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 #875 Wednesday, April 12th, 2006 Email Circulation 2,034 ------ 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: US troop deaths pass March levels 2) Pakistan: Bomber kills 41 at prayer service 3) Iran, at milestone, insists nuke program is peaceful 4) New revelations surface in Abramoff probe 5) Public divided over how to treat "illegals" 6) Minipax sends carrier group to Caribbean 7) UK: RAF doctor refused to fight illegal war 8) NM: ACLU concerned about information-sharing system 9) Senators push to let taxpayers e-file returns 10) NH: Say no to national ID, senate urged 11) NY: Watching the Detectives 12) LA: Bill would protect evacuees' gun rights 13) Tax dodgers may lose friend in PayPal 14) Archives OK'd removing records, kept quiet 15) TX: Shop owner opens fire on robbers 16) Think your phone bill is high? Try $218 trillion 17) Minipax admits spying on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" protests 18) Air Force One data removed from Web 19) TN: Coalition pulls restaurant tax proposal 20) Duke rape case now "more problematic" 21) US rule demands proof of citizenship for healthcare 22) Cheers, boos as Cheney opens baseball game 23) CA: Sheriff targets elected Libertarian 24) LA: Evacuees return for early voting 25) OH: Taft may face ethics charges Today's Commentary: 26) Proud to be (almost) American 27) How crazy are these people? 28) Is war with Iran inevitable? 29) Hand counted paper ballots in 2008 30) A Saddamless Iraq does not equal a free Iraq 31) Iran switch to euros? Inconsequential! 32) Who's coopting who? 33) The Lord and Leviathan 34) From si to shining si 35) Fake news is no joke 36) Situation in Iraq could not be worse 37) Out from the shadows 38) Loud, hard, soft and quit 39) Ziplock security 40) What's it gonna take? 41) Stark choices on immigration 42) Kerry breaks ranks 43) Getting to know some neighbors during a long walk 44) Troops deserve respect, gratitude 45) Republican missteps give Democrats midterm hope 46) Illegal conundrums 47) Anyone for tennis, at the age of 150? 48) Thy Wills be done 49) Cousins in arms 50) Peru -- a fox guarding the henhouse? 51) McCain epitomizes federal government failures 52) What does the public want on immigration? 53) Unquestionable irrationality 54) The French employment fiasco 55) Open source mandates close competition 56) Twisting economics against immigrants 57) France's new revolution 58) Ouvrez la pomme Today's Movement News & Events: 59) Petition: Don't Attack Iran 60) Benefit manuscript auction: Ceres 61) 2nd annual TCF Combat Rifle Postal Match 62) ISIL's 25th World Freedom Summit 63) Authority and autonomy in the family Today in Political History: 64) Anderson's folly News 1) Iraq: US troop deaths pass March levels Terre Haute Tribune-Star "The acting parliament speaker said Wednesday he will convene the Iraqi legislature next week to push forward the formation of a new government stalled over the issue of who will serve as prime minister. Meanwhile, a series of car bombs in three Iraqi cities left at least eight people dead and dozens wounded. ... Two U.S. soldiers were also killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. ... at least 33 American troops have died in Iraq so far this month -- exceeding the 31 killed in all of March, according to an Associated Press count. At least 2,361 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war in 2003." [editor's note: US military authorities announced five US military deaths in Iraq yesterday, after we went to "press" - TLK] (04/12/06) http://tinyurl.com/ogey5 ----- 2) Pakistan: Bomber kills 41 at prayer service Indianapolis Star "A suicide attacker detonated a bomb during an outdoor Sunni Muslim prayer service Tuesday, killing at least 41 people and wounding dozens. In the mayhem that followed, angry mobs torched cars and hurled rocks at police, who fired warning shots in the air. The attacker blew himself up near leaders of the Sunni Tehrik religious group, which helped organize the prayer service at a downtown Karachi park, police chief Niaz Siddiqui said." (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/pbhdq ----- 3) Iran, at milestone, insists nuke program is peaceful Las Vegas Review-Journal "Iran's hard-line president said Tuesday that the country 'has joined the club of nuclear countries' by successfully enriching uranium for the first time -- a key process in what Iran maintains is a peaceful energy program. The announcement from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was certain to heighten international tensions surrounding Iran's nuclear program. The U.N. Security Council has demanded that Iran stop all enrichment by April 28 because of suspicions the program is designed to make nuclear weapons." (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/45drn ----- 4) New revelations surface in Abramoff probe MSNBC "A Republican Party official and Jack Abramoff's lobbying team bluntly discussed using large political donations as a way to pressure lawmakers into securing federal money for a tribal client, according to e-mails gathered by prosecutors. The e-mails detail how Abramoff's team worked to leverage assistance from the White House, Congress and the GOP to get a reluctant federal agency and a single Republican congressional aide to stop blocking school construction money for the Saginaw Chippewa tribe. The e-mails were obtained by The Associated Press." (04/11/06) http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12272972/ ----- 5) Public divided over how to treat "illegals" USA Today "It's easy to understand why Congress is having so much trouble settling on an approach to immigration: Americans endorse the most controversial proposals of both those who want to penalize illegal immigrants and those who want to let them stay. A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday found a majority of those surveyed want to make it a crime for foreigners to immigrate illegally to the USA and for Americans to help those illegal immigrants once they arrive." [editor's note: Er ... by definition it is a crime to do something "illegally," right? Can we work out a compromise that involves Tom Tancredo and James Sensenbrenner leaving and promising never to return? - TLK] (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/mf8xf ----- 6) Minipax sends carrier group to Caribbean Houston Chronicle "An aircraft carrier strike group moved into the Caribbean this week to begin two months of naval exercises in what the U.S. military hopes will be a show of its commitment to the region. The deployment by the USS George Washington group will also focus on threats such as drug and human trafficking, according to the Miami-based U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military activities in Latin America. Brig. Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck Jr., the Southern Command's chief of staff, called the tour an 'opportunity for us to touch base with our partner countries.'" (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/nk2on ----- 7) UK: RAF doctor refused to fight illegal war Independent [UK] "An RAF doctor on trial for refusing to serve in Iraq told a court martial yesterday that he refused to go because the war was against 'international law, the Nuremberg principles and the rules of armed conflict.' Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, the first member of the armed forces to be charged with disobeying orders to deploy in Iraq, said he had come to his decision after researching the legal advice given to Tony Blair by the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith. The officer, who has dual British and New Zealand nationality, told the hearing that he had 'two great loves in my life, medicine and the Royal Air Force. To take the decision that I have saddens me greatly but I feel that I have no other choice.' Flt Lt Kendall-Smith, 37, has been charged with five counts of disobeying lawful commands in 2005 when he was asked to deploy to Basra in Iraq." (04/11/06) http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article357224.ece ----- 8) NM: ACLU concerned about information-sharing system Albuquerque Journal "The American Civil Liberties Union says people should keep an eye on how police use a statewide computer system designed to let law enforcement agencies share information faster. Linx -- for the Law Enforcement Information Exchange -- is expected to go online late this summer in Bernalillo, Sandoval and Dona Ana counties. Five other states use such a database, and it's possible they could link in the future, said Mike Dorsey, special agent in charge of the program through the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Washington, D.C. The database will help law enforcement agencies, but Peter Simonson, executive director of the ACLU in New Mexico, said it also will contain information about innocent people, crime victims, witnesses and minor traffic violations. 'It is going to make available that information to every police department participating,' he said. 'We think that represents a significant threat to personal privacy.'" (04/11/06) http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/aplinx04-10-06.htm ----- 9) Senators push to let taxpayers e-file returns MSNBC "The IRS wants taxpayers to file electronically. But sending returns over the Internet requires many people to use a paid preparer or tax-preparation software, adding an extra fee to their tax bill. The two senators who sit atop the Finance Committee, Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking Democrat Max Baucus of Montana, are pushing the tax agency to consider accepting returns filed directly by individuals." (04/11/06) http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12271739/ ----- 10) NH: Say no to national ID, senate urged Manchester Union Leader "Voices from the right and left urged state senators yesterday to pull the state out of the National Identification System. A broad range of groups -- from the conservative Cato Institute to the liberal American Civil Liberties Union -- denounced the system, known as Real ID. House Bill 1582, which passed the House 217-84, would bar the state from participating. Congress passed the Real ID act requiring states to assemble specific sets of data to create a national secure system of driver licensing. ... speakers said the Real ID system smacks of Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. 'I am not a number. I am a free man,' said John Babiarz, former Libertarian Party candidate for governor. Barry Steinardt of the national ACLU office, said several states are considering a challenge. 'If you go first, other states will follow,' he said. 'New Hampshire can be the first to say "The emperor has no clothes.'" (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/lrydu ----- 11) NY: Watching the Detectives Village Voice "Since 2003, the NYPD has been filming protesters at political demonstrations, regardless of whether anything illegal's going on. City lawyers were in court last month defending the practice, arguing that what happens in public view is fair game. But police evidently aren't so keen on surveillance when the cameras are turned on them -- particularly when those cameras show them abusing free-street-parking privileges. On March 27, two volunteers from the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives were detained for taking pictures of police officers' private cars, which were parked on the sidewalk outside the Fifth Precinct in Chinatown. The volunteers say they were held and questioned at the precinct for about 20 minutes and instructed to erase the pictures." (04/11/06) http://villagevoice.com/news/0615,ferguson,72804,5.html ----- 12) LA: Bill would protect evacuees' gun rights New Orleans Times-Picayune With little debate, the Senate voted 39-0 Monday for a bill that would prohibit police from confiscating firearms of law-abiding citizens in times of emergencies or disasters. The vote on Senate Bill 93 by Sen. Joe McPherson, D-Woodworth, an outdoors enthusiast and gun-rights advocate, sends the measure to the House for debate. McPherson filed the bill in response to actions by New Orleans area police who confiscated firearms from evacuees during Hurricane Katrina. He said that the federal and state constitutions recognize the right of citizens to bear arms and that a hurricane or an evacuation from a natural disaster or emergency does not eliminate that right." (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/jmy99 ----- 13) Tax dodgers may lose friend in PayPal CNN "The Internal Revenue Service won approval from a federal court to ask PayPal to turn over information about people who might be evading taxes by hiding income in other countries, officials said Tuesday. A federal court in San Jose, California, gave the IRS permission to ask PayPal Inc. -- a company that enables online money transfers -- for account information for American taxpayers who have bank accounts, credit cards or debit cards issued by financial institutions in more than 30 countries reputed to be tax havens." (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/rqy8u ----- 14) Archives OK'd removing records, kept quiet Cincinnati Enquirer "The National Archives agreed to seal previously public CIA and Pentagon records and to keep silent about U.S. intelligence's role in the reclassification, according to an agreement released under the Freedom of Information Act. The 2002 agreement, requested three years ago by The Associated Press and released this week, shows archivists were concerned about reclassifying previously available documents -- many of them more than 50 years old -- but nonetheless agreed to keep mum." (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/re4mp ----- 15) TX: Shop owner opens fire on robbers ClickToHouston "The owner of a southwest Houston pawnshop opened fire on three armed men who tried to rob his business and the shootout was caught on tape, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday. Gunmen entered the A Plus Pawn Shop, in the 11200 block of South Wilcrest, on March 28, and started shooting, according to witnesses. 