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 #922 Tuesday, June 20th, 2006 Email Circulation 2,009 ------ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS -------------------------------------- SEE THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET! Want a Smart Network or Dumb Pipe? Congress is about to Vote, Make Up Your Own Mind. It's About the Future of the Internet! http://www.internetofthefuture.com/ FREEDOMAIN RADIO! Passionate, articulate, funny and irreverent, Freedomain Radio shines a bold light on old topics -- and invents a few new ones to boot! http://www.freedomainradio.com/ GIVE THE PERFECT FATHER'S DAY GIFT 51 weeks of The Economist at 61% off the newsstand price. http://tinyurl.com/ra3nv LIBERTARIANS: THE GAY-FRIENDLIEST PARTY Join Outright Libertarians online or at the LP National Convention to help keep the LP true to its gay-friendly roots. http://www.outrightlibertarians.org/ RADIO FREE LIBERTY Principled Libertarian Podcasts - Changing the world one iPod at a time! http://radiofreeliberty.com/ -------------------------------------- SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ----- Today's News: 0) Support for ISIL scholarships urgently needed 00) Summer Ad Sale at RRND! 1) Iraq: Missing soldiers' bodies found; attacks continue 2) Soldiers charged with killing Iraqi prisoners 3) Senate: Flag amendment one vote from passage 4) Supreme Court to take on second abortion case 5) TX: Democrat runs versus Ron Paul 6) Italy seeks US GI's indictment for killing 7) Rice threatens North Korea on missile test 8) National Guard ordered to New Orleans 9) Iran: Bush issues ultimatum on uranium 10) Supreme Court splits on wetlands protection 11) Pentagon lists homosexuality as disorder 12) Man indicted in abortion bomb attempt case 13) Hearing for Guantanamo prisoner delayed 14) Japan PM announces Iraq withdrawal plan 15) Lawyer asks if US eavesdropped on her 16) Federal contracts up 86% under Bush -- 600% for Halliburton 17) UK: Free IVF for all to ease pensions crisis? 18) UK: Pensioner in anti-US protest to be prosecuted 19) Canada: Homeowner charged in home invasion 20) TX: Homeowner shoots teen during burglary 21) Alleged al Qaeda cyanide plot questioned 22) Internet rewrites political playbook 23) Report: Disasters fueled increase in 2005 donations 24) For students, cost of protest can be high 25) Got organic? Demand lifts Vermont dairies Today's Commentary: 26) Killing Iraqi children 27) The Battle of Wakarusa 28) Good government: A hit or a myth? 29) The jihad that failed 30) Two words can cripple or kill your case for liberty 31) Air strikes in Afghanistan: Aargh! 32) An open letter to libertarians who support the War on Terror 33) What's the matter with money? 34) Star Wars: The sequel 35) What strategic ambiguity? 36) Techno-civilization and its discontents 37) Will the Democrats' best chance be good enough? 38) The Guantanamo peril 39) Filling the Breach 40) What was missing at YearlyKos 41) Is teacher-student sex OK if the student is 18? 42) Coulter's crudeness 43) New taxes on big oil companies will not help lower prices 44) The silly truth about NSA spying 45) Reclaim the issues -- "occupation, not war" 46) Bush's Baghdad photo op 47) Win one for the Gipper (Ayatollah Khameini) 48) Custodians of chaos 49) Permanent war 50) America loves Nazis 51) How we can get there from here 52) Is Ken Lay really a criminal? 53) Does net neutrality help consumers? 54) Get ready for November's Democrat landslide 55) Scary food 56) Protecting life or regulating sex? Today's Movement News & Events: 57) 2006 Porcupine Freedom Festival 58) Seminar: Liberty, Economy & Society 59) ISIL's 25th World Freedom Summit 60) Authority and autonomy in the family 61) Reason in Amsterdam 2006 Today in Political History: 62) Dealing with Wheeling News 0) Support for ISIL scholarships urgently needed International Society for Individual Liberty "Each year ISIL provides scholarships for students and young freedom activists from around the world to attend our international conferences. ... We have a waiting list of more than 20 outstanding individuals on hold while we seek additional funding. Each one costs us $600US+. Please consider donating to our scholarship fund." http://www.isil.org/store/membership.html#scholarships ----- 00) Summer Ad Sale at RRND! Rational Review News Digest We've reduced our advertising rates! Your BlogAd reaches Rational Review's web readers, as well as 7,500+ email subscribers to Rational Review News Digest AND Freedom News Daily each day in our "sponsor bloc" -- a solid libertarian customer base for your product or service. A one-week ad costs only $25, with discounted pricing for 2-week, 1-month or 3-month ads. Click on the "advertise here" link in any Rational Review sidebar, or on the URL below, to place your ad. http://tinyurl.com/7k5am ----- 1) Iraq: Missing soldiers' bodies found; attacks continue Guardian [UK] "he bodies of two U.S. soldiers who had been reported kidnapped have been found near the checkpoint where the men disappeared after an attack, a senior Iraqi military official said Tuesday. The U.S. military said two bodies had been found but had not yet been identified. ... Earlier Tuesday, a parked minivan exploded in a busy outdoor market in a Baghdad slum, killing four people and wounding 16, police said. Elsewhere, a suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt blew himself up in a home for the elderly in the southern city of Basra, killing two people and wounding three." (06/20/06) http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5899036,00.html ----- 2) Soldiers charged with killing Iraqi prisoners CNN "Three members of the 101st Airborne Division have been charged with murder in the May shooting deaths of three Iraqi prisoners, the U.S. military announced Monday. Pentagon sources told CNN the soldiers claimed the prisoners were attempting to flee at the time. The three soldiers have been identified as Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard, Pfc. Corey Claggett and Spc. William B. Hunsacker of the 101st Airborne's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, the military said." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/pmceo ----- 3) Senate: Flag amendment one vote from passage Think Progress "The U.S. Senate is one vote away from passing a constitutional amendment that would criminalize desecration of the U.S. flag. If successful, it will mark the first time in 214 years that the Bill of Rights has been restricted by a constitutional amendment, and will place the United States among a select group of nations that have banned flag desecration, including Cuba, China, Iran, and Iraq under Saddam Hussein." [editor's note: The authors of the article seem to have forgotten that any such amendment must also be ratified by the states. Not that I doubt that will happen, mind you -- congressional idiocy tends to be contagious - TLK] (06/19/06) http://thinkprogress.org/2006/06/19/flag-burning/ ----- 4) Supreme Court to take on second abortion case Fox News "The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider a second Bush administration appeal that seeks to reinstate a federal ban on partial-birth abortion. Justices had already said they would decide this fall whether the law is unconstitutional. The court will review a pair of cases from lower courts that struck down the law. Those courts are the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Congress had voted in 2003 to prohibit the type of abortion, generally carried out in the second or third trimester, in which a fetus is partially removed from the womb and its skull punctured or crushed. The law was challenged on behalf of physicians who could be sentenced to up to two years in prison for violating the law." (06/19/06) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200075,00.html ----- 5) TX: Democrat runs versus Ron Paul Rosenberg Herald-Coaster "U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, is facing his first Democratic challenger in the current District 14. Paul is seeking his ninth term in Congress. ... He is being challenged by Shane Sklar, a 30-year-old Democrat from Victoria who contends Paul's ideology and his positions make him unsuitable for the district. Paul, 70, began his career in politics in 1976, having represented Fort Bend County in Congressional District 22. He decided not to seek reelection in 1984, leaving a vacancy that was filled by U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land. After a failed attempt to secure the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, as well as a run for president on the Libertarian ticket, Paul returned to Congress in 1997, this time representing the 14th District. ... District 14 leans Republican, but Sklar argues winning the district is more than a pipe dream. He argues Paul's libertarian voting record is out of sync with the Republican Party ..." [editor's note: Well, that last is certainly true, but out Republicaning Republicans seems like a pretty screwy strategy for Democrats - TLK] (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/zrrdc ----- 6) Italy seeks US GI's indictment for killing USA Today "Italian prosecutors requested the indictment of a U.S. soldier Monday in the fatal shooting of an Italian intelligence agent at a checkpoint in Baghdad -- a case that saw the agent mourned as a national hero. Authorities were seeking the indictment on charges of murder and attempted murder, said one of the prosecutors, who asked that his name not be used because a new law in Italy allows only the chief prosecutor to speak to the media. The fatal shooting of Nicola Calipari on March 4, 2005, angered Italians, already largely opposed to the war in Iraq." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/gfs7v ----- 7) Rice threatens North Korea on missile test Butte Montana Standard "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned North Korea on Monday it will face consequences if it test-fires a missile thought to be powerful enough to reach the West Coast of the United States. 'It would be a very serious matter and, indeed, a provocative act should North Korea decide to launch that missile,' Rice said amid indications that the North Koreans could launch an intercontinental ballistic missile at any moment. The senior U.S. diplomat said the United States would talk to other nations about action should the North go ahead, and 'I can assure everyone that it would be taken with utmost seriousness.'" (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/peguc ----- 8) National Guard ordered to New Orleans Huntington Herald-Dispatch "Acting at the mayor's request, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Monday she would send National Guard troops and state police to patrol the streets of New Orleans after a bloody weekend in which six people were killed. 'The situation is urgent,' Blanco said. 'Things like this should never happen, and I am going to do all I can to stop it.' One hundred National Guardsmen with law enforcement experience and 60 state police officers were to be sent to the city Tuesday." (06/20/06) http://tinyurl.com/oyxau ----- 9) Iran: Bush issues ultimatum on uranium Washington Examiner "President Bush told Iran on Monday that nations worldwide won't back down from their demand that Tehran suspend uranium enrichment. 'Iran's leaders have a clear choice. We hope they will accept our offer and voluntarily suspend these activities so we can work out an agreement that will bring Iran real benefits,' Bush said a day before leaving for Vienna, Austria, where he will talk with European Union officials who are leading efforts to resolve the nuclear dispute." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/rz8qz ----- 10) Supreme Court splits on wetlands protection MSNBC "The Supreme Court clashed Monday on whether the government can extend protections for wetlands miles away from waterways, in its first significant environmental ruling under Chief Justice John Roberts. Justices decided on a 5-4 vote, split along ideological lines, that regulators may have misinterpreted the federal Clean Water Act when they refused to allow two Michigan property owners to build a shopping mall and condos on wetlands they own. But on a separate 5-4 vote, they refused to block the government from restricting access on distant wetlands." (06/19/06) http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13419805/ ----- 11) Pentagon lists homosexuality as disorder Nevada Appeal "A Pentagon document classifies homosexuality as a mental disorder, decades after mental health experts abandoned that position. The document outlines retirement or other discharge policies for service members with physical disabilities, and in a section on defects lists homosexuality alongside mental retardation and personality disorders. Critics said the reference underscores the Pentagon's failing policies on gays, and adds to a culture that has created uncertainty and insecurity around the treatment of homosexual service members, leading to anti-gay harassment." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/jep52 ----- 12) Man indicted in abortion bomb attempt case Sunbury Daily Item "A man accused of plotting to attack an abortion clinic with a pipe bomb and handgun was indicted Monday on weapons and explosives charges, the U.S. attorney's office said. A federal grand jury indicted Robert Weiler, 25, on charges of possessing and making an unregistered destructive device, illegally possessing a firearm, and possessing a stolen firearm. Weiler called the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on June 8 from a western Maryland highway rest stop to confess to the plan, according to court documents." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/e5jvs ----- 13) Hearing for Guantanamo prisoner delayed Rockford Register Star "The U.S. military suspended a pretrial hearing Monday at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base for a Canadian detainee accused of killing a U.S. Green Beret, saying base security personnel must first help investigate the recent deaths of three detainees. Two Saudis and a Yemeni hanged themselves in their cells on June 10, according to the military. Their bodies were flown aboard a commercial charter jet Friday from the U.S. base in Cuba to Yemen and Saudi Arabia. They were the first reported detainee deaths at the prison since it opened in January 2002." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/lgx9j ----- 14) Japan PM announces Iraq withdrawal plan Dekalb Daily Chronicle "Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced his plan Tuesday to withdraw troops from Iraq at a ruling party meeting, an official said, moving to end Japan's largest military mission since World War II. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of party protocol, said Koizumi told a meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party that he would make a public announcement of the pullout later in the day. 'We've finished this chapter,' Kyodo News agency quoted Koizumi as telling party executives." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/kvytg ----- 15) Lawyer asks if US eavesdropped on her Yahoo! News "A civil rights attorney convicted of aiding terrorists last year wants the federal government to reveal whether any warrantless or illegal electronic surveillance was conducted on her or anyone involved in her case. In a court petition filed Monday, Lynne Stewart contends that such an inquiry is necessary to determine whether government surveillance compromised her case. The motion in federal court in New York follows revelations last year that President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to monitor domestic communications -- without court approval -- when one party is overseas and terrorism is suspected. Stewart, 66, was convicted in February 2005 of providing material support to terrorists by releasing the message of a notorious jailed client, Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. She also was convicted of defrauding the government and making false statements." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/e5pky ----- 16) Federal contracts up 86% under Bush -- 600% for Halliburton Raw Story "A new report claims that a 'shadow government' of federal contractors has exploded in size over the last five years. The document, compiled at the request of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and distributed to RAW STORY, indicates that procurement spending increased by over $175 billion between 2000 and 2005, making federal contracts the fastest growing component of federal discretionary spending." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/rzg3y ----- 17) UK: Free IVF for all to ease pensions crisis? Guardian [UK] "Making fertility treatment freely available to all would boost Britain's population and help stave off the looming pensions crisis, scientists said yesterday. Using the latest figures on the costs of fertility treatment, researchers calculated the total value of an IVF baby to the British economy and compared it with a baby conceived naturally. They found that if the government invested in IVF and offered three cycles of fertility treatment on the NHS, the country would increase its population by 10,000 within two to three years. Currently only a quarter of IVF treatment is conducted by the NHS. Their calculations showed that once the extra cost is taken into account, every person born through IVF would on average contribute £147,138 to the economy, compared with £160,069 generated over the lifetime of a person conceived naturally." (06/20/06) http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1801611,00.html ----- 18) UK: Pensioner in anti-US protest to be prosecuted Independent [UK] "The Government faces a test of its new anti-terror legislation after deciding to proceed with charges against a pensioner arrested while protesting at an American communications base. Seven weeks after becoming one of the first individuals arrested under a little-noticed clause in the Serious Organized Crime and Police Act, Helen John, 68, of Keighley, west Yorkshire, was charged yesterday with criminal trespass and bailed to appear next week before magistrates in Harrogate, north Yorkshire. Mrs John and a fellow peace campaigner, Sylvia Boyes, 62, were arrested on 2 April while crossing the sentry line at Menwith Hill, the US communications base in the Yorkshire Dales." (06/19/06) http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article1090871.ece ----- 19) Canada: Homeowner charged in home invasion CJOB News "Two suspects in a weekend home invasion went straight to the police after the incident ... because the homeowner shot at them. According to police, it happened about 3 o'clock Saturday afternoon, 45 kilometres north of Roblin. Two men kicked in the front door of the home, and the property owner grabbed a firearm. At that point the invaders left ... but as they were going, a shot was fired at their vehicle and hit the driver. The culprits drove to Russell to complain to the RCMP. The driver was treated for his injuries and released to the police. Now, 28 year old Harvey Joseph Young is charged with Attempted Murder, along with eight other weapons and firearm-related charges." (06/19/06) http://www.cjob.com/news/index.aspx?src=loc&mc=local&rem=40859 ----- 20) TX: Homeowner shoots teen during burglary Marshall News Messenger "A Longview homeowner early Monday shot and killed a 15-year-old boy who police say was one of three teenagers attempting to burglarize the man's home in the 1100 block of Camille Drive. ... The homeowner told police he was sleeping and heard noises, including glass breaking, according to a media release from the Longview Police Department. The man armed himself with a firearm and entered his living room, where he saw several people standing in the room -- one person holding what appeared to be a weapon. The man shot toward the person he believed was holding a weapon. When police arrived, they arrested Gregory Allison, 17, of Longview, who was being detained at the scene by the homeowner. A 15-year-old boy was found in the woods behind the residence with a gunshot wound, and was taken to Longview Regional Medical Center, where he later was pronounced dead." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/m9njo ----- 21) Alleged al Qaeda cyanide plot questioned ABC News "Did al Qaeda plot to release cyanide gas in New York City subways? A new book details the alleged plan, but the former chief of White House counterterrorism said there are reasons to be skeptical about the report. The terror network supposedly planned to release the deadly gas in subway cars in 2003, according to an upcoming book by Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Suskind. In his new book, 'The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11,' Suskind wrote that an al Qaeda cell in the United States came within 45 days of attempting to detonate a crude device with small containers of deadly chemicals. ... 'There's reason to be skeptical,' said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, who is the former chief of White House counterterrorism. 'Just because something is labeled in an intelligence report does not mean every word in it is true.'" [editor's note: Given the track record of deceit and doubletalk from the Administration, my money's on Clarke - SAT] (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/qms2j ----- 22) Internet rewrites political playbook San Francisco Chronicle "Dan Wood describes himself as being 'politically inactive, other than voting' until 2004. That's the year Howard Dean, the Democratic former governor of Vermont, ran for president and revolutionized a Web-based campaign strategy that raised money and organized volunteers. 'I guess I got sucked in,' said Wood, a 41-year-old computer programmer from Alameda. That may be an understatement. Today, he runs his own political blog, 'A Progressive Alamedan,' served as a delegate to this year's state Democratic convention and keeps politically informed through a dizzying number of Web sites and e-mails. He is one of millions of voters across the nation touched by the expansion of tech-savvy political campaigns that increasingly are relying on computers and cell phones to engage voters." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/qojee ----- 23) Report: Disasters fueled increase in 2005 donations Arizona Republic "Charitable giving increased last year, propelled by a series of natural disasters at home and abroad, according to an annual report on philanthropy released today. Individuals and institutions gave away an estimated $260.28 billion in 2005, a 2.7 percent increase on an inflation-adjusted basis over the prior year. Giving for disaster relief accounted for about 3 percent of the total, according to the Giving USA Foundation, an educational and research program of the American Association of Fundraising Counsel, which together with the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University publishes the annual report. From December 2004 to October 2005, an estimated $7.37 billion was donated to address the ravages of natural disasters, with individuals accounting for a majority of the gifts. The American Red Cross alone received $2.4 billion to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, and the Salvation Army took in $363 million, more than three times as much as it raised through its annual holiday Red Kettle Campaign." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/qkgy2 ----- 24) For students, cost of protest can be high Christian Science Monitor "Jennifer Avilez says her parents, both from Mexico, worked hard their whole lives to get her into a good school. So when she walked out of that school in late March to protest an immigration bill passed by the House, she did it for all those who hadn't achieved as much. 'Other people need to have the same chance as they did,' she says. 'This country was started by immigrants, after all.' But her protest came to a halt when she was arrested and accused of criminal behavior by the local police. The case against Jennifer, a student who takes AP courses at Stony Point High School in Round Rock, Texas, is one of hundreds like it that pit students' free-speech rights against local rules against truancy." (06/19/06) http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0619/p03s03-ussc.html ----- 25) Got organic? Demand lifts Vermont dairies Boston Globe "For the first time in decades, dairy farmer Dexter Randall could pay all his bills on time. Wooed by signing bonuses and the prospect of doubling his earnings, the burly 60-year-old switched to organic milk over the past year. He says it is the only way to save his farm and his family's future -- all of it invested in 460 acres in the shadow of Jay Peak mountain. 'With conventional milk, there was no light at the end of the tunnel,' Randall said. 'Now, I have true hope.' Across the country, an increasing number of farmers are abandoning conventional ways for organic dairy farming: They keep their cows free of antibiotics and hormones, and they let them graze on pure pastures day after day, instead of locked up in a barn." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/qft9z ----- RRND MEDIASHELF -------------------------------------------- Books, CDs and other tchotchkes from today's edition: The One Percent Doctrine, by Ron Suskind http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743271092/rationalrev08-20 Note: Affiliate links generate commissions for RRND's editors. -------------------------------------------- RRND MEDIASHELF ---- Commentary 26) Killing Iraqi children Future of Freedom Foundation by Jacob G. Hornberger "In a short editorial, the Detroit News asked an interesting question: 'Some war critics are suggesting Iraq terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi should have been arrested and prosecuted rather than bombed into oblivion. Why expose American troops to the danger of an arrest, when bombs work so well?' Here's one possible answer: In order not to send a five-year-old Iraqi girl into oblivion with the same 500-pound bombs that sent al-Zarqawi into oblivion. Of course, I don't know whether the Detroit News editorial board, if pressed, would say that the death of that little Iraqi girl was 'worth it.'" (06/19/06) http://www.fff.org/comment/com0606g.asp ----- 27) The Battle of Wakarusa The Libertarian Enterprise by Jim Davidson "In early June 2006, the Wakarusa Music Festival took place around the USA Army Corps of Engineers Clinton Lake park facilities. About fifteen thousand people from around the country came for the festival, camped out, listend to live music, and brought millions of dollars in sales to area businesses. But it wasn't all good news. With a USA feral 'high intensity drug-trafficking area' grant, the State of Kansas and the Douglas County Sheriff's Department organized blockades of Kansas Highway 10, US Highway 59, and off ramps from Interstate 70, causing a three-day traffic snarl, violating individual liberties, and generally making a mess of the festival ... And a gaggle of attorneys too uptight to do anything