tried to give the best possible case for
each answer, to prod the students to think it through for
themselves." (06/28/10)

http://mises.org/daily/4527

-----

54) Congress's Medicare canary
TCS Daily
by Diana Furchtgott-Roth

"Pity the nation's seniors. Just as the first baby-boomers (born in
1946) are preparing to sign up for Medicare in 2011, Congress has cut
the fees that Medicare will pay to physicians, ensuring that docs take
fewer Medicare patients. Or has it?" (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/27zavbt

-----

55) Climate change exhibit is bad science
Heartland Institute
by Patrick J. Michaels

"Chicago's lakefront, with its beautiful parks and spectacular
museums, is one of the wonders of the urban world. So how could the
esteemed Field Museum, its crown jewel, come up with such a
wonderfully bad exhibit on climate change? It opened June 25. The
Field enjoys a fantastic reputation for intellectual stimulation,
which is what great museums do. They don't preach. Except, it appears,
about climate change." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/29afsok

-----

56) Endless occupation?
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Sheldon Richman

"So Gen. Stanley McChrystal is out and Gen. David Petraeus is back at
the helm in Afghanistan. I don't like hackneyed phrases, but if this
isn't rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, what is it?
America's occupation of Afghanistan has no end in sight. The July 2011
date for the beginning of withdrawal is something that even President
Obama doesn't want to talk about. It is clearer than ever that the
date was a crumb thrown to the American people so they wouldn't
grumble when Obama announced the troop buildup last year." (06/28/10)

http://www.fff.org/comment/com1006h.asp

-----

57) Who says Americans cherish fairness?
Freedom Politics
by Tibor Machan

"In a recent talk, responding to the Arizona immigration law,
President Barack Obama stated that this act 'threatens to undermine
basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans.' I am not
enough of a student of the Arizona law to pass judgment on it now but
I am definitely skeptical about the claim that Americans as such
cherish 'basic notions of fairness.' There is nothing in any basic
American political document that mandates fairness across the land.
Neither the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights nor the
Constitution insists that Americans be fair. Good thing, since such a
demand cannot be met." (06/18/10)

http://tinyurl.com/25347l2

-----

58) Is the McDonald gun decision good for liberty?
The Libertarian Standard
by Jacob Huebert

"The short-term answer is certainly yes. Chicago has one of the worst
gun bans in the country, so if it's loosened at all, then Chicagoans
will enjoy more liberty. Presumably very restrictive bans in others
cities will also fall, which is also good. What about that disgusting
language in the decision reassuring governments that the right to bear
arms 'does not imperil every law regulating firearms?' Some
libertarian friends have suggested that this might embolden certain
state or local governments to pass more gun laws, but this argument
isn't persuasive." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/24wfsp2

-----

59) Bio jet fuel -- the real $600 toilet seat?
OpenMarket.org
by Marlo Lewis

"The custom-designed $600 toilet seat for P-3C Orion antisubmarine
aircraft -- often depicted as the epitome of government waste -- is an
urban legend. The 'seat' was actually a plastic molding that fitted
over the entire seat, tank, and toilet assembly, for which the
contractor charged the Navy $100 apiece. However, in the subsidy-
driven world of biofuels, government can flush lots of your tax
dollars down the gurgler." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/25l99p5

-----

60) Why closing Ford's Claycomo plant would be good for the economy
Show-Me Institute
by Christine Harbin

"When arguing in favor of tax incentives for the Claycomo plant, the
radio caller considered only the benefit to the 3,700 plant workers
who will keep their jobs. He doesn't consider the unseen cost that, if
the state legislature approves the proposal to provide $150 million in
tax credits, the rest of the tax base (a much larger group) will be
$150 million poorer. This policy doesn't increase income; it merely
displaces it. As a related unintended negative consequence, the
organizations that may have employed these factory workers, had they
been laid off, will be restricted in their growth because they would
face a smaller supply of labor." (06/28/10)

http://www.showmedaily.org/2010/06/why-closing-the-ford-claycomo.html

-----

61) Reclaiming the Jeffersonian tradition of nullification
Campaign For Liberty
by Kevin Gutzman

"Under today's constitutional law, the 'Federal' (really now national)
Government can do anything it wants. The speaker of the House
literally laughs at the implication that it cannot. For anyone who
knows history and loves liberty, this is a worrisome situation. What
to do? Woods's answer is to dust off the Jeffersonian tradition of
nullification. Nullification lays out the argument for nullification's
constitutionality, describes historic and contemporary instances in
which the doctrine has been and is being employed, and advocates that
it be used more widely today." (06/28/10)