'I grabbed the first gun I could find and started firing,' owner Steve Smith said. 'They planned on taking us out, I think. That's the way I figured because they never said a word.'" (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/otbuu ----- 16) Think your phone bill is high? Try $218 trillion MSNBC "A Malaysian man said he nearly fainted when he received a U.S. $218 trillion phone bill and was ordered to pay up within 10 days or face prosecution, a newspaper reported Monday. Yahaya Wahab said he disconnected his late father's phone line in January after he died and settled the 84-ringgit (U.S. $23) bill, the New Straits Times reported. But Telekom Malaysia later sent him a 806,400,000,000,000.01-ringgit (U.S. $218 trillion) bill for recent telephone calls along with orders to settle within 10 days or face legal proceedings." (04/10/06) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12247590/ ----- 17) Minipax admits spying on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" protests Raw Story "The Pentagon confirmed Tuesday that the Defense Department surveilled groups opposed to the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law banning openly lesbian, gay and bisexual service members, RAW STORY has learned. The confirmation came in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network in January. ... The revelation comes amidst a rash of reports that the Defense Department has spied on anti-war groups. It confirms that surveillance of protests at New York University, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of California at Santa Cruz was conducted by US agents." (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/zel8v ----- 18) Air Force One data removed from Web San Francisco Chronicle "Air Force and Pentagon officials scrambled Monday to remove highly sensitive security details about the two Air Force One jetliners after The Chronicle reported that the information had been posted on a public Web site. The security information -- contained in a 'technical order' -- is used by rescue crews in the event of an emergency aboard various Air Force planes. But this order included details about Air Force One's anti-missile systems, the location of Secret Service personnel within the aircraft and information on other vulnerabilities that terrorists or a hostile military force could exploit to try to damage or destroy Air Force One, the president's air carrier. 'We are dealing with literally hundreds of thousands of Web pages, and Web pages are reviewed on a regular basis, but every once in a while something falls through the cracks,' Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Col. Catherine Reardon told The Chronicle." (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/p5hjq ----- 19) TN: Coalition pulls restaurant tax proposal Tennessean "A proposed countywide restaurant tax has been taken off the table by an organization promoting construction of a new convention center in downtown Nashville. The Music City Center Coalition told Mayor Bill Purcell yesterday that it was bowing to public sentiment and removing a proposed half-cent-on-the-dollar restaurant tax from its list of funding recommendations. 'At the urging of you and many other Nashville citizens, we have revisited the idea and have decided not to pursue such a tax,' the group wrote in a letter to Purcell, who had called the idea 'a non-starter.' Purcell, who has upset some members of the coalition with his handling of their convention center proposal, applauded the decision. 'I think it shows they're listening, and that's a good thing,' the mayor said. 'It was going to raise the cost of meals for every citizen of Davidson County forever.'" (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/ptr74 ----- 20) Duke rape case now "more problematic" Christian Science Monitor "Lack of DNA evidence in an alleged rape by members of the Duke University lacrosse team may alter the prosecution's options, legal analysts say. No charges have yet been brought in the case, which has touched off a firestorm of debate about race, class, and power at the elite Southern school. A DNA analysis, made public late Monday, showed no link between any of the 46 lacrosse players who submitted to genetic testing and an African-American woman who says three players sexually assaulted her at a party March 13. A student at North Carolina Central University in Durham, she was hired to be an exotic dancer at the party attended by team members." (04/12/06) http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0412/p04s01-usju.html ----- 21) US rule demands proof of citizenship for healthcare Boston Globe "Almost all of the state's poorest residents will have to show proof of US citizenship to continue getting medical care by July 1, under a little-noticed federal law that could endanger coverage for many, as Massachusetts is trying to expand access to healthcare. Born out of ongoing efforts in Washington to clamp down on illegal immigration, the new federal requirement compels anyone seeking Medicaid coverage to provide a birth certificate, a passport, or another form of identification in order to sign up for benefits or renew them. No such proof is required now. The requirement was tucked into the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which President Bush signed into law earlier this year." [editor's note: Is it just possible that these two social issues might combine to create a solution? Just asking ... SAT] (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/qs5zf ----- 22) Cheers, boos as Cheney opens baseball game Reuters "A loud mixture of cheers and boos greeted Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday as he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Washington Nationals baseball game. Cheney, wearing a red Nationals warmup jacket, tossed a pitch that reached Nationals catcher Brian Schneider on one bounce. The vice president, whose popularity is slumping along with that of President Bush, walked out on the field to cheering and booing from the near-sellout crowd. The boos appeared to be little louder than the cheers at RFK Memorial Stadium. On the field with him were three U.S. servicemen, two of whom had been wounded in Iraq and a third who was injured in Afghanistan." (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/hm3oq ----- 23) CA: Sheriff targets elected Libertarian San Mateo Daily Journal "Sheriff Don Horsley is putting away his gun and taking aim at Libertarian Jack Hickey in a bid for the Sequoia Healthcare District Board. Horsley is not seeking another term as [San Matero County] sheriff, but instead will run for one of three available seats on the health care district board currently held by Art Faro, Jack Hickey and John Oblak. Horsley wants to focus on funding for indigent care and automated defibrillators, but doesn't discount rumors that he's running to unseat Libertarian Hickey. Doing so would eliminate an often contentious element on the board as Hickey ran on a platform of dissolving the district and often feuds with other board members. ... Hickey is a staunch opponent of the district. He was elected in 2002 on the platform to disband the district and return the tax dollars to residents. He promotes private philanthropy. Hickey was surprised by the news Monday. He said he'll only run again if his current bid for the San Mateo County supervisor seat currently held by Rich Gordon fails in June." (04/11/06) http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=57183 ----- 24) LA: Evacuees return for early voting Fox News "For Elaine Stovall, getting on a bus for the two-hour trip back to Louisiana to vote for the future of New Orleans was just something she had to do. 