Rational Review News Digest ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Published Monday-Friday, except for holidays Made possible by the generous support of our readers http://www.rationalreview.com/news
Produced in cooperation with the International Society for Individual Liberty http://www.isil.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume IV, Issue #845 Wednesday, March 1st, 2006 Email Circulation 2,079 ------ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS -------------------------------------- VERTORO HELPS YOU BEAT HYPERINFLATION Join the move to better money. Go from green to gold! http://vertoro.com/ TOM PAINE MARU The first UNCENSORED edition of L. Neil Smith's classic novel. http://www.lneilsmith.org/tpm-2005.html WINNING ELECTIONS "[A]n advanced guide to running political campaigns. It provides invaluable, practical advice from the leading pros in the industry." http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1590770269/rationalrev08-20 -------------------------------------- SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ----- Today's News: 1) Iraq: 30 killed as "sectarian" attacks continue 2) Poll: Iraq troops support US withdrawal 3) Israel: Terror leader said killed in Gaza attack 4) Afghanistan: Prisoner says armed inmates roaming free 5) Supreme Court backs abortion protestors 6) IN: Senate passes rule limiting property grabs 7) Negroponte: Iraq may spark regional battle 8) US, India discuss nuclear deal before Bush visit 9) CBS sues Stern; retort: "Bullying" 10) NASA hopes for three shuttle flights in '06 11) GOP unease spreads to security issues 12) Lawmakers vow not to force quick port vote 13) Pakistanis hit militants on Afghan border 14) AZ: English-only immersion debated for schools 15) Alumni vow Dillard will survive Katrina 16) TN: Minimum wage hike debate hits state 17) US pays MIT to plumb chemistry of Iraq IEDs 18) Mexico City: Officials try to close hotel 19) CA: Homeowner shoots "ninja" attacker 20) IN: Homeowner shoots at, captures burglary suspect 21) PA: No charges in fatal tavern shooting 22) FL: Man shoots, kills robber 23) Iraq: Indigenous troops can't fight independently 24) Byrd regrets voting for Patriot Act 25) Seven arrested in anti-war protest Today's Commentary: 26) On being anti-state, anti-war and anti-Bush 27) Support the troops. Really. 28) Illegal surveillance: A real security threat 29) Everybody's for free trade til something like this happens 30) War of the worlds 31) On the road to empire 32) Untwist the chain of command 33) God's demagogue 34) Flying is dying 35) Iraq: Preparing for the worst 36) Free trade planet 37) Governors crossing border between sense & nonsense 38) President makes poor partner with Congress 39) Following spirit of the law isn't enough 40) Lining the pockets of big business 41) What money is not 42) The sociology of taxation 43) The intersection of war and business 44) Iraq as anarchic black hole? 45) Civil disobedience a just, responsible approach 46) Harboring prejudice and politics: The "Dubai Ports" debate 47) Celebrity castigations: Microcosm of broader attack on freedom 48) Free speech quagmire 49) The devil comes back from Georgia 50) The Moses complex 51) South Dakota's fetal position 52) Next step 53) In defense of "Impostor" 54) Sinking fast 55) Civil war or holy war? Today's Movement News & Events: 56) ISIL's 25th World Freedom Summit 57) Petition: Free Cory Maye 58) The Million Moon March 59) Austrian Scholars Conference 2006 Today in Politcal History: 60) A Bravo for Bikini News 1) Iraq: 30 killed as "sectarian" attacks continue Houston Chronicle "Violence raged unabated in Iraq on Wednesday as bomb attacks killed at least 26 people in Baghdad and mortar rounds fell on homes in a nearby town. ... Wednesday's most dramatic attack -- a car bomb near a traffic police office in a primarily Shiite neighborhood in southeast Baghdad -- killed at least 23 people and wounded 58, according to police Lt. Thaer Mahmoud. About an hour earlier, a bomb hidden under a car detonated as a police patrol was passing near downtown Tahrir Square, said Interior Ministry Maj. Falah al-Mohammedawi. Police were unharmed but three civilians died and 15 were injured. Also Wednesday, mortar shells fell on three houses in the mixed Sunni-Shiite town of Mahmoudiya, 20 miles south of Baghdad, killing three civilians, said police Capt. Rashid al-Samaraie. Another house was hit in Qadisiyah, another religiously mixed neighborhood in western Baghdad, killing a woman, police said." (03/01/06) http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/3692990.html ----- 2) Poll: Iraq troops support US withdrawal Zogby International "An overwhelming majority of 72% of American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S. should exit the country within the next year, and nearly one in four say the troops should leave immediately, a new Le Moyne College/Zogby International survey shows. The poll, conducted in conjunction with Le Moyne College's Center for Peace and Global Studies, showed that 29% of the respondents, serving in various branches of the armed forces, said the U.S. should leave Iraq 'immediately,' while another 22% said they should leave in the next six months. Another 21% said troops should be out between six and 12 months, while 23% said they should stay 'as long as they are needed.'" [editor's note: 29% is not "nearly one in four" -- it's "nearly one in three" - TLK] (02/28/06) http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1075 ----- 3) Israel: Terror leader said killed in Gaza attack Houston Chronicle "Israel launched an airstrike on a car in Gaza City on Wednesday, killing the top commander of the Islamic Jihad militant group, Palestinian police said. Khaled Dahdouh, 39, was targeted in the attack, police said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Abu Dajana, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad's military wing, vowed revenge." (03/01/06) http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/3692851.html ----- 4) Afghanistan: Prisoner says armed inmates roaming free CNN "Prisoners armed with chains and knives are roaming Afghanistan's highest-security prison after negotiations to quell the uprising broke down Tuesday, said an American prisoner taken hostage by his fellow inmates. 