useful, too defensive to take any criticism, too blind to what their own government has done to go out on a limb, too interested in the continuation of the government to stand up for freedom. No surprises that people who take licenses from government and serve as officers of the court are statists." (06/18/06) http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle372-20060618-04.html ----- 28) Good government: A hit or a myth? Liberty For All by Garry Reed "Sunday is my day to knock back in the recline-o-matic, sip on a glass of sun tea, and lazily browse the local gazette. All was tranquil until I sipped and reclined my way to an editorial page offering by Neal Gabler (Senior Fellow at the Norman Lear Center at USC) entitled 'Mr. Businessman goes to Washington.' That's when I nearly inhaled an ice cube. There are two great myths about government, asserts the Senior Fellow. Myth one: government is inefficient, bloated and wasteful. Myth two: politicians are more interested in serving themselves than serving the good of the nation." (06/20/06) http://www.libertyforall.net/2006/may23/myth.html ----- 29) The jihad that failed Reason by Jesse Walker "Acts like this, the argument goes, represent 'leaderless resistance,' a mode of asymmetrical warfare in which the fighters act without any coordination at all; it is not a conspiracy, or even necessarily a network, in the ordinary senses of those words. This is a fine thing to fear if there are a lot of willing assassins out there, and I could see it stoking anxieties in Amsterdam or Jerusalem -- but in America? A few sporadic crimes, none of them inspiring a wave of copycats; a campaign whose body count over several years could be dwarfed by just one night of gang warfare; a would-be soldier who's willing to slay one man then turn himself in -- this isn't a sequel to 9/11, it's a short-lived spinoff that never made it past the pilot. These attacks are so rare, they if anything highlight how unwilling American Muslims are to kill for Allah." (06/19/06) http://www.reason.com/links/links061906.shtml ----- 30) Two words can cripple or kill your case for liberty Free Market News Network by Michael Cloud "'Never' and 'Always.' Too often, too many of us over-claim and over-promise when we make the case against Big Government -- and the case for freedom. When criticizing Big Government, you might claim: 'Government never works.' 'Welfare never helps.' 'Drug Prohibition never succeeds.' When justifying liberty, you might assert: 'The marketplace always gives us better goods at lower prices.' 'Private enterprise always brings out the best in people.' 'Free men and women are always tolerant and generous.' You want to tell people how destructive Big Government is. And declare the virtues and blessings of freedom. But attaching the words 'never' and 'always' to the results of Big Government and freedom may well cripple or kill your case." (06/19/06) http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/232/5356/2006-06-19.asp?nid=5356&wid=232 ----- 31) Air strikes in Afghanistan: Aargh! AntiWar.Com by William S. Lind "At present, the bombing is largely tied to the latest Somme-like 'Big Push,' Operation Mountain Thrust, in which more than 10,000 U.S.-led troops are trying another failed approach to guerrilla war, the sweep. I have no doubt it would break the Mullah Omar Line, if it existed, which it doesn't. Even the Brits seem to have drunk the Kool-Aid this time, with the June 19 Washington Times reporting that 'British commanders declared for the first time yesterday that their troops were enjoying success in the restive south of Afghanistan after pushing faster than expected into rebel territory.' Should be in Berlin by September, old chap. Of course, all this is accompanied by claims of many dead Taliban, who are conveniently interchangeable with dead locals who weren't Taliban. Bombing from the air is the best way to drive up the body count, because you don't even have to count bodies; you just make estimates based on the claimed effectiveness of your weapons, and feed them to ever gullible reporters. By the time Operation Mountain Thrust is done thrusting into mountains, we should have killed the Taliban several times over." (06/20/06) http://www.antiwar.com/lind/?articleid=9174 ----- 32) An open letter to libertarians who support the War on Terror LewRockwell.Com by Marc Joffe "I often hear that there is a separate moral code in wartime, but if the non-aggression principle is indeed an axiom, it applies at all times. Furthermore, who is to objectively define what a war is? Perhaps the thief who broke into my house last year legitimately thought that my possessions were merely collateral damage in his personal 'War on Poverty.' Or maybe the next time I see you lighting up a joint, I should kill you, because, after all, the government has declared a 'War on Drugs!' If a libertarian wishes to support a war, he should recognize that he is endorsing an act of coercion." [editor's note: A fine piece, actually ... but no, the non-aggression principle isn't an axiom, at least in the formal sense - TLK] (06/20/06) http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/joffe1.html ----- 33) What's the matter with money? The Free Liberal by Fred E. Foldvary "The role that interest plays in the economy is like a thermostat that regulates the heat in a room. By definition, savings is income not spent for consumption. Since income is spent either for consumption or for investment, savings equals investment. But since different folks may be investing and saving, these are not automatically equal, but become equal by the adjustment of the interest rate. If savings increase, interest rates fall so that more is borrowed for investment. The interest rate equalizes savings and investment, and allocates production between consumption and investment, so that all income is spent." (06/20/06) http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002124.html ----- 34) Star Wars: The sequel TechCentralStation by Alan W. Dowd "Quietly, almost imperceptibly, outside the glare of the Beltway and beyond the daily chaos of the war on terror, the US military is continuing to piece together an international missile defense system (IMD). Indeed, spring 2006 has brought with it new support and new partners from Europe, deeper cooperation in the Pacific, hopeful signs from friends in North America, steady advances on the technology front, and ever more ominous threats in the Middle East and Northeast Asia. First, the good news." (06/20/06) http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=062006C ----- 35) What strategic ambiguity? Cato Institute by Ted Galen Carpenter "For decades, the United States has practised a policy of 'strategic ambiguity' about what its response would be if conflict broke out in the Taiwan