'I would have walked to New Orleans if I had to. I would be less than a good citizen if I wasn't out here doing this,' said Stovall, 62, a Hurricane Katrina evacuee staying in Houston who traveled 140 miles Monday to vote for the next mayor of New Orleans. The election officially is April 22, but residents scattered around the country by Katrina will be able to vote all week at satellite voting centers in Lake Charles, Shreveport, New Orleans and seven other cities around the state. By the end of the first day of voting, about 1,600 had cast early ballots, including nearly 1,000 in two New Orleans locations." (04/11/06) ----- 25) OH: Taft may face ethics charges ABC News "A state office that monitors lawyer behavior recommended Monday that Gov. Bob Taft be disciplined for failing to report golf outings and other gifts while in office. Taft pleaded no contest in August to the ethics violations and was fined $4,000. He was the first Ohio governor to be charged with a crime while in office. The Office of Disciplinary Counsel, an arm of the state Supreme Court, said Monday that Taft also violated Ohio's code of professional conduct for lawyers, which states that a lawyer shall not 'engage in any other conduct that adversely reflects on the lawyer's fitness to practice law.' The final decision on punishment ultimately lies with the Supreme Court. Taft could face a penalty ranging from a reprimand to loss of his license to practice law." (04/11/06) http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1826445 Commentary 26) Proud to be (almost) American TechCentralStation by Nathan Smith "Have you ever watched the fireworks against the night sky, and you feel stirring inside you, unbidden, a love for your country so childlike that you wonder if, as an adult, you're allowed to feel it? A love that, no matter how good your reasons for loving America may be, has nothing to do with reasons: it's blubbering sentimentality, and at the same time, you feel you are standing on holy ground? Watching a sea of banners and American flags advancing down 16th Street towards Lafayette Park, it was just like that. Michelle Malkin has been kicking up a fuss that some protesters wave Mexican flags. ... In Washington, D.C., April 10, 2006, this eyewitness reports that American flags outnumbered all other flags by about fifty to one. We're used to seeing swarthy, foreign-speaking young men burning American flags to vent their rage. It doesn't affect us anymore. But to see swarthy, foreign-speaking young men -- and women, and children, by the thousands -- waving the American flag, proudly, to see them draping it over their shoulders, and wearing it on T-shirts -- are you ready for that?" (04/11/06) http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=041106F ----- 27) How crazy are these people? Truthout by William Rivers Pitt "I had a debate with my boss last night about Sy Hersh's terrifying New Yorker article describing Bush administration plans to attack Iran, potentially with nuclear weapons. After reading the Hersh piece, my boss was understandably worried, describing his reaction to the article in road-to-Damascus-revelation terms. They're going to do this, he said. I told my boss that I couldn't believe it was possible the Bush administration would do this. I ran through all the reasons why an attack on Iran, especially with any kind of nuclear weaponry, would be the height of folly. ... Things have come to a pretty pass in the United States of America when the first question you have to ask yourself on matters of war and death is, 'Just how crazy are these people?'" (04/11/06) http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/041106R.shtml ----- 28) Is war with Iran inevitable? Human Events by Pat Buchanan "Weekend reports by Sy Hersh in The New Yorker claim the Pentagon is planning air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities with bunker-buster bombs, possibly tipped with nuclear warheads. The White House is dismissing it all, and this may be just the rattling of B-2s to concentrate minds in Tehran on the need to negotiate on their nuclear program. But the Bushites have also painted us into a corner. Vice President Cheney has said Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Sen. John McCain says, 'The military option is on the table.' And Israel is demanding that the United States stop dithering." (04/11/06) http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=13941 ----- 29) Hand counted paper ballots in 2008 Tikkun by Sheila Parks "Although much has been published on the Internet, the mainstream media have mostly chosen to ignore or dismiss the questions of fraud and error raised in relation to electronic voting machines. ... HCPB are an alternative to the current widespread and increasing use of electronic voting machines. ... It is time to make electronic voting machines a NIMBY (not in my back yard and not in anyone else's back yard either) issue. To begin a movement for HCPB, ordinary citizens, registered voters, must begin organizing door-to-door with their neighbors to petition their local election officers and demand HCPB in their city or town. Although organizing could also proceed on a state level, going municipality by municipality is a good way to start, depending on your state's laws." (04/11/06) http://www.tikkun.org/magazine/specials/article.2006-04-10.1693298872 ----- 30) A Saddamless Iraq does not equal a free Iraq Free Market News Network by Ilana Mercer "Genghis (Bush) and his gang have recently told Iraqis to get with the program: form a government, or else. There is something really screwy about this administration's admonitions to Iraqis for not getting it together. As though Iraq ever had it together; Saddam's reign was one of the more peaceful periods in the history of this fractious people, which did not, I might add, ask to be invaded -- and 'improved.'" (04/11/06) http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/56/4466/2006-04-11.asp?nid=4466&wid=56 ----- 31) Iran switch to euros? Inconsequential! The Free Liberal by Fred E. Foldvary "Articles are swishing around the Internet that the US government