'They're afraid that the police are going to storm in and kill more people,' said Edward Caraballo, speaking on a cell phone from inside the prison. It was not clear how Caraballo obtained the phone. He is one of three Americans being held at Policharki Prison and has been there since he was convicted two years ago of torturing Afghans in a private jail." (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/qa7mf ----- 5) Supreme Court backs abortion protestors Yahoo! News "The Supreme Court dealt a setback Tuesday to abortion clinics in a two-decade-old legal fight over anti-abortion protests, ruling that federal extortion and racketeering laws cannot be used to ban demonstrations. The 8-0 decision ends a case that the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had kept alive despite a 2003 ruling by the high court that lifted a nationwide injunction on anti-abortion groups led by Joseph Scheidler and others. ... In Tuesday's ruling, Justice Stephen Breyer said Congress did not intend to create 'a freestanding physical violence offense' in the federal extortion law known as the Hobbs Act. Instead, Breyer wrote, Congress chose to address violence outside abortion clinics in 1994 by passing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which set parameters for such protests." (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/fm4cr ----- 6) IN: Senate passes rule limiting property grabs Fort Wayne Journal Gazette "Legislation significantly limiting the ability of government to take land through eminent domain passed the Indiana Senate unanimously Tuesday and could be on the way to Gov. Mitch Daniels for his signature. ... The bill has several major provisions, such as requiring land that is to be condemned and transferred to a private entity to be first proven to be blighted. Some examples of that would be if the land contains a structure that is unfit for habitation, a fire hazard, a public nuisance or has become infested with trash and vermin because of a lack of maintenance. The city or town would also have to pay premium prices for the land -- 125 percent of fair market value for farmland and 150 percent of fair market value for residential property. Owners also could seek and win significant damages and attorneys' fees. The legislation would prohibit private-to-private eminent domain solely for the purpose of increasing tax base through economic development." (03/01/06) http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/13988653.htm ----- 7) Negroponte: Iraq may spark regional battle Tampa Tribune "A civil war in Iraq could lead to a broader conflict in the Middle East, pitting the region's rival Islamic sects against each other, National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said in an unusually frank assessment Tuesday. 'If chaos were to descend upon Iraq or the forces of democracy were to be defeated in that country ... this would have implications for the rest of the Middle East region and, indeed, the world,' Negroponte said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on global threats." (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/rjdba ----- 8) US, India discuss nuclear deal before Bush visit USA Today "The United States and India were bargaining over the terms of a landmark nuclear agreement Tuesday even as President Bush flew to New Delhi for the first visit there of his presidency. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said sticking points remained in the way of an agreement and singled out one particularly contentious subject. 'The one thing that is absolutely necessary is that any agreement would assure that once India has decided to put a reactor under safeguard that it remain permanently under safeguard,' she said." (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/jtuao ----- 9) CBS sues Stern; retort: "Bullying" USA Today "CBS' radio division sued Howard Stern Tuesday, saying its former star shock jock breached his contract with them when he moved to Sirius Satellite Radio. The lawsuit, which also names Sirius and Stern's agent as defendants, says Stern improperly used CBS radio's air time to promote his new show with Sirius, which began last month. CBS also says Stern discussed his plans with Sirius without disclosing them to CBS as required under his contract. Even before the lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court, Stern tried to upstage the action with a hastily arranged news conference in Manhattan Tuesday to strike first at his former employer. Stern said the lawsuit was meritless, and said CBS was trying to 'bully' him. ... Stern said CBS officials knew of his plans to leave for Sirius and also condoned his references to satellite radio on the air and did nothing to stop him when he spoke about it on his show." (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/gmfah ----- 10) NASA hopes for three shuttle flights in '06 Houston Chronicle "NASA will try for three shuttle flights this year if the space agency is able to launch Discovery in May or July, a top NASA official said today. But that's a big 'if,' said space shuttle program manager Wayne Hale. Engineers are still are working out problems with the external fuel tank and other details." (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/he2on ----- 11) GOP unease spreads to security issues MSNBC "The first heading on the issues page of Rep. Mark Foley's Web site brags that he is 'one of President Bush's strongest supporters in Congress.' The Florida Republican voted for the president's legislation 90 percent of the time, according to the Web site, 'the 3rd highest ranking among the Florida delegation.' Now the Florida delegation's third-strongest Bush supporter is on the front lines of the Republican revolt against the president on the deal to turn over key operations at six U.S. ports to a United Arab Emirates company. Republicans who once marched in lock step behind their president on national security are increasingly willing to challenge him in an area considered his political strength." (02/28/06) http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11612274/ ----- 12) Lawmakers vow not to force quick port vote Detroit Free Press "Congressional Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday tempered calls for an immediate vote to block a Dubai-based company's takeover of some U.S. port operations as President Bush prodded them to avoid a confrontation. Returning to the Capitol in force for the first time since news of DP World's takeover broke, lawmakers from both parties criticized the White House for failing to let them know about the deal before it became public." (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/mzv7z ----- 13) Pakistanis hit militants on Afghan border Cincinnati Enquirer "Pakistani security forces backed by helicopter gunships struck a militant hideout Wednesday in a tribal region near the Afghan border, killing or wounding at least 25 militants, an official said. The militants had entered Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region after a raid inside Afghanistan. Army troops and three helicopter gunships attacked them, said Syed Zaheerul Islam, the top government administrator of the region. He said between 25 and 30 militants were killed or wounded in the raid. He said militants were running a training camp and that the strike triggered explosions in an arms dump at the site." (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/zeurn ----- 14) AZ: English-only immersion debated for schools Arizona Republic "In November 2000, Arizona voters approved the most restrictive English-only education law in the country and prohibited textbooks, materials, bulletin boards, or teaching in any language but English. Two years