Strait. Former assistant secretary of defence Joseph Nye was only a little more blunt than other US officials when he told his Chinese hosts in 1995: 'We don't know, and you don't know.' But now another US official, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, may have inadvertently eliminated any ambiguity in an emotional, off-hand remark to a congressional committee." (06/20/06) http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6438 ----- 36) Techno-civilization and its discontents The American Spectator by Brandon Crocker "That's the problem with modern techno-society. We have allowed ourselves to become dependent on technology to the extent that it has reduced our confidence and, indeed, our ability, to perform basic tasks without it. Just as the Welfare State has nefariously bred dependency and atrophied pride, self-reliance, and the work ethic in many, the marvels of modern technology are a lure to mental and physical sloth. I am one of the 'bridge' group that grew up in a world without personal computers and managed to get through four years of an undergraduate education using a device known as a typewriter." (06/20/06) http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=9978 ----- 37) Will the Democrats' best chance be good enough? Salon by Walter Shapiro "A picnic table in front of a white clapboard Methodist church in small-town Connecticut is an odd venue to try to answer the vexing question, Can the Democrats win a congressional beachhead in November? But the earnest [Chris] Murphy, dressed in suit pants, a white shirt and a blue tie, with a mop of brown hair falling over his eyes, is the type of challenger who must knock off an entrenched GOP incumbent if the Democrats are to pick up the 15 seats they need to take control of the House for the first time since 1994." [subscription or ad view required] (06/20/06) http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/06/20/race/ ----- 38) The Guantanamo peril Tom Paine by Aziz Huq "Death is typically a moment of truth. But the occasion of three suicides at the Guantanamo Bay -- where almost 500 men and boys have been held without trial for up to four years now -- have only proved how poorly the Administration grasps the facts of today's terrorism challenge. And it only showed how deeply ineffectual and counterproductive U.S. counter-terrorism policy becomes when based on flawed assumptions. The U.S. response revealed how little it has learned since it first launched its 'global war on terror' five years ago. The camp's commander Rear Admiral Harry B. Harris described the detainees' decision as 'an act of asymmetrical warfare.' The Deputy Assistant of State Colleen Graffy classed the deaths as 'a good PR move.' And Southcom commander General Bantz J. Craddock commented that, 'This may be an attempt to influence the judicial proceedings' of a case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court about the President's ad hoc military commissions." (06/19/06) http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/06/19/the_guantnamo_peril.php ----- 39) Filling the Breach The American Prospect by Robert Kuttner "Are the liberals dividing the Democratic Party once more and weakening Democrats' credibility on defense? Or are they stepping into a leadership vacuum? The Democrats' schisms over Iraq were on display at last week's Take Back America convention in Washington. Senator Hillary Clinton, whose speech to the gathering was mostly applauded, got scattered boos when she declared that it was not 'smart strategy' to 'set a date certain for troop withdrawal.' The hawkish Senator Clinton, one senior Democratic strategist observed, is prematurely positioning herself for the 2008 general election. First she has to win her own party's primaries. At the rate she's going, she is fast alienating the party's overwhelmingly antiwar base." (06/19/06) http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=11670 ----- 40) What was missing at YearlyKos In These Times by Christopher Hayes "It must have been divine intervention by the Journalism Gods that on my flight to Las Vegas for YearlyKos, a conference billed as a gathering of the future of the Democratic Party, I happened to sit next to Lou, a potent symbol of the party's past. Small and wiry with a jutting jaw and the tense energy of a prizefighter, Lou expressed disappointment when I first sat down next to him. 'I was hoping a couple of good-looking broads would take these seats,' he said. I laughed politely, penciling in a mental checkmark next to 'Dirty Old Man.' But after take-off I noticed Lou pull out a copy of The Nation, and I nudged my editor sitting next to me. It was only a matter of time until Lou started to talk, launching into a two-hour disquisition on the evils of war, the Bush administration, the Christian right and Big Business." (06/15/06) http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2709/ ----- 41) Is teacher-student sex OK if the student is 18? Fox News by Susan Estrich "Should it be a crime for a public school teacher to have sex with one of her students? Is that a hard question? For me it isn't. The answer is yes. It's a particularly easy question where the state, in this case Texas, has passed a simple and straightforward law that makes it a crime, without regard to the age or gender of the student. But don't tell that to some of my friends on the panel last night of Fox's 'On the Record,' where I was all alone with host Greta van Susteren in being willing to enforce the law against a 25- year old former beauty contest participant who had sex with one of her students." [editor's note: If "18" is the magic "age of consent" ... ain't nobody's business, legal or otherwise! And what about a teacher outside the public schools, or who has an affair with an 18-year-old who isn't a student? Just dumb, Susan! - SAT] (06/19/06) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200004,00.html ----- 42) Coulter's crudeness Boston Globe by Cathy Young "Several years ago, left-wing cartoonist Ted Rall published a cartoon mocking the 'terror widows' -- the bereaved of the Sept. 11 attacks as well as Marianne Pearl, the widow of kidnapped and slain journalist Daniel Pearl -- as a bunch of greedy and shallow attention-seekers. The outrage was universal. A number of press outlets, including The New York Times website, pulled the cartoon. Subsequently, when the Times and The Washington Post stopped carrying Rall's work, conservatives called it a victory for decency. Now, the right has its own Ted Rall in the infamous Ann Coulter. In her new book, Godless: The Church of Liberalism, Coulter takes a whack at the 'Jersey Girls,' four Sept. 11 widows who have been highly critical of the Bush administration. She refers to them as 'self-obsessed women' who 'believe the entire country was