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=970

-----

62) A response to state terrorism in Toronto
Porcupine Blog
by Larry Gambone

"Six hundred arrests and half a dozen journalists have been assaulted.
The excuse given for this brutality being the actions of a handful of
Black Blockers. If the BB was the issue why the arrests and beatings
of peaceful demonstrators? Why the assault on the media? There are two
possible answers. One is that the Harpocrit wants to rationalize his
squandering a billion on 'security,' especially at a time when he is
demanding cut-backs. The other is an attempt to show to the populace
what the state can really do if the people step out of line, that the
velvet glove is off and Canada is as thuggish as any other country.
(Of course, the First Nations knew that all along!)" (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2enp8lf

-----

63) The narcissism of the small difference
Slate
by Christopher Hitchens

"In numerous cases of apparently ethno-nationalist conflict, the
deepest hatreds are manifested between people who -- to most outward
appearances -- exhibit very few significant distinctions. It is one of
the great contradictions of civilization and one of the great sources
of its discontents, and Sigmund Freud even found a term for it: 'the
narcissism of the small difference.' As he wrote, 'It is precisely the
minor differences in people who are otherwise alike that form the
basis of feelings of hostility between them.'" (06/28/10)

http://www.slate.com/id/2258127/

-----

64) Why the ruling class frequently fills me with blinding rage
The Power of Narrative
by Arthur Silber

"Of course, the President knows best, for the Afghans, for those in
Pakistan and Iraq and Iran, for you, for me, for everyone every
goddamned where. Nothing could possibly be more important than making
the President happy." (06/27/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2bazc3k

-----

65) Good in a godless world
Classically Liberal
by CLS

"A lecture I was listening to today, about debates between skeptics
and believers, throughout the ages put it this way: Maybe there are
just some people doomed to go their whole life without being happy.
And the universe just doesn't care. But does that mean we live in a
universe devoid of caring, concern, love or similar things? It does
not." (06/27/10)

http://freestudents.blogspot.com/2010/06/good-is-godless-world.html

-----

66) Consequences, chapter 11
The Price of Liberty
by Susan Callaway

Fiction. (06/28/10)

http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/2010/05/31/consequences-11.html

-----

67) Gun prohibition, RIP
National Review
by David Rittgers

"The Supreme Court's rejection of Chicago's handgun ban in McDonald v.
City of Chicago is more than a recognition that the Second Amendment
applies to the states as well as the federal government. The McDonald
decision is a harbinger for the end of gun prohibition as an idea. The
simple, undeniable truth is that gun control does not
work." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2cd7vsf

-----

68) Economist to bloggers: Shut up, fools
Salon
by Andrew Leonard

"Since Ph.D.-flaunting economists can reasonably be assumed to be
smart, Karthik Athreya, a specialist in macroeconomics and consumer
finance who toils away in the bowels of the Federal Reserve Bank of
Richmond, probably knew that he was going to cause a ruckus when he
published a broadside declaring the entire blogospheric discussion of
economics irrelevant, useless, and dumb." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2fq8nmc

-----

69) Why military hubris?
A Passion for Liberty
by Tibor R. Machan

"Why is it proper for soldiers to refrain from butting into the
management of the military unless they are commanded to do this by
their civilian superiors? Because soldiers are arms of the government
which is itself supposed to be the servant of the citizenry and would,
properly run, convey the citizenry's appropriate orders. It is, in
short, the citizenry who are boss, via a chain of command. By bucking
this chain, General McChrystal sabotaged his own effectiveness as an
expert influence on the country's military affairs. This is probably
really too bad since by all accounts the Obama administration could
use the very best advice available, given how its military endeavors
are faltering big time." (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2dxy5j4

-----

70) The state of secession
Let A Thousand Nations Bloom
by William Miller

"The most amazing contrast exists between the attitudes of the
citizenry in third-world and first-world countries. The concept of
withdrawing from an oppressive government is accepted by the public in
the less developed countries, whereas the 'sophisticated' public here
in the United States deems secession to be unconstitutional at best
and even treasonous by many, demanding that the people remain shackled
to their government, no matter how tyrannical it may become. Yet many
Americans feel increasingly oppressed by their government, as
witnessed by their ongoing gatherings of protest, waving their 'Don't
Tread on Me' flags." (06/28/10)

http://athousandnations.com/2010/06/28/the-state-of-secession/

-----

71) My perennial puzzles
Tibor's Space
by Tibor R. Machan

"I no longer recall whether I chose philosophy as the discipline I
wanted to explore because of some puzzles I encountered or whether I
found the puzzles in the field once a got to do work in it. I think it
is the former since I recall some odd questions I raised when I was
very young -- like whether people I was looking at and thinking about
without their knowledge of this would then have to be described in a
biography with this fact mentioned about them. Or if I looked in a
certain direction from the earth and then found myself on the object I
was looking at and then did this on and on and on, would it ever come
to an end? Or, again, if one wants to know oneself completely, would
the bit about wanting to do so be part of what one would have to know
and does that not lead to an infinite regress? I once figured, while
sitting in church, that the only way I could be truly selfless, as I
was being urged repeatedly by the priest giving the sermon, is by
murdering all those who just took communion. That way they would all
ascend to heaven and I would surely end up in hell, a very selfless
thing for me. (But then I was informed that my good intentions might
bail me out after all.)" (06/26/10)

http://tibikem.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!B2FD693F4B9A5746!2245.entry