will not allow the Iranian chiefs to start an oil trading center in euros because this would somehow wreck the US economy. There are warnings that the US military will attack Iran, not so much because of its development of missiles and nuclear weapons, but because a switch to the euro would somehow cause a major fall of the US dollar. The claim is that an oil bourse in euros would decrease the need to hold dollars, and so hundreds of billions of dollars would come rushing back into the US, causing high inflation, sky-high interest rates, and a crash of the dollar relative to other currencies. Some say the US invaded Iraq for this reason also." (04/12/06) http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/001998.html ----- 32) Who's coopting who? Salon by Andrew Leonard "Greenwash or green pork? When George Bush and radical environmentalists aim their artillery at the same enemy, does that mean the foe is truly reprehensible? Or does it mean the opposite? This is what How the World Works is wondering, after learning a little about an institution called the Global Environmental Facility (GEF)." [subscription or ad view required] (04/12/06) http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2006/04/11/facility/ ----- 33) The Lord and Leviathan LewRockwell.Com by Becky Akers "We tend to think of Christ's crucifixion in a vacuum, as though the denizens of Hell worked overtime inventing this horror solely for the Son of God. Instead, crucifixion was the favored method of execution for many ancient governments. Consider what this says of Leviathan. It is not enough for the beast to kill, to thrust a human being 'noble in reason! ... infinite in faculty!' out of time and into eternity: the object is to strip him of all sensibility and grace, to turn him from a creature little lower than the angels into a shrieking scrap of butchered meat, to inflict as much agony as possible over as many hours -- even days -- as possible." (04/12/06) http://www.lewrockwell.com/akers/akers37.html ----- 34) From si to shining si The American Spectator by Doug Powers "The rallies staged by those purported to care deeply about civil rights and amnesty for Mexican illegals in the United States continue. People who are taking part in these marches are looking for one of four things: A) free stuff from U.S. taxpayers, B) a day off school, C) control over people who answered 'A,' or, least likely but possibly, D) a day off work. This is all, of course, under the guise of an 'immigration' and/or 'civil rights' debate. Your civil right to not have your money taken and given to an illegal isn't under consideration. Sorry." (04/12/06) http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=9663 ----- 35) Fake news is no joke AlterNet by Danny Schechter "By all means, lets support the campaign against 'fake news' on TV. That's a reference to the undisclosed use by local news outlets of PR company-produced ads dressed up to look like news. A study by the Center for Media and Democracy found that 35 commercially driven news packages had been inserted in or run adjacent to 77 newscasts without attribution. The practice involves Video News Releases, and it is wrong and it should be stopped. It's a form of disguised commercial posing as news story. It's deceptive, and probably violates FCC regulations. But let's not stop there." (04/12/06) http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/34823/ ----- 36) Situation in Iraq could not be worse Seattle Post Intelligencer by Patrick Cockburn "A cruel and bloody civil war has started in Iraq, a country that President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair promised to free from fear and establish democracy. I have been visiting Iraq since 1978, but for the first time, I am becoming convinced that the country will not survive. ... I have been covering the war in Iraq ever since it began three years ago and I have never seen the situation so grim. More than a week ago, I was in the northern city of Mosul, protected by 3,000 Kurdish soldiers, but even so it was considered too dangerous to send out patrols in daytime. It is safer at night because of a curfew." (04/11/06) http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/266162_iraqsurvival11.html ----- 37) Out from the shadows New York Daily News by Juan Gonzales "Never -- not even at the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960s -- has there been such an outpouring of our nation's huddled masses as during the past few weeks over this immigration debate. Don't buy for a moment the nonsense that these protests don't matter, that all these marchers are illegal immigrants who can't vote so the politicians can simply ignore them. When black people shook the South with their protests, they couldn't vote, either." (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/eplxx ----- 38) Loud, hard, soft and quit CounterPunch by Laray Polk "On this street, five Anglos with anti-immigration signs were privy to full police protection. The crowd stopped to view the scene. But as we drew closer, to see the militaristic outpost more than anything, we were pushed further away while we watched the hand-full of counter-protesters leaving their designated protest area and moving amongst the police officers dressed in riot gear. I always think of Howard Zinn's quote in these situations about the myth of neutrality concerning 'peace-keeping forces' and activism. I stepped up to the row of riot gear policemen and ask for the officer in charge. They said he wasn't there. I urged several of the officers to enforce the anti-protest area as a few them were rushing to the railing and inciting the crowd. This is when one policeman forcefully pushed my left arm with the baton and the officer beside him told me that I was going to be the first one arrested because I was 'talking too much.'" [editor's note: It goes far beyond irony for me to read a protestor's account of "urging (the police) to enforce (an) anti-protest area." Anti-immigration yahoos have just as many rights as the good guys! - TLK] (04/11/06) http://www.counterpunch.org/polk04112006.html ----- 39) Ziplock security New Yorker Magazine by Nick Paumgarten "But, much as nature finds ways (disease, famine) to combat overpopulation, city life has thrown up impediments to bags. To enter many public buildings, theatres, ballparks, and -- theoretically, at least -- subway stations, you must submit to a search or even go bagless. The city is a thicket of bag policies. It is hard to keep them all straight, and you're never sure, when leaving home for the day, whether it might be a bad idea to bring one along. One rule, at least, is easy to remember: you may not put a bag on a seat in a subway train. It will cost you fifty dollars." (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/jk8gt ----- 40) What's it gonna take? Center for an Informed America by David McGowan "At the risk of offending anyone out there, I really need to ask a question here: what the hell is the matter with you people? And