later, voters reinforced their message by electing a state schools chief who promised tougher enforcement of the new law. The law nearly eliminated bilingual education programs that had been widely used in Arizona schools, classes with specially trained teachers that combined instruction in Spanish and English. To help schools comply with the new law, the state developed a model English-only immersion program. Under the model, English-learners would be placed in English immersion classes of five to 15 students with a specially trained teacher and a teaching assistant. State planners said most students would learn enough English in one year to keep up with their peers in regular classes by their second year." (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/hvv6r ----- 15) Alumni vow Dillard will survive Katrina Washington Times "There were no VIPS, no velvet rope and no valet parking. The nonpolitical fundraiser had a simple purpose that is rare in Washington: to raise money rather than to elevate the egos of the party givers. Michael D. Jones and his wife, Shaun, hosted a Mardi Gras party to benefit his hurricane-ravaged alma mater in New Orleans, Dillard University, founded in 1869 to educate former slaves. Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best liberal arts universities in the South, Dillard is a jewel among historically black colleges. After Hurricane Katrina hit, the oak-shaded campus lost three dormitories, sustained $340 million in damages and was left in more than 10 feet of water." (02/28/06) http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060227-102549-5524r.htm ----- 16) TN: Minimum wage hike debate hits state Nashville City Paper "Tennessee is one of only six states without a minimum wage law, a fact that state legislators are now addressing. The minimum wage in the state currently follows the national figure of $5.15 per hour. That total was last raised in 1997. State lawmakers are looking at several bills scheduled for today's Senate Commerce Committee that would raise the minimum wage requirement from $5.15 to $6.15 or even $7.15 an hour. Minimum wage is not the same as a living wage, according to advocates such as the Rev. Bill Barnes, retired pastor of the Edgehill United Methodist Church. 'Minimum wage, of course, is at present a national figure set by Congress at $5.15 an hour,' Barnes said. 'For a family of four, that's between 55 and 60 percent of a living wage.'" [editor's note: And as always, nobody is addressing the FICA-plus-withholding theft, that turns $5.15 into about $4, before anyone sees a dime! - SAT] (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/jzjtr ----- 17) US pays MIT to plumb chemistry of Iraq IEDs Boston Globe "The Pentagon is staking $3 million on a small team of students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to help the military identify new ways of disarming the kind of homemade bombs that insurgents are using to kill and maim US troops in Iraq, according to Defense Department documents and researchers. Under the auspices of the Office of Naval Research, the Pentagon will fund a research project led by MIT chemistry professor Keith A. Nelson that is analyzing the molecular interaction of explosive materials. The goal of the three-year program, Nelson said, is to study the physics and chemistry of improvised explosive devices -- known as IEDs -- and find techniques to detonate or short-circuit them before they cause harm. 'We are studying the microscopic mechanisms that are characteristic of the core materials that bad guys use in IEDS,' Nelson said in an interview yesterday. 'There is a whole set of things that have to happen to get [a detonation] and we are studying the chemistry in small amounts of energetic materials.'" (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/ny5tm ----- 18) Mexico City: Officials try to close hotel ABC News "City officials moved Tuesday to shut down a U.S.-owned hotel that angered many Mexicans when it kicked out a Cuban delegation under pressure from Washington. Virginia Jaramillo Flores, head of the city borough where the upscale Sheraton Maria Isabel Hotel is located, said authorities notified the hotel staff that it would be closed because it is in violation of building codes. ... It was not immediately clear if guests or employees would have to leave or if the hotel would be able to legally block the closure. ... The expulsion of 16 Cuban oil industry officials on Feb. 2 prompted local officials to launch an intensive investigation of the hotel, located alongside the U.S. Embassy, seeking violations of local ordinances. They accused it of several minor violations and of having built part of the structure without a building license. Federal officials, meanwhile, filed a complaint seeking to fine the hotel for allegedly violating Mexican investment and trade laws that are aimed at blocking application of U.S. laws inside Mexico." (02/28/06) http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1672287 ----- 19) CA: Homeowner shoots "ninja" attacker San Francisco Chronicle "An armed man wearing a black, ninja-style mask was shot to death by a Healdsburg man this morning after he attacked the man's wife outside their home and chased her inside, police said. ... The woman was about to take the couple's two Wheaton terrier dogs for a walk when the masked man jumped her outside her garage, police said. The woman struggled, broke away and ran screaming into the house, with the attacker in pursuit. Her screams awoke her husband. The man, whom police identified only as a man in his 60s, 'grabbed their handgun, probably a .357 ... and fired more than one shot,' Police Chief Susan Jones said. The intruder 'had what looked like a firearm in his hand,' Jones said. He died at the scene." (02/27/06) http://tinyurl.com/ns8kh ----- 20) IN: Homeowner shoots at, captures burglary suspect Muncie Star Press "Brian Stevenson is not Doc Holiday, but the gun owner's quick draw stopped a man who invaded his home Saturday night. 'I could shoot a fly across the room like it ain't nothing,' said Stevenson, an avid marksman. 