required to marinate in their exquisite personal agony,' and then concludes with this zinger: 'These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arrazies. I have never seen people enjoying their husband's death so much.'" (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/ogm8r ----- 43) New taxes on big oil companies will not help lower prices Tennessean by Bill Vaughan "Gasoline prices have reached record-highs and are making life tough on many Tennesseans. That much everyone agrees on. But what should we do about it? President Bush has said that in order to continue meeting our energy needs, we must rapidly invest in the exploration and development of more reliable, domestic sources of energy. While alternative and renewable energy sources must be explored for the longer-term, it is clear that America's untapped sources of oil and coal are key in the near-term. And one idea that definitely won't help bring gasoline prices down is the misguided notion of imposing a new federal windfall profits tax on those we most need to help us find and refine more oil. You would think that basic common sense would tell anyone that levying more taxes on something that is already too expensive is a bad idea." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/s7jpz ----- 44) The silly truth about NSA spying The Price of Liberty by L. Reichard White "Now they're going to protect us by tapping our phones and reading our E-mail. Right. And "The check's in the mail," "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you" - - And "SURE I'll respect you in the morning." As the Senate Judiciciary Committee hearings on Bush's NSA plan to tap your phone, read your e-mail, secretely sneak into your house and bug your computer, etc. sink impotently into the sunset, there are a few things you might want to consider." (06/06) http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/06/06/19/white.htm ----- 45) Reclaim the issues -- "occupation, not war" Common Dreams by Thom Hartmann "Every time the media -- or a Democrat -- uses the phrase 'War in Iraq' they are promoting one of Karl Rove's most potent Republican Party frames. There is no longer a war against Iraq. It ended in May of 2003, when George W. Bush stood below a 'Mission Accomplished' sign aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and correctly declared that we had 'victoriously' defeated the Iraqi army and overthrown their government. Our military machine is tremendously good at fighting wars -- blowing up infrastructure, killing opposing armies, and toppling governments. We did that successfully in Iraq, in a matter of a few weeks. We destroyed their army, wiped out their air defenses, devastated their Republican Guard, seized their capitol, arrested their leaders, and took control of their government. We won the war. It's over. What we have now is an occupation of Iraq." (06/18/06) http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0619-22.htm ----- 46) Bush's Baghdad photo op CounterPunch by Mike Whitney "George Bush loves playing the war president. He loves strutting across an aircraft carrier in a tight-fitting jump-suit or dropping in on the new Iraqi Premier, al-Maliki for a few hours of chummy bravado. He loves showing Papa-Bush that he can hang in there when things get tough and that he won't be pushed around by those niggling nay-sayers in the Congress. Unfortunately, things are quickly unraveling in Iraq and, by many accounts, the war is already lost. Conservatives are jumping off the bandwagon faster than liberals and Bush's approval ratings continue to plummet. Retired General William Odom summarized the Iraq adventure best when he said, 'It is the greatest strategic disaster in US history.' Bush's photo-op in Baghdad only proves the wisdom of Odom's judgment. What looked like a triumphant visit by the Commander-in-Chief to the heart of a war zone, was actually a desperate attempt to garner support for a failed mission." (06/19/06) http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney06192006.html ----- 47) Win one for the Gipper (Ayatollah Khameini) Independent Institute by Ivan Eland "Although on the surface, things have been going well lately for President Bush on Iraq -- the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the installing at long last of a permanent government in Iraq, and a vote of support in the U.S. House of Representatives for the President's Iraq policy -- it is easy to forget that even if the United States wins the war in Iraq, it loses. Even if the Bush administration eventually creates, in the words of the House resolution, a 'sovereign, free, secure and united Iraq,' the big winner there will be Iran." (06/19/06) http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1752 ----- 48) Custodians of chaos Information Clearinghouse by Kurt Vonnegut "For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that's Moses, not Jesus. I haven't heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere. 'Blessed are the merciful' in a courtroom? 'Blessed are the peacemakers' in the Pentagon? Give me a break!" (06/17/06) http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13659.htm ----- 49) Permanent war Mother Jones by Robert Dreyfuss "Not surprisingly, many politicians and generals and most progressives have adopted a worst-case outlook. With bad news mounting, they argue that the American project in Iraq is lost. In truth, I've made the same argument, at various points over the past three years. ... Let me now admit to having second thoughts on this matter. I no longer am convinced that the U.S. adventure in Iraq is lost. There is no guarantee that the Bush administration cannot succeed in its goals there. The only certain thing is that success -- what the president calls 'victory in Iraq' -- will come at the expense of thousands more American deaths, tens of thousands more Iraqi deaths, and hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars. Indeed, this war would have to be sustained not only by this administration, but by the next one and probably the one after that as well." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/govec ----- 50) America loves Nazis Sploid by staff "Outrageous new evidence points to CIA-Nazi collaboration that far exceeded previously known post-World War II efforts to take Hitler's 'best and brightest' under the wing of America's intelligence agencies and aerospace industry. The Federation of American Scientists -- a government-watchdog group founded by the nuclear pioneers who created the atomic bomb for the United States -- released pages of damning documents on June 6. ... At nearly every level of defense, intelligence and technological power in the United States, avowed Nazis took prime positions and big salaries in exchange for their technical know-how, gruesome genocide techniques and anti-Soviet theology." (06/16/06) http://www.sploid.com/news/2006/06/washington_love.php ----- 51) How we can get there from here Strike the Root by Jim Davies "So the main task to be completed in my opinion is to so educate every member of society one by one as to convince him that a zero government society is the only kind consistent with his human nature and the only one that will maximize his pleasure in life; and that must be done by reason. So the two obstacles to surmount are the vast numbers involved, and the ugly fact that most people have been so well indoctrinated that they are barely open to reason; they live rather by myth, prejudice and superstition." (06/18/06) http://www.strike-the-root.com/61/davies/davies8.html ----- 52) Is Ken Lay really a criminal? Ludwig von Mises Institute by William Anderson "Ultimately, at the heart of the story, for everything else one might hear, Lay and Skilling went down because Enron went down. Their crime was being in charge when the company was in the process of tanking. Contrary to Lay's assertions during his testimony, Enron was not done in by the short sellers; rather, the short sellers exposed Enron's house of cards. Because of the size of the business failure, and because of the earlier California electricity fiasco in which politicians wrongly blamed traders and producers for problems caused by the state's government, Enron's top people had no political capital, and they were easy targets." (06/19/06) http://www.mises.org/story/2210 ----- 53) Does net neutrality help consumers? FreedomWorks by Wayne T. Brough "Google and other high-tech giants are pressing Congress for greater federal control over the Internet in the name of 'net neutrality,' a vague concept purportedly required to keep the Internet open for consumers, content and applications. Yet looking at what net neutrality means in practice, this renowned leader in innovation is, in essence, calling for a 'freeze' in technology. While protecting its own freedom, Google would forbid broadband providers from developing new technologies and services to bring consumers more valued and interesting content." (06/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/lwacm ----- 54) Get ready for November's Democrat landslide Center For Individual Freedom by staff "Get ready for Democrats to retake the House and Senate come November. You know you should because the mainstream media has been telling you to for weeks now. You see the signs everywhere, for yourself. Fancy Nancy Pelosi has dropped her 'culture of corruption' campaign. The numbers weren't looking so promising on that. At least she now knows she should have polled her House caucus members on how many expect to be indicted before she began it. Don't be so picky. She's moving in a 'new direction.' Someone will soon tell her which." (06/16/06) http://tinyurl.com/obyzb ----- 55) Scary food Competitive Enterprise Institute by Gregory Conko and Henry I. Miller "Like a scene from some Hollywood thriller, a team of U.S. Marshals stormed a warehouse in Irvington, New Jersey, last summer to intercept a shipment of evildoers from Pakistan. The reason you probably haven't heard about the raid is that the objective was not to seize Al Qaeda operatives or white slavers, but $80,000 worth of basmati rice contaminated with weevils, beetles, and insect larvae, making it unfit for human consumption. In regulation-speak, the food was 'adulterated,' because 'it consists in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance, or if it is otherwise unfit for food.'" (06/19/06) http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,05386.cfm ----- 56) Protecting life or regulating sex? America's Future Foundation by David White "Despite the culture-war rhetoric on both the left and the right, there's mostly agreement in the abortion debate. The American Enterprise Institute's Karlyn Bowman has spent decades analyzing public opinion on this topic, and in her most recent dispatch she wrote, 'Most Americans do not want to repeal Roe v. Wade. At the same time, however, they are willing to put significant restrictions on abortion. Majorities of Americans favor notification of spouses, parental consent, and 24-hour waiting periods. They support first-term abortions, but oppose second and third trimester ones.' Even libertarians argue about it. It's an issue that, for most Americans, is colored in shades of gray." (06/19/06) http://www.affbrainwash.com/archives/021162.php Movement News & Events 57) 2006 Porcupine Freedom Festival Free State Project 06/23/06-07/01/06 "Held every summer in New Hampshire, the festival brings together small government activists of all types for a week of socializing, strategizing, and getting to know the Free State." Roger's Campground, Lancaster, NH. http://freestateproject.org/festival ----- 58) Seminar: Liberty, Economy & Society Independent Institute 06/26-30/06 and 08/7-11/06 "To help high school and college-age students better understand the social and economic issues faced throughout life, The Independent Institute sponsors the Liberty, Economy & Society Summer Seminars as a major part of the Institute's overall program for students. These dynamic seminars help students learn what economics is, how it affects their lives, and how understanding its laws can help them achieve the things they care about." Independent Institute, 100 Swan Way, Oakland, CA. Enrollment fee $195 per student, including course materials. Tuition assistance available. http://www.independent.org/students/seminars/ ----- 59) 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/ ----- 60) 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 ----- 61) Reason in Amsterdam 2006 Reason Foundation 08/23/06-08/26/06 "Amidst the beauty of Amsterdam's canals, flower markets and colorful people, attendees of Reason in Amsterdam, 2006 will enjoy a unique opportunity to learn about the contemporary struggle in Europe from prominent European and American intellectuals." An astounding roster of guests and speakers, including Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of the hit series "South Park," Time Magazine's Andrew Sullivan, Reason editors Nick Gillespie and Jacob Sullum, and a host of distinguished authors, activists and political leaders. August 23-26 at the Grand Amsterdam Hotel. $425. Online registration available. http://www.reason.org/amsterdam/ Today in Political History 62) Dealing with Wheeling 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 --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups gets better. Check out the new email design. Plus theres much more to come. --------------------------------- How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messengers low PC-to-Phone call rates. 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