by 'you people,' I don't mean specifically the regular readers of these newsletters, but rather the American people in general. So to all you John and Jane Q. Publics out there, let me rephrase the question: what the hell does it take to get a reaction out of you? I realize, of course, that there has been a serious dumbing-down of American society and culture over the years. And I realize that government operatives have virtually complete control over the flow of information, so that virtually every thing you read, hear or see is, at best, an approximation of reality. And I realize that you have been systematically conditioned, over the course of many decades, to revere the institutions of this society -- the very same institutions whose spokesmen are routinely called upon to serve you up a nice steaming platter of lies. None of that, however, fully explains the near complete paralysis of the American people as a whole." (04/07/06) http://www.davesweb.cnchost.com/nwsltr81.html ----- 41) Stark choices on immigration Tom Paine by Nathan Newman "Forget the stalled debate in Congress. State legislatures are already barreling ahead on immigration legislation. And the choices could not be more stark. While some states are embracing criminalizing undocumented immigrants, other states are embracing progressive policies that will boost wages for all American workers and solve the root causes of low-wage immigration. The real fear by most Americans is that immigrants are driving down wages for existing American workers. However, rather than further punish exploited immigrant workers in the underground economy, many state leaders recognize that a better solution is to end the exploitive conditions that make hiring lower-paid immigrants so attractive for employers in the first place. Just this February, New York's highest court ruled that undocumented workers injured at work retain the right to sue employers for compensation -- and that this provision of New York state law was a critical policy for enforcing labor rights and deterring low-wage immigration." [editor's note: Sure, let's "end the exploitive conditions" -- starting with minimum wage laws - TLK] (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/kqjvs ----- 42) Kerry breaks ranks The Nation by Katrina vanden Heuvel "With his op-ed piece in the New York Times on Wednesday; his remarks on Meet the Press this past Sunday; and his e-mail and online petition calling for a withdrawal from Iraq today -- John Kerry has broken ranks with a silent Democratic leadership and joined the likes of Russ Feingold and John Murtha in taking a strong position against the war. In addition to his new stance, it is good to hear that the man who wasn't known for punchiness on the campaign trail is striving for, in his own words, 'pretty simple messages' such as, 'Tell the truth. Fire the incompetents. Get out of Iraq. Have health care for all Americans.' And while Kerry didn't say he will run again in 2008 there are sure signs he is back on the trail: his non-answer on Meet the Press and reports by Washington insiders that he is planning to set up a national security think tank in the nation's capital (just what the city needs -- the heck with voting rights, how about another think tank?) in an effort to bolster his 'strong on defense' image. But there are still signs of lessons not yet learned." [editor's note: This piece alternates between support (the title) and biting criticism (the rest of it) - SAT] (04/11/06) http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?pid=76391 ----- 43) Getting to know some neighbors during a long walk Arizona Republic by E. J. Montini "On Monday, some people in Phoenix went for a walk. Ordinarily, this does not make news, although perhaps it should. Scientists tell us that walking can lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and generally enhance a person's sense of well-being. That certainly seems to have been the case for many of the thousands who marched from 19th Avenue and McDowell Road to the state Capitol. 'This feels great to me,' said Robert Robles of Glendale. I'd bumped into him near the bus terminal at Van Buren and First streets shortly after noon Monday. He had taken the bus to downtown Phoenix from the West Valley with a neighbor, his neighbor's wife and their two small children. 'They wanted to come to the march and since I was going, I told them I'd show them were to go,' Robles said. The woman said something to him in Spanish. Robles laughed. 'She said to tell you that they're not Mexicans,' he said. 'They're from Guatemala. Me, my family, we're Mexican. That's where they came from, anyway. But, you know, we're Americans.'" (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/fcsw5 ----- 44) Troops deserve respect, gratitude Fox News by Martin Frost "Our country has been divided over the necessity of subsequent wars in Vietnam and Iraq; however, we should never forget to honor the men and women who wear our uniform. Even if you are opposed to our current involvement in Iraq, always remember to thank the men and women who are risking their lives in the Middle East and always honor the memory of those who have given their lives. The decision to go to war is made by politicians. If you don't like what's happened, express your feelings at the ballot box but never dishonor the young soldiers, marines, airmen and sailors who are sent by their country into harm's way." [editor's note: And we should respect and honor them in the best way possible: By not resting until we get them the @#^& HOME! - SAT] (04/10/06) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,191250,00.html ----- 45) Republican missteps give Democrats midterm hope Christian Science Monitor by Dante Chinni "There are good weeks. There are bad weeks. And then there are weeks like the GOP just had -- a triple dose of wretched news. The man who had organized, cajoled, and whipped the Republicans into order in the House, Tom DeLay, announced he was leaving Congress because he wasn't sure he could win his seat back in November. That's the stated reason, but there's also the slow simmering Jack Abramoff scandal dragging down Mr. DeLay and potentially other Republicans in the House." (04/11/06) http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0411/p09s01-codc.html ----- 46) Illegal conundrums National Review by William F. Buckley, Jr. "We do not have the exact count involving Operation Keelhaul, but it is estimated as being in the vicinity of two million. That was the number of Russians whom we agreed, however reluctantly, to repatriate to their motherland in 1945, so that Josef Stalin could keep his Gulags fully occupied. But we -- Americans and British -- did it. It was however much easier than deporting the current illegals would be inasmuch as these wretched Russians seeking refuge were heavily concentrated in military and paramilitary centers, so we could stick them into trains heading east, and figure out some way to reconcile our consciences to what we had