'I don't know how I missed the guy. It never really crossed my mind that I would actually shoot toward a human being.' Stevenson fired one shot from his 9mm handgun at William Tyrone Griffin Jr., 40, 302 N. Hackley St., after the twice-convicted burglar climbed through an unlocked window at Stevenson's home at Shipley Avenue and Eighth Street, according to court documents. The shot sailed high into an exposed board in a storage room, but gave Stevenson enough authority to order Griffin to the ground until police arrived five minutes later, he said." (02/27/06) http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200660227008 ----- 21) PA: No charges in fatal tavern shooting Pittsburgh Tribune-Review "A security guard who fatally shot two people while being attacked by a mob inside a Lawrenceville tavern last year cannot be charged with the deaths, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said today. The guard, identified Tuesday as Gregory Stewart, 30, opened fire in self-defense early May 7 inside J&K's Place after being assaulted with objects thrown by an unruly crowd, including a bottle thrown by Aaron Alston, 23 of Garfield, Zappala said during a news conference announcing his decision. The first bullet struck and killed Alston. A second bullet hit bartender Janice Kemp, 63, who ran the bar. Although Kemp, who died several days later, was an innocent bystander, Stewart cannot be charged with her death due to a 1998 state Supreme Court ruling in a similar case in Easton, Zappala said. Once someone begins shooting in self-defense, the court ruled, the shooter is not criminally liable for injuries to others nearby." (02/28/06) http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/s_428504.html ----- 22) FL: Man shoots, kills robber NBC 6 News "A man shot and killed another man trying to rob him at a gas station early Tuesday morning, according to Miami-Dade County police. Police said the victim was approached by an armed man at a BP gas station on West Dixie Highway at about 4 a.m. Gas station employees said the robber was a 22-year-old man who went by the street name 'S.P.' A witness said S.P. came into the parking lot, saw the victim wearing a gold chain, pulled a gun and demanded that he hand over the chain, NBC 6's Jeff Burnside reported. The victim was also carrying a gun. Police said he shot and killed the robber during a confrontation. ... The victim was taken to Miami-Dade Police Department for questioning. Detectives believe the robbery attempt was random and the shooting was apparently in self-defense. An investigation continues." (02/28/06) http://www.nbc6.net/news/7540689/detail.html?rss=ami&psp=news ----- 23) Iraq: Indigenous troops can't fight independently CNN "The only Iraqi battalion capable of fighting without U.S. support has been downgraded to a level requiring them to fight with American troops backing them up, the Pentagon said Friday. The battalion, made up of 700 to 800 Iraqi Army soldiers, has repeatedly been offered by the U.S. as an example of the growing independence of the Iraqi military. The competence of the Iraqi military has been cited as a key factor in when U.S. troops will be able to return home." (02/25/06) http://tinyurl.com/ensyu ----- 24) Byrd regrets voting for Patriot Act ABC News "Sen. Robert Byrd, the dean of the Senate and its resident constitutional expert, counts only a few regrets in his 48-year Senate career: filibustering the 1964 Civil Rights Act, voting to expand the Vietnam War, deregulating airlines. Add to the list a new one from this century: supporting the anti-terror USA Patriot Act after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. ... This week as he embarks on a re-election campaign for a record ninth term, Byrd, 88, will vote 'no' on renewing 16 major provisions of the act due to expire March 10. ... On a 96-3 test vote earlier this month, Byrd, Feingold and Sen. Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., were the only dissenters. " [editor's note: Then, dammit, they should have filibustered with Feingold - MLS] (02/28/06) http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1670435&page=2 ----- 25) Seven arrested in anti-war protest Truthout "Holding a banner that read 'GOD FORGIVE AMERICA,' seven peace activists were arrested yesterday in front of the White House, in a civil disobedience protest against the war in Iraq. Arrested by US Park Police were Brian Terrell, Ed Bloomer, and Elton Davis, all from Catholic Worker communities in the Des Moines, Iowa, area; David Goodner, a University of Iowa student; Eileen Hansen, a Catholic Worker from the Winona, Minnesota; Jeff Leys, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence (VCNV); and Bernie Meyer, a retired social services worker from Olympia, Washington. The seven were charged with the federal misdemeanor of demonstrating without a permit, fined seventy-five dollars, and released yesterday evening. The action was part of VCNV's 'Winter of Our Discontent' demonstrations in the month leading up to the third anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq on March 20." [editor's note: Oh, the horror -- demonstrating without a permit - MLS] (02/28/06) http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022806T.shtml ----- RRND MEDIASHELF -------------------------------------------- Books, CDs and other tchotchkes from today's edition: A Godly Hero, by Michael Kazin http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375411356/rationalrev08-20 Impostor, by Bruce Bartlett http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385518277/rationalrev08-20 Note: Affiliate links generate commissions for RRND's editors. -------------------------------------------- RRND MEDIASHELF ----- Commentary 26) On being anti-state, anti-war and anti-Bush LewRockwell.Com by Anthony Gregory "For those who love liberty, it is crucial to be anti-Bush. He is, after all, the head of the state, the parasite on our production, the enemy of our freedom. Even if he were a relatively benign ruler who had scaled back government in comparison to his predecessor, he would still deserve our mistrust and contempt so long as he continued to loot us and threaten our rights. We should reserve any praise of a man with such power, and never cease in demanding that our full freedom be released from his grasp. The great libertarian journalist H.L. Mencken did not waver in his mocking criticisms of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge, although the burden of living under their rule must have felt like a trifle after enduring Woodrow Wilson's wartime totalitarianism. But George W. Bush is no Warren G. Harding. On the contrary, he has far surpassed Clintonian governance in devastation and abusiveness." (03/01/06) http://www.lewrockwell.com/gregory/gregory109.html ----- 27) Support the troops. Really. [EMAIL PROTECTED] by Thomas L. Knapp "The hits just keep on coming for the War Party. Fukuyama's flown. Buckley's bailed. Babbin blames Bush. All the fattest rats are backstroking like hell away from their obviously sinking ship -- and now, even the Yellow Ribbon Caucus looks set to go wobbly on Bush's foreign policy project ..." (02/28/06) http://knappster.blogspot.com/2006/02/support-troops-really.html ----- 28) Illegal surveillance: A real security threat Future of Freedom Foundation by James Bovard "Americans seem to have forgotten why the Founding Fathers prohibited government from spying on them. Public opinion polls show that a rising percentage of Americans approve of the warrantless National Security Agency wiretaps of Americans that Bush ordered. But such blind faith in government simply ignores the lessons of U.S. history. When the feds have unleashed themselves in the past, many innocent Americans' lives were devastated." (02/27/06) http://www.fff.org/comment/com0602j.asp ----- 29) Everybody's for free trade til something like this happens Strike the Root by Ali Hassan Massoud "It is amazing to watch the cognitive