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 #924 Thursday, June 22nd, 2006 Email Circulation 2,009 ------ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS -------------------------------------- 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/ 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/ FREE STATE PROJECT Come to the 3rd annual FSP Porcupine Freedom Festival, the largest libertarian event of the year! June 23-July 1, 2006 Roger's Campground, Lancaster, NH http://freestateproject.org/festival 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/ 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: Five US soldiers killed in attacks 2) Afghanistan: Four US soldiers killed 3) Marines, sailor charged in Iraqi's death 4) US rejects Pyongyang's bid for missile talks 5) Judge seeks more evidence in Padilla case 6) NV: Newspaper endorses pot initiative 7) Hacker breaks into USDA computer system 8) Europe backs Bush on growing nuke crises 9) House delays vote on Voting Rights Act renewal 10) FL: Sex, drug arrest triggers deadly prison gunfight 11) Australia: Mint worker jailed for filling his boots 12) MA: Romney showboats for Know-Nothings 13) Troops echo Murtha's frustration 14) Schwarzenegger gets "pink bruise" 15) US holds military exercises off Guam 16) TN: Smoking ban's lasting effects on Legislative Plaza 17) MySpace tightens security for underage members 18) African nations battle "pirate" fishers 19) MA: Legislative war on Fluffernutter escalates 20) TX: Man posing as utility worker fatally shot Today's Commentary: 21) Buffalo's stampede against privacy 22) Party favor 23) War apologists still unapologetic 24) Malignant dream-killers 25) Americans should be "anti-American" 26) Clanarchy in Somalia 27) How to go green 28) Clear cut, rock solid -- and wrong 29) Surrealpolitik 30) Baby Shiloh: Chosen by God to end global warming 31) Can freedom and opium coexist? 32) Christian compassion vs. Christian warmongering 33) Put a line through it 34) Air conditioning: Our cross to bear 35) Among the Syrians 36) White-collar crime: End the draft 37) Cap'n Killmore's Whale Shack 38) Shameful straddling on Iraq 39) Behold, all my dirty secrets 40) Midway through the year of silence 41) Stop extorting parents 42) For Dan Rather ditching, shame on CBS 43) Iraq legacy affects not only Bush, but Dems, too 44) Misreading a sign of the times 45) Self-control not gun control 46) How to make your wife hate guns 47) UN wants global ban on guns 48) Iran: US opts for regime change, not force 49) American lives, Iraqi props 50) Their barbarism, and ours 51) Wall Street rules 52) Embassy work is a death sentence 53) Teaching basic economics to fifth graders 54) Fireworks over fireworks 55) "Big Tofu" and you 56) The limits of policy 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) Barbarossa 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: Five US soldiers killed in attacks Reuters "Four U.S. soldiers were killed on Tuesday in two separate attacks in Iraq's western Anbar province, the U.S. military said. ... Gunmen killed an Iraqi soldier in his home in Dhuluiya .... A U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb south of Baghdad on Wednesday .... Gunmen killed a carpenter on Wednesday in Hawija ..." (06/22/06) http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L22529352.htm ----- 2) Afghanistan: Four US soldiers killed CNN "Four U.S. soldiers have been killed and another wounded during a battle with militants inside Afghanistan near the Pakistan border, the U.S. military said. The battle -- part of the ongoing 'Operation Mountain Lion' -- happened in the northern part of Nuristan Province Wednesday along the mountainous border area where suspected Taliban and al Qaeda remnants are suspected of taking refuge." (06/22/06) http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/06/22/afghanistan.attacks/ ----- 3) Marines, sailor charged in Iraqi's death Lufkin Daily News "Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman were charged Wednesday with premeditated murder in the shooting death of an Iraqi man who was pulled from his home and shot while U.S. troops hunted for insurgents. They could face the death penalty if convicted. All eight also were charged with kidnapping. Other charges include conspiracy, larceny and providing false official statements." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/g5nt8 ----- 4) US rejects Pyongyang's bid for missile talks Fargo Forum "North Korea called Wednesday for direct talks with the United States over a potential missile test, but the Bush administration rejected the overture, saying threats aren't the way to seek dialogue. 'You don't normally engage in conversations by threatening to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles,' U.N. Ambassador John Bolton said. 