done." (04/11/06) http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/wfb200604111431.asp ----- 47) Anyone for tennis, at the age of 150? Reason by Ronald Bailey "By the end of this century, the typical European may attend a family reunion in which five generations are playing together. Great-great-great grandma, at 150 years old, will be as vital, with muscle tone as firm and supple, skin as elastic and glowing, as her 30-year-old great-great-granddaughter with whom she's playing tennis. After the game, while enjoying a plate of vegetables filled with not only a solid day's worth of nutrients but medicines she needs to repair damage to her ageing cells, she'll be able to chat about some academic discipline she studied in the 1980s with as much acuity and memory as her 50-year-old great-grandson, who is studying it now." (04/11/06) http://www.reason.com/rb/rb041106.shtml ----- 48) Thy Wills be done The Weekly Standard by Christopher Levenick "Garry Wills, the twinkling intellect of a twilight liberalism, has once again taken to the op-ed pages of the New York Times. His tone has softened a bit since his last apearance; two days after the 2004 presidential election, he summoned a righteous indignation and railed against America's supposed 'fundamentalist zeal, [its] rage at secularity, religious intolerance, fear of and hatred for modernity.' Wills is now inclined to sigh, more in sorrow than in anger, and announce that efforts to create a Christian Left are irredeemably flawed. Jesus, he asserts, 'brought no political message or program,' and as a result, '[t]here is no such thing as a 'Christian politics.'' The essay is vintage Wills. It exhibits a broad and deep erudition, shot through with streaks of tendentiousness and fatuity. On one key point, Wills enjoys the incalculable benefit of being undeniably right. Jesus was neither a Republican nor a Democrat -- nor was He, for that matter, a conservative or a liberal." (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/j3hto ----- 49) Cousins in arms Slate by Michael Young "The debate over a definition of 'civil war' often seems academic, more a means of determining whether the United States has failed in Iraq than anything else. That the country is caught in a civil conflict of expanding proportions is obvious; mixed religious areas are now zones of confrontation, not integration. But it is equally true that the vast leviathan of war has not fully kicked in, allowing British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to deny, with Jesuitical ingenuity, that a civil war has begun, even while admitting, 'It is a high level of slaughter.' Looking at the phases of an earlier Middle Eastern civil war, the one in Lebanon from 1975 to 1990, might provide insights into what Iraq is facing and may still face if the situation there degenerates further." (04/11/06) http://www.slate.com/id/2139687/ ----- 50) Peru -- a fox guarding the henhouse? Independent Institute by Alvaro Vargas Llosa "The first round of the Peruvian elections has turned Ollanta Humala, a nationalist former military officer and strong admirer of Hugo Chavez, into the leading force in Peruvian politics, with about 30 percent of the vote. It is not one hundred percent clear who will face him in the runoff because the vote is not yet fully counted, but former president Alan Garcia, a socialist, has a tiny edge over Lourdes Flores, the pro-business, center-right candidate. Against what many wishful thinkers are predicting, I think Humala is going to be hard to stop even if he gets only 30 percent of the vote. I base this opinion on three factors." (04/11/06) http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1703 ----- 51) McCain epitomizes federal government failures Intellectual Conservative by Christopher Adamo "The March 2006 cover story of Fortune magazine, entitled 'Secrets of Greatness,' presents profiles of several individuals whom the editors deemed worthy of that description. First on the list is Senator John McCain of Arizona, pictured with hand over heart, looking statesmanlike and warm. In truth, he is neither. So why is he such a media darling?" (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/hfojh ----- 52) What does the public want on immigration? Mother Jones by Ruy Teixeira "Normally, there's a modest stream of public opinion data on the immigration issue, much of it confusing. Now, suddenly, there's a great deal of data on this issue ... and it's still confusing. Time to try to sort it out. Here are some basic findings on the issue that may help in interpreting the current political debate." (04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/qwsjj ----- 53) Unquestionable irrationality Rebirth of Reason by Joseph Rowlands "Ayn Rand warned her readers to distinguish between the metaphysical and the man-made. The metaphysically given are facts of reality outside of our control. You can't get angry with gravity for existing. You can't get angry at the sun for shining. The man-made, on the other hand, is chosen and doesn't have to be that way. You should evaluate the man-made, and not assume it as an unchallengeable fact of reality. The man-made is not necessary, and can be changed. I bring this up because lately it seems that there is an instance of the man-made that is being treated as if it were metaphysical." (04/07/06) http://tinyurl.com/g9k2d ----- 54) The French employment fiasco Ludwig von Mises Institute by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. "Americans can only be mystified by the protests that rocked France and led to a cave in by the government. A small economic reform that would have meant the start of much-need liberalization has been repealed. The change in labor law would have permitted employers to fire workers, age 25 years or younger, in the first two years of employment. On the surface, it seems that workers in this category -- backed by nearly the whole of French public opinion -- regard this common-sense change as treason to all that is good and just." [editor's note: It's only "common-sense" if one ignores its context. Splitting an arbitrary new group of "second-class citizens" out of a "protected class" isn't free market reform. It's an attempt to preserve the "protected class." The whole artificial system needs to go rather than just having new, equally artificial inequalities injected into it - TLK] (04/11/06) http://www.mises.org/story/2113 ----- 55) Open source mandates close competition FreedomWorks by Arpan Sura "Open source mandates -- laws that require all city and state government agencies to use open source software -- are the latest fad in technology policy. Over 40 countries, ranging from France to Brazil, have enacted open source mandates. In the United States, Oregon, Texas, and New York City have also moved forward with such measures, each with varying degrees of success or failure. Last year, Massachusetts adopted a proposal that would mandate the use only software and formats that meet a standard of 'openness.' State