dissonance, (or political opportunism, xenophobic hysteria, racist jingoism, or hypocrisy depending on your view), in opinions about a simple business deal. ... The people who say they believe in free trade and the people who say that they accept the Arab and Muslim peoples as equal partners in world affairs should stand up now to the racist xenophobes and political opportunists. Those who are always preaching to the world about the wonders of liberal democracy and free trade should demonstrate that they really believe in them. Not that they only believe in open societies, liberal democracy and free trade until their ox is gored." (02/28/06) http://www.strike-the-root.com/61/massoud/massoud4.html ----- 30) War of the worlds The American Conservative by William S. Lind "Conservatives in particular now find ourselves confronting vast changes in the grand strategic context, changes many find emotionally difficult as well as intellectually challenging. We were brought up in a world where the grand strategic context was easy to grasp: our country, the United States of America, represented what was good, and our country's principal opponent, the Soviet Union, represented evil. 'Us versus them' was a realistic and useful framework. The new grand strategic context is much more complex, from a moral as well as a political perspective. And -- here is where many conservatives choke -- the United States, or at least its policy-making elites, no longer wear the white hats. Conservatives, especially cultural conservatives, face a 21st century where the landscape is dominated by two vast evil forces in collision. Sadly, one of those forces is largely defined and led by the United States." (02/27/06) http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_02_27/article3.html ----- 31) On the road to empire AntiWar.Com by Justin Raimondo "Whether or not they want it, the American people are possessed of an empire. They are faced with a choice: to rid themselves of it, or to become possessed -- and ultimately destroyed -- by it. It will, in all probability, be one of the most short-lived empires in world history, one that will be brought down almost immediately by the domestic economic consequences of acquiring it. A region-wide Middle East war would send the price of oil skyrocketing -- and bring the economies of America and much of Europe to a grinding halt. Caught in the vise of a worldwide depression and growing political turmoil, the last remnants of America's constitutional order would begin to come apart at the seams, ushering in an era of repression at home and constant wars abroad. There is just one way to prevent this: Americans must reject the temptations of empire." (03/01/06) http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=8622 ----- 32) Untwist the chain of command Cato Institute by Mark Moller "Arguably, by placing the broad power of executive oversight in the president alone, the Constitution envisions that one publicly accountable officer will manage the chain of command and set levels of internal oversight within the executive branch. That may mean the president can deflect court interference with efforts to streamline the foreign affairs bureaucracy. It may also mean the president can ignore specific directions from Congress about who should report to whom -- such as FISA's requirement that a Senate-approved foreign affairs adviser, as opposed to an NSA case officer, certify foreign intelligence value. And if that's true, then when the president finds his own rules for vetting emergency surveillance applications to be 'cumbersome and burdensome,' he can simply cut the red tape. So why hasn't he?" (03/01/06) http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=5708 ----- 33) God's demagogue Salon by Andrew O'Hehir "[William Jennings] Bryan was the most famous American orator at the turn of the last century, simultaneously the nation's leading populist politician and its leading evangelist. In his own time, he was very much identified as a man of the left, even a radical. Historian Michael Kazin, in his new Bryan biography 'A Godly Hero,' calls him a 'Christian liberal,' and that label will do as well as any. But the problem with Bryan is that his politics don't make much sense in 21st century terms, and that the 'prairie populism' he personified is now identified so strongly with the right. It doesn't help that Bryan is mainly known today for a sideshow act performed at the very end of his life, when he helped prosecute a Tennessee schoolteacher for half-heartedly leading a lesson about evolution." [subscription or ad view required] (03/01/06) http://www.salon.com/books/review/2006/03/01/kazin/ ----- 34) Flying is dying AlterNet by George Monbiot "At last the battlelines have been drawn, and the first major fight over climate change is about to begin. All over Britain, a coalition of homeowners and anarchists, NIMBYs and internationalists is mustering to fight the greatest future cause of global warming: the growth of aviation." [editor's note: I really have to wonder if this isn't all some kind of very Freudian reaction to the right's playing with Monbiot's name ... - TLK] (03/01/06) http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/32903/ ----- 35) Iraq: Preparing for the worst Tom Paine by Robert Dreyfuss "With 1,300 dead Iraqis -- and counting -- since the bombing of the Golden Dome last week, Iraq remains poised at the precipice of destruction. It's anyone's guess as to whether the crisis will revert to its previous state of mere insurgency and grinding daily violence, or plunge into a multi-sided religious civil war. ... Either way, however, one thing is clear. Already dead is the Bush administration's hope for a neat drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq as Election 2006 approaches. ... Bush and Cheney had hoped to rescue their failure in Iraq by four interlocking measures: first, the creation of an independent Iraqi military and police force that could take on the insurgents; second, a gradual drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq to placate U.S. domestic opposition to the war; third, the establishment of a modicum of security in Iraq, enough to allow economic reconstruction to proceed; and finally, the cobbling together of some sort of credible Iraqi government. Let's take those four, one by one." (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/hzntp ----- 36) Free trade planet The Nation by Nicholas von Hoffman "From the Hollywood left to the neanderthal right, the news that Dubai Ports World had bought Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company of Great Britain was greeted as an Arabian nightmare. Goopy-dupes of every political persuasion joined in a unified condemnation of the $6.8 billion sale, which transferred the management of freight facilities in six major American ports to a company owned by United Arab Emirates. The emphasis goes on the middle word of the nation's name. After years of getting the stuffing beaten out of them for being namby-pambies on national security, Democratic politicians and their apologists could not forego the chance to give George W. Bush a dose of what he had been giving them for years." (02/28/06) http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060313/vonhoffman ----- 37) Governors crossing border between sense & nonsense Arizona Republic by E. J. Montini "Governors from throughout the nation, including our own, are in Washington, D.C., this week where their top priority, according to the newspaper headlines, is 'border security.' Wrong. The top priority for governors throughout the nation, including Arizona, is 'job security.' As in their own. The most important thing to a governor, like any other politician, is getting re-elected. And the best way to stay in office these days is to talk tough about border security, particularly as it pertains to illegal immigration. So that's what they're doing. 