'It's not a way to produce a conversation because if you acquiesce in aberrant behavior you simply encourage the repetition of it, which we're obviously not going to do.'" (06/22/06) http://tinyurl.com/gqj6e ----- 5) Judge seeks more evidence in Padilla case Yahoo! News "A federal judge ordered prosecutors to turn over more evidence to back up allegations that Jose Padilla and two co-defendants conspired to kill, injure or kidnap people overseas as part of a global Islamic terrorist network. U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke said Tuesday she agreed with claims made by defense attorneys that the indictment against Padilla and the others is 'very light on facts' that would link the defendants to specific acts of terrorism or victims." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/s6oe9 ----- 6) NV: Newspaper endorses pot initiative First Coast News "A newspaper in rural northern Nevada has given a surprising endorsement to a ballot measure to decriminalize adult possession of limited amounts of marijuana through regulation and taxation. 'In a state where prostitution is legal in certain counties, bars are not required to close and children can legally possess and use tobacco, objections to marijuana legalization on a moral basis seem hypocritical,' the Lahontan Valley News and Fallon Eagle Standard said in a Tuesday editorial. ... State Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, said he was surprised by newspaper's support for the Nov. 7 ballot question. 'It surprised me that a rural newspaper would do that,' he said, noting northern Nevada's typical conservative political leanings. But Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, said rural Nevada often shows its independent backbone. ... 'Rural Nevada, while often thought to be conservative, is often more libertarian.'" (06/22/06) http://tinyurl.com/gql8a ----- 7) Hacker breaks into USDA computer system MSNBC "A hacker broke into the Agriculture Department's computer system and may have obtained names, Social Security numbers and photos of 26,000 Washington-area employees and contractors, the department said Wednesday. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said the department will provide free credit monitoring for one year to anyone who might have been affected. The break-in happened during the first weekend in June, the department said. Technology staff learned of the breach on June 5 and told Johanns the following day but believed personal information was protected by security software, the department said." (06/21/06) http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13470744/ ----- 8) Europe backs Bush on growing nuke crises Twin Falls Times-News "President Bush won solid European support Wednesday for his handling of escalating nuclear crises with North Korea and Iran but was challenged over the Iraq war, the U.S. prison camp in Cuba and rising anti-American sentiment. 'That's absurd,' Bush snapped at a news conference in response to an assertion that the United States was regarded as the biggest threat to global security. 'We'll defend ourselves, but at the same time we're actively working with our partners to spread peace and democracy.'" (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/z3z64 ----- 9) House delays vote on Voting Rights Act renewal CNN "House Republican leaders on Wednesday postponed a vote on renewing the 1965 Voting Rights Act after GOP lawmakers complained it unfairly singles out nine Southern states for federal oversight. 'We have time to address their concerns,' Republican leaders said in a joint statement. 'Therefore, the House Republican Leadership will offer members the time needed to evaluate the legislation.' It was unclear whether the legislation would come up this year." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/j2fb2 ----- 10) FL: Sex, drug arrest triggers deadly prison gunfight CNN "A deadly gunbattle broke out at a federal prison Wednesday when a corrections officer opened fire as federal agents tried to arrest him and other guards on charges they traded drugs for sex, officials in Tallahassee, Florida, said. A federal agent and the gunman were killed in the ensuing shootout, and a Bureau of Prisons official was wounded. A grand jury on Tuesday indicted six guards at Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee on charges including exchanging contraband and money for sex with female inmates, and attempting to keep inmates silent through bribes and intimidation." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/mhylk ----- 11) Australia: Mint worker jailed for filling his boots Independent [UK] "An occasional lapse in security is to be expected from time to time in any business. But when that business is a national mint, one would expect security to be tight enough to stop workers walking out the door with boots full of cash. Yet in Australia that is exactly what has happened.A court in Canberra yesterday sentenced an employee of the country's national mint to three years in prison for smuggling thousands of two-dollar coins home by storing them in his boots and lunch box." (06/22/06) http://news.independent.co.uk/world/australasia/article1094697.ece ----- 12) MA: Romney showboats for Know-Nothings Boston Globe "Governor Mitt Romney is seeking an agreement with federal authorities that would allow Massachusetts state troopers to arrest undocumented immigrants for being in the country illegally. Currently, State Police have no authority to arrest people on the basis of their immigration status alone, said Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom. If they arrest immigrants for violations of state law, troopers can call a centralized US Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Vermont to check on their status, and can detain immigrants if federal officials request it. Under the agreement Romney is seeking, troopers would have greatly expanded powers: They could check an immigrant's legal status during routine patrols such as during a traffic stop and decide whether the immigrant should be held." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/el842 ----- 13) Troops echo Murtha's frustration San Jose Mercury News "While Staff Sgt. Randy Myers was dodging roadside bombs in Iraq, his congressman was calling the war a lost cause. Sixteen-term Rep. John Murtha, a decorated Vietnam veteran and military hawk, has become the face of the Democrats' anti-war movement since he called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops last fall. His oft-repeated criticism of the Bush administration's war policies also has earned him the wrath of Republicans. In Murtha's southwest Pennsylvania district, however, many share the war critic's views. At a welcome home ceremony this week for Myers and other troops from the Johnstown, Pa.-based 876th Engineer Battalion, the crowd cheered when a Murtha aide welcomed the troops on the congressman's behalf. Myers said he backs Murtha, an opinion echoed by a number of other troops and their families. Several share his frustration with the conflict." (06/21/06) http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/14867281.htm ----- 14) Schwarzenegger gets "pink bruise" San Francisco Chronicle "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is preparing to embrace gay Republicans at a fundraiser in Southern California next week -- but back in San Francisco, a brick is headed his way over his veto of last year's same-sex marriage bill. Schwarzenegger is this year's recipient of the 'Pink Brick' award, a raspberry handed out annually by organizers of the San Francisco gay pride parade. The governor received nearly a third of the 3,043 mail-in ballots cast in advance of this Sunday's parade. That was well ahead of the second-place Concerned Women for America, a Christian-based group that campaigns against same-sex marriage." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/gcro2 ----- 15) US holds military exercises off Guam Arizona Republic "As tensions with North Korea rise, three U.S. aircraft carriers filled the skies with fighters Tuesday for one of the largest U.S. military exercises in decades off this small island in the Pacific. For the first time ever, a Chinese delegation was invited to observe the U.S. war games. As the show of American military power began, North Korea, one of the region's most unpredictable countries, was rattling swords of its own. The maneuvers, dubbed Valiant Shield, bring three carriers together in the Pacific for the first time since the Vietnam War. About 30 ships, 280 aircraft and 22,000 troops will be participating in the five-day war games. The exercises are intended to boost the ability of the Navy, Air Force and Marines to work together and respond quickly to potential contingencies in this part of the world, U.S. military officials said. U.S. Coast Guard vessels also were participating." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/edpys ----- 16) TN: Smoking ban's lasting effects on Legislative Plaza Nashville City Paper "One week after a ban on smoking in Legislative Plaza went into effect, the before and after picture -- as well as the previously smoky air -- have already become clearer. As time has passed, smoking bans in most office buildings have become commonplace, with society becoming more averse to tobacco and its secondhand effects. But in Legislative Plaza, time had stood relatively still. Journalists could still puff away in the lower-level press suite, typing their stories while dragging on Marlboro Reds. State employees routinely went either alone or in small groups to uncarpeted areas -- where smoking was allowed in the Plaza -- and toked on their brand of choice socially. And during the legislative session, many lobbyists and some lawmakers did the same." (06/21/06) http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?news_id=50550 ----- 17) MySpace tightens security for underage members Fox News "MySpace.com, the top online teen hangout, said on Tuesday it will bolster protection for minors amid a flurry of complaints about sexual predators prowling the site and a lawsuit filed on Monday by a teenage girl charging it with negligent security practices. By next week, members over 18 years old would have to know the e-mail or first and last name of any 14- to 15-year-old member whom they want to contact, the company said. Any of MySpace's more than 85 million members would also be able to choose to hide their online profiles from strangers and only make them viewable to pre-approved friends, the company said. 