-----

72) Moving to work
Adam Smith Institute
by Dr. Madsen Pirie

"The coalition government will probably do a mixture of making job-
creation easier in deprived areas, coupled with making it easier for
people to move to areas with better prospects. The economics of it are
complex. It costs a great deal of public money to create a job - many
times over what it would cost to help a family to move. That public
money is ultimately taken from the private economy, where it could
have generated or sustained more jobs than those it was seen to create
when spent publicly. People like Ed Balls who call for massive public
'investment' in jobs completely overlook the parallel damage inflicted
on the private sector by the taxes it takes to do this." (06/28/10)

http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/welfare/moving-to-work/

-----

73) Repeal USC 18-486: Legalize gold and silver money
Nolan Chart
by Walt Thiessen

"It's clear to me that until we press for the legalization of gold and
silver for use as money, nothing substantial will happen to address
any of the issues I've raised here. I've long been concerned about the
fact that the liberty movement, for the most part, doesn't even know
what USC 18-486 says or that it even exists. While many people in the
movement now favor auditing the Federal Reserve's monetary policies
and eliminating legal tender laws, it is quite apparent to me that
most people don't realize that it is currently illegal in this country
to use gold or silver coins as money." (06/28/10)

http://www.nolanchart.com/article7823.html

-----

74) Free association requires state sanction?
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by SM Oliva

"Pilon erroneously refers to 'the CLS students' right to freedom of
association.' Yet this case had nothing to do with rights -- at least
from a libertarian perspective. There is no 'right' to receive
recognition, funding, or other benefits from a state institution.
Nothing prohibits the members of the Christian Legal Society from
freely assembling, speaking, or acting. Nothing entitles them to state
recognition or support for their activities either. And honestly,
libertarian groups should not be in the business of encouraging people
to seek such state recognition or support; this only undermines the
libertarian argument." (06/28/10)

http://blog.mises.org/13098/free-association-requires-state-sanction/

-----

75) We are losing our nation to lies about the necessity of war
Huffington Post
by US Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)

"In a little more than a year the United States flew $12 billion in
cash to Iraq, much of it in $100 bills, shrink wrapped and loaded onto
pallets. Vanity Fair reported in 2004 that 'at least $9 billion' of
the cash had 'gone missing, unaccounted for.' $9 billion. Today, we
learned that suitcases of $3 billion in cash have openly moved through
the Kabul airport. One U.S. official quoted by the Wall Street Journal
said, 'A lot of this looks like our tax dollars being
stolen.'" (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/2fsh2tf

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* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************

76) Robert Poole and Adrian Moore on high-speed rail boondoggles
Hit & Run

"Poole and Moore dismantle the idea that a centralized, national
transit system will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a more
'livable' future. There is, they demonstrate, no way such a system
will ever be economically viable or able to actually meets its
ridership goals." (06/28/10)

http://reason.com/blog/2010/06/28/reasontv-reason-weekend-2010-r

-----

77) The warning signs of unsuccessful satire
Libertarian News Examiner

Hilarious political ad, with print commentary from Garry Reed. [Flash
video] (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/24kcnpm

-----

78) Cato Daily Podcast, 06/28/10
Cato Institute

"Beachfront property and substantive due process," featuring Ilya
Shapiro. [MP3] (06/28/10)

http://tinyurl.com/cato062810

-----

79) Free Talk Live, 06/27/10
Free Talk Live

"NOT FOR BROADCAST -- Co-host only Sunday Edition. Luthor and Adam
talk about Porcfest with Mandrik, Pete, and Johnson." [MP3] (06/27/10)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/ftl/FTL2010-06-27.mp3

-----

80) Will Grigg on Antiwar Radio
AntiWar.Com

"Will Grigg, author of Liberty in Eclipse, discusses the police
assault on bedridden 86-year old Lona Varner, the dissolution of the
chronically-troubled Maywood CA police department and the trend toward
military-style civilian law enforcement." [Flash audio or MP3]
(06/26/10)

http://antiwar.com/radio/2010/06/26/will-grigg-14/

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

81) 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/