'This is a national issue,' said Gov. Janet Napolitano, who has asked the federal government for funds to post Arizona's National Guard on the border. Not long ago, Napolitano criticized such a proposal, saying it was the federal government's job and that it would put too much strain on the Guard. But that was before polls showed that 65 percent of the state's voters really liked the idea." (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/kpvco ----- 38) President makes poor partner with Congress Fox News by Martin Frost "All right class, welcome back to Congress 101. I hope you enjoyed your President's Day break -- I know the Congress enjoyed theirs. Today's lecture will cover relationships between the executive and legislative branches of the federal government. Your professor served with five different presidents during his 26 years in Congress. Some of those presidents got along well with Congress and others did not. And this had little to do with party affiliation. Let's take a look at those five presidents in chronological order." (02/28/06) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,186243,00.html ----- 39) Following spirit of the law isn't enough Christian Science Monitor by Dante Chinni "Laws matter -- at least that's what we're told in this town, which isn't surprising since so many are made here. Laws are the rules by which we all have to play. And legislation makes its way through the system so that the rules can be debated and discussed. That's why the debate here has seemed so odd the past few months. This administration has made mistakes. That's to be expected; they all do. But increasingly when something goes wrong, this administration is arguing that whatever might have happened, regarding rules or laws, it's time to move on. In every case, when someone comes forward to challenge an action, the response is the same: We're past that now and if you want to ask questions you're simply playing the blame game." (02/28/06) http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0228/p09s01-codc.html ----- 40) Lining the pockets of big business Boston Globe by Peter D. Enrich "In recent years, states have found themselves caught in an accelerating competition to offer ever-larger tax breaks to big businesses. The rationale, aggressively marketed by corporate lobbyists, is that giveaways are necessary to attract business investment and jobs to a state, and that the resulting expanded business activity will more than pay for the lost revenues from the tax cuts. Reality, however, contradicts these claims. ... State taxes are simply too small a fraction of business costs (typically 1 to 2 percent) to be a major factor in siting decisions. Moreover, since all states are offering competing incentives, the differences are usually very small. When asked about the efficacy of business tax incentives during his confirmation hearings in 2001 to be US treasury secretary, Paul O'Neill, former chief executive officer of ALCOA, said: 'As a businessman I never made an investment decision based on the tax code. If you give money away I will take it, but good business people don't do things because of inducements.'" (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/gyg4b ----- 41) What money is not Ludwig von Mises Institute by Robert Murphy "With the possible exception of international trade, no topic in economics contains more myths than monetary theory. In the present article I address four popular opinions concerning money that suffer from either ambiguity or outright falsehood. 'Money represents a claim on goods and services.' Although there is a grain of truth in this view, it is quite simplistic and misconceives what money really is." (02/28/06) http://www.mises.org/story/2057 ----- 42) The sociology of taxation Ludwig von Mises Institute by Hans-Hermann Hoppe "There can be no doubt, then, that taxes invariably reduce production and with this the consumer's standard of living. Whichever way things are put, there is no escaping the conclusion that taxation is a means of obstructing the formation of wealth and thereby creating relative impoverishment. This brings me to my second subject: the sociology of taxation. If taxation is an instrument for the destruction of wealth-formation, then the question immediately becomes pressing of how it can be explained that there is taxation; that there is ever more of it; that we have experienced, in particular during the last hundred years, a steady increase not just in the absolute but also in the relative level of taxation; and that the institutions which lead the way in this process, the tax-states of the Western World, have simultaneously assumed ever more powerful positions in the arena of international politics and increasingly dominate the rest of the world." (02/25/06) http://www.mises.org/story/2068 ----- 43) The intersection of war and business Center For Individual Freedom by staff "America's armed forces are always looking for creative ways to recruit and retain troops. It is reported that over the last several months the Army has eased enlistment restrictions in an effort to meet its recruiting goals. The changes have included increasing the enlistment age for active-duty Army recruits from 35 to 40, softening a key drug test for recent use of marijuana, putting in place a high school equivalency program for dropouts, removing the ban on childhood asthmatics and, most recently, allowing recruits who are too heavy to meet weight or body fat limits to take a fitness test." (02/23/06) http://tinyurl.com/runt3 ----- 44) Iraq as anarchic black hole? anti-state.com by Jeremy Sapienza "It is perfectly clear that no bunch of former exiles posing as a state is going to rein in the violence that besieges Iraqis daily. Iraqis will have to realize this and finally begin to do something more about it than merely carrying a weapon. Lone guns can't hold back an army of fanatics who are trying to ignite a civil war. Iraqis are going to have to create their own associations and organizations to provide security and services and banish the warlords and militants. They will have to create anarchy to banish the chaos. We'll see