agencies have until Jan. 1, 2007 to make the migration to the new standard, but officials have already conceded that 'the magnitude of the migration effort to this new open standard is considerable.'" (04/07/06) http://tinyurl.com/k7c8d ----- 56) Twisting economics against immigrants Foundation for Economic Education by P. Gardner Goldsmith "But apart from these practical, day-to-day considerations, and separate from the debate over whether immigrants are a net gain or loss to the coffers of the federal government, there is a larger, timeless issue that lies at the heart of the anti-immigrationist assertions. It is the sweeping claim that immigrants suppress American wages and take American jobs. The argument is used to pander to blue-collar workers and high-tech employees alike, and it is bandied about far too frequently by those who should know better. Perhaps the most egregious example in this regard is Krikorian, who has a deft and stylish way of selectively presenting arguments made by free-trade advocates and using their words to bolster his own anti-free-trade position." (written 09/04; posted 04/11/06) http://tinyurl.com/77cor ----- 57) France's new revolution Competitive Enterprise Institute by Peter Suderman "The French climate of economic sluggishness and widespread unemployment has led to a pervasive restlessness. Many -- especially the youth -- have taken to rioting, striking, and protesting with a festival-like vigor. Naturally, anything with this sort of rock-concert aura deserves a soundtrack, and these days the background music to looting and car-burning emanates from a shiny array of digital music players. But the French, never content without dirigiste government intervention, have decided that even their digital music needs to be saddled with the burden of regulation. Now Apple's iTunes music store is under fire from a law that would strip Apple of the right to protect its property without providing consumers any serious benefits." (04/11/06) http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,05259.cfm ----- 58) Ouvrez la pomme America's Future Foundation by Tim Lee "The French parliament made headlines around the world last month when its lower house passed legislation intended to promote competition among digital media devices by mandating that devices be interoperable. Critics of the legislation charged that France was stealing Apple's intellectual property by forcing it to open its iTunes music platform to competitors. The law's supporters countered that the law was pro-competitive and pro-consumer. They said consumers should have the freedom to use their legally purchased music on the device of their choice. Fundamentally, the two sides have differing visions about the nature of competition." (04/09/06) http://tinyurl.com/had9b Movement News & Events 59) Petition: Don't Attack Iran After Downing Street ongoing "Dear President Bush and Vice President Cheney,We write to you from all over the United States and all over the world to urge you to obey both international and U.S. law, which forbid aggressive attacks on other nations. We oppose your proposal to attack Iran. Iran does not possess nuclear weapons, just as Iraq did not possess nuclear weapons. If Iran had such weapons, that would not justify the use of force, any more than any other nation would be justified in launching a war against the world's greatest possesor of nuclear arms, the United States. The most effective way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons would be to closely monitor its nuclear energy program, and to improve diplomatic relations -- two tasks made much more difficult by threatening to bomb Iranian territory. We urge you to lead the way to peace, not war, and to begin by making clear that you will not commit the highest international crime by aggressively attacking Iran." [Sign petition online] (04/11/06) http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/iran ----- 60) Benefit manuscript auction: Ceres The Libertarian Enterprise by L. Neil Smith thru 04/18/06 "Okay, I feel better now (it's the damned antibiotics, I'm certain) and have taken keyboard in lap to offer the one and only working manuscript of my new novel, Ceres, to the highest bidder. ... Proceeds will benefit The Libertarian Enterprise, which can use every bit of monetary help it can get. ... So dig deep, if you will. Bidding starts at $100.00 and should proceed in increments of $5.00. Contact Ken at [EMAIL PROTECTED]" (03/26/06) http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle360-20060326-02.html ----- 61) 2nd annual TCF Combat Rifle Postal Match WolfesBlog 04/29/06 "The 2nd TCF Combat Rifle Postal Match will be taking place in the month of April! This match will be dedicated to the memory of Mordechai Anielewicz and the fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. For those of you not familiar with postal matches, the idea is that a bunch of people all shoot the same course of fire and then mail their targets to a single person for scoring. It allows us to hold a rifle match without needing to get everyone together at the same shooting range. For the privacy-minded, you may scan your targets and email them in rather than using a mail carrier. Everyone with a military-style rifle is encouraged to participate, regardless of skill level. ... Targets must be received by April 29th to be eligible for scoring." (03/21/06) http://www.clairewolfe.com/wolfesblog/00001975.html ----- 62) 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/ ----- 63) Authority and autonomy in the family various 08/19/06 "August 19, 2006 at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, CA. Speakers confirmed so far include Nathaniel Branden, Peter Breggin (via live video), Susan Love Brown, Marshall Fritz and Sharon Presley. Topics include liberating education, liberating childrearing, encouraging critical intelligence in children, alternative family structures, egalitarian marriage, and encouraging self-esteem in children. The sponsors are Resources for Independent Thinking, the Civil Society Institute, and the Association of Libertarian Feminists." http://www.autonomyinthefamily.org Today in Political History 64) Anderson's folly 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. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or financially support RRND, visit: http://www.rationalreview.com/news To support ISIL's Free-Market.Net Project (tax deductible) http://www.isil.org/store/membership.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor Steve Trinward ...... Editor R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor --------------------------------- Love cheap thrills? Enjoy PC-to-Phone calls to 30+ countries for just 2¢/min with Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. --------------------------------- Love cheap thrills? Enjoy PC-to-Phone calls to 30+ countries for just 2¢/min with Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ForumWebSiteAt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