if the market will push them along the way." (02/28/06) http://www.anti-state.com/blog/?p=45 ----- 45) Civil disobedience a just, responsible approach The Coloradoan by Joe Kissell "If there is an unjust, immoral or illegal situation, particularly if that situation has been brought about by people chosen to make and uphold law, then is it not only the right but the moral responsibility of even but one citizen to speak out? In a free society, part of that vocalization must always include the option of action in the form of peaceful civil disobedience. Peaceful civil disobedience does not threaten the safety of anyone. Pounding on a 12-ton, concrete cover of a missile silo with a hammer as three Roman Catholic nuns did in 2002, couldn't possibly have the slightest chance of disaster or, for that matter, even an acutely minor detrimental effect. It is a statement, pure and simple. And, should people in a free society feel the necessity to make such a statement, it is one that needs attention paid to it. If ordinary citizens take such actions, something may indeed be seriously wrong." (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/mxdyc ----- 46) Harboring prejudice and politics: The "Dubai Ports" debate Truthout by James Zogby "During the past week we witnessed a virtual frenzy with senators, congressmen, and then governors jumping over each other to take the lead in bashing the 'Dubai port deal,' the United Arab Emirates, or the Bush administration. It's all being done, critics say, in the name of national security. In reality, what is taking place here is nothing more than crass political posturing and an irresponsible and ill-informed attack on an Arab country that has been a strong ally of the United States .... In the Middle East, people are scratching their heads. If the UAE, which has stuck its neck out to support the US, can be treated with such scorn, then, some ask, 'what's the point of being a friend of America?'" (02/28/06) http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022806I.shtml ----- 47) Celebrity castigations: Microcosm of broader attack on freedom Infowars by Steve Watson "There has recently been a spate of reports concerning the castigation and investigation of various celebrities who have voiced a political opinion that is critical of the government, the 'war on terror' or the war in Iraq. This is a dangerous indication that our society as whole is systematically being deprived of freedom of speech and being coerced into a mindset that says those who question their government are traitors. We undoubtedly live in a celebrity obsessed society and the media drives this forward to its full advantage. The way the political opinions of those in the limelight are portrayed in the mainstream media is communicated to a mass audience and becomes a microcosm for political opinion in general. The attempt at utter destruction of the reputation of George Clooney in the press recently reveals this very premise. ... While movies like Clooney's or songs like Morrissey's are portrayed by the media as unpatriotic and unrepresentative of our societies, those that tow the government line are lauded and praised to the hilt. Several new movies and TV productions have and will continue to uniformly reinforce the official line on the events of 9/11, an line that over half of New Yorkers believe to be lies. Whilst actors like Clooney are castigated, others such as arch Neo-Con Bruce Willis will be given glowing praise as he produces his pro-war Iraq film that relates 'the success' of liberating the Iraqi people." (02/28/06) http://infowars.net/articles/february2006/280206celebrities.htm ----- 48) Free speech quagmire Strike the Root by David MacGregor "The 'currency' of free speech has also been devalued over recent years, with the gradual erosion of rights in this regard. Now we find that free speech is fine -- as long as you don't use it to offend anyone, like uttering stereotypical opinions about gays, lesbians, Hispanics, feminists, right or left-wingers, the unemployed, solo mothers, fat people, macho males, Asians, and other assorted targets. Then, of course, there's the Orwellian-sounding war on 'hate speech' -- whatever that is. So we're left with a sort of emasculated free speech -- free speech in name only. Free speech for wimps. Which brings me to the point of this essay: Do you have the right to utter, draw, write, record or otherwise make public your own personal opinions? And do you have the right to have access to such opinions of others? And my answer is yes. For if this right is curtailed, then it is just the beginning of a slippery slope to full censorship. Once you accept the principle of 'limited' free speech, then it's only a matter of time before the limits become more and more onerous, until one day you wake up and the limits are total." (02/28/06) http://www.strike-the-root.com/61/macgregor/macgregor3.html ----- 49) The devil comes back from Georgia Reason by Cathy Young "Two events last week starkly illustrate the dilemmas of countries grappling with a terrible past. In Austria, Holocaust denier David Irving received a three-year jail sentence for his public assertions that the Nazis did not carry out a systematic extermination of the Jews during World War II. Meanwhile, in Russia, as the country marked the 50th anniversary of its official turn away from Stalinism under Nikita Khrushchev, many people regard the late dictator's legacy as mostly positive -- and a new museum celebrating that legacy is about to open." (02/28/06) http://www.reason.com/cy/cy022806.shtml ----- 50) The Moses complex TechCentralStation by Arnold Kling "Putting too many people in the roles of oppressors and oppressed is one problem with the folk version of Exodus. Even more troubling is the way that Jews have re-cast the role of the Savior with the 'mighty hand and outstretched arm.' We have replaced the concept of an all-knowing, merciful God with a belief in an all-knowing, merciful government. This attribution of God-like qualities to government has little religious or intellectual justification. Jews are aware that government is not perfect. However, we ascribe bad government to the accidental result of having the wrong leaders." (02/28/06) http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=022806E ----- 51) South Dakota's fetal position Reason by Ronald Bailey "Last week, the South Dakota legislature overwhelmingly enacted a statute that would ban all abortions in the Coyote State except those done to save the life of a mother. The bill requires only the signature of pro-life Gov. Mike Rounds to become law. The legislation is designed to take direct aim at the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision Roe v. Wade, in which the court found that the constitutionally protected right to privacy applied to women's reproductive decisions including allowing them access to abortions. ... The South Dakota anti-abortion statute could have far-reaching effects not only on women's reproductive choices, but also on the future of much biomedical research nationwide." (02/28/06) http://www.reason.com/links/links022806.shtml ----- 52) Next step National Review by William F. Buckley, Jr. "If Hitler had known in June, 1941, what would befall the German army -- and him -- in four years, he would not have invaded Russia. Four years! In four years we marched from Pearl Harbor to the heart of what was left of Tokyo and Berlin. In three years we can't yet take a cab from Baghdad to its airport without an armed guard. Princes and generals do not communicate to the troops what are the high command's private reckonings. The matter of morale is with us in victory, and sometimes even begets victory. It also sanctifies defeat. To have died on behalf of your cause makes possible the mystic conviction that your sacrifice was the marginal contribution. To be dead at defeat permits mourning for gallantry and for faith -- My country, do or die. President Bush will be seen commanding his troops to march on. He will speak of victory. One's guess is that there will be attenuation in the definition of victory." (02/28/06) http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/wfb200602281355.asp ----- 53) In defense of "Impostor" Human Events by Bruce Bartlett "Last week, I published a new book, 'Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy.' A lot of my friends are not happy with me for writing it, and I have been embraced by a number of people on the left whom I would ordinarily consider my political enemies. Both are mistaken about why I wrote the book and what I hope to accomplish with it. Some of my former friends on the right have attacked me as an opportunist who sold out his party and his president to get a best-seller. They would not think so if they knew that I started this project knowing that I would probably lose my job with a think tank closely allied with the White House, which I did. My advance on the book was less than the salary I was making, so if I am an opportunist, I'm a pretty poor one." (02/28/06) http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=12777 ----- 54) Sinking fast Slate by Bruce Reed "A Scottish newspaper may have uncovered Dubai's true motive in infiltrating America's ports. Scotland on Sunday reports that later this year, Dubai plans to start building the world's first underwater hotel. The country will spend more than $500 million to build a luxury hotel with 500 'watertight rooms' 10 meters below the surface of the Persian Gulf. ... 'With safety a major consideration,' says the newspaper, 'everything from the kitchens, to fire extinguishers, to the oxygen system will be state of the art. The security system will also be a world leader, with project heads stressing it will be good enough to protect heads of state.' ... No wonder the Bush administration swept aside Coast Guard warnings about the ports deal. With Dubai's help, the Secret Service could stop hauling Vice President Cheney out to a secure bunker in Wyoming and store him in a Baltimore aquarium instead." (02/28/06) http://www.slate.com/id/2137002/#SinkingFast ----- 55) Civil war or holy war? Mother Jones by James Carroll "The now familiar scenes of enraged protesters waving fists at cameras, en route to acts of sacred vengeance, cannot be understood apart from the theology that undergirds such passion. 'God is great!' the Koran says, and Muslims in the streets seem to take that to mean that the deity is a being of such infinite supremacy that any offense against it must itself be experienced as infinite, requiring an infinite rage in God's behalf. God, it seems, is understood to be a feudal potentate whose honor, once slighted by nefarious human actions, can only be restored by counterbalancing nefarious reactions. This theology, not particular to Islam, is rooted in the various mythologies of monotheism, some of which tend to portray the deity itself as jealous of its glory, ready to take offense." (02/28/06) http://tinyurl.com/rbruh Movement News & Events 56) ISIL's 25th World Freedom Summit International Society for Individual Liberty 07/07/06-07/12/06 "ISIL's international conference for 2006 is being held in the stunningly beautiful city of Prague, Czech Republic." Scholarships for students/young activists available. Watch this space for details To Be Announced! http://www.isil.org/conference/ ----- 57) Petition: Free Cory Maye What is Liberalism? ongoing "The law has been misapplied to Cory Maye. If an unidentified intruder were to burst into our home in the middle of the night, we would be within our rights to defend ourselves and our children. Given the law of Mississippi, Cory Maye acted within his right on the night of December 26th, 2001. It is a great tragedy that a police officer lost his life in this encounter. The execution of Cory Maye would magnify the tragedy, killing an innocent citizen because of the death of an officer. Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, should grant an unconditional pardon to Cory Maye." http://www.whatisliberalism.com/index.php?pageId=87667 ----- 58) The Million Moon March War on Guns Blog thru 06/06 "An international citizen disarmament coalition, Control Arms, is sponsoring a 'Million Faces petition' and 'is collecting photos and self portraits from around the world to reach [their] goal of one million faces by June 2006. [They] will use these faces to send a powerful, global message of support to the world's governments for an International Arms Trade Treaty.' The idea of The Million Moon March (as in 'mooning') is to send them photos from the side that believes in the right of the people to keep and bear arms -- to let the rights grabbers know there are untold numbers of people who refuse to be disarmed, and quite candidly, to taunt and hopefully enrage them." [Editor's note: Thanks to the inimitable David Codrea for this action ... be sure to check his blog for the latest pictures and join in the fun by submitting your own - MLS] (02/06/06) http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2006/02/million-moon-march-gallery.html ----- 59) Austrian Scholars Conference 2006 Ludwig von Mises Institute 03/16/06-03/18/06 "The Austrian Scholars Conference is the international, interdisciplinary meeting of the Austrian School, and for scholars interested or working in this intellectual tradition, it is the event of the year. Over the course of three full days, the Austrian Scholars Conference offers eighty plus presentations on economics, history, philosophy, and the humanities, in addition to named lectures by the leaders in the field." Mises Institute campus, Auburn, AL. Free for students (application required), $200 for others. Online registration available. Group rate available at local hotel. http://www.mises.org/upcomingstory.aspx?control=77 Today in Political History 60) A Bravo for Bikini Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at: http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RRND is published every weekday except on holidays. Forward freely. 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