'We're going to build a foundation of safety and security so that social networking is a safe place and a well-lit community,' Hemanshu Nigam, chief security officer of News Corp. (NWS) unit Fox Interactive Media, said." (06/21/06) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200360,00.html ----- 18) African nations battle "pirate" fishers Christian Science Monitor "Night falls suddenly in the Ships' Graveyard, a haven for pirate fishing boats about 90 miles off the coast of Sierra Leone. But a light could be seen coming from the Long Way 007, a rusting Chinese trawler with holes in its body so big that an adult could crawl through. Onboard were Xun Wen Guo and Zhen Tao, the last of a crew in late May that once numbered 14 men. They'd been adrift for more than a week on a ship with no radio, no engines, and little food. Their employers, a firm based in nearby Guinea that could not be contacted for comment, told them to keep the ship afloat long enough for it to be towed into port to be sold for scrap." (06/21/06) http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0621/p04s01-woaf.html ----- 19) MA: Legislative war on Fluffernutter escalates Boston Globe "A Fluffernutter war has begun in the Massachusetts Legislature. Countering a state senator's attempt to limit servings of Marshmallow Fluff in schools, a state representative said yesterday she would file her own bill to make the Fluffernutter the state's official sandwich. A Fluffernutter is a peanut butter and Fluff sandwich. State Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein said Senator Jarrett T. Barrios has taken a ridiculous tack by going after the popular gooey snack. Marshmallow Fluff was invented by a Massachusetts man and is still produced in Lynn, part of Reinstein's district. Barrios, outraged that his son was served a Fluffernutter for lunch at his Cambridge elementary school, proposed an amendment to a junk food bill, calling for limiting the serving of Fluff to once a week in schools statewide. 'I'm protective of Fluff; I grew up on it,' said Reinstein, a Democrat. 'But it's insane that we're having this conversation.'" [editor's note: This is silly, but no moreso than the bogus "we will end murder" debate in Congress - SAT] (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/m8n4o ----- 20) TX: Man posing as utility worker fatally shot Houston Chronicle "A man pretending to be a utility worker was fatally shot overnight during an apparent home invasion robbery attempt in northwest Harris County, authorities said. The suspect, who has not been identified, was killed about 1 a.m. while struggling with the homeowner in the 3300 block of Breckenridge. He was wearing what appeared to be a CenterPoint Energy uniform when he knocked on the door, warning of a gas leak, officials said. 'The homeowner thought that something was amiss because apparently nobody in the area has gas,' Harris County Sheriff's Lt. John Martin said. The homeowner grabbed a pistol and went through the garage door, where he encountered the phony utility worker and least two other people. 'One of the suspects jumped him and there was a brief struggle,' Martin said. The homeowner was shot once in the arm but was able to return fire, fatally striking the man in the uniform." (06/21/06) http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3989147.html ----- RRND MEDIASHELF -------------------------------------------- Books, CDs and other tchotchkes from today's edition: An Inconvenient Truth, movie showtimes http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JP4U/rationalrev08-20 101 Things To Do 'Til The Revolution, by Claire Wolfe http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/189362613X/rationalrev08-20 Note: Affiliate links generate commissions for RRND's editors. -------------------------------------------- RRND MEDIASHELF ---- Commentary 21) Buffalo's stampede against privacy Reason by Radley Balko "'We're going to have to be mobile, agile and slightly hostile in trying to get the job of policing done in the City of Buffalo,' Buffalo Police Chief H. McCarthy Gipson announced when he was appointed to his position in February 2006. In April, Buffalo police made good on the boss's promise. The city conducted a massive anti-drug sweep from April 18 to April 20, dubbed 'Operation Shock and Awe.' Scores of police officers dressed in battle gear conducted 38 no-knock SWAT raids over the course of three days. They deployed diversionary grenades, broke down doors with battering rams, stormed residences with guns ablaze, and arrested 78 people." (06/21/06) http://www.reason.com/hod/rb062106.shtml ----- 22) Party favor [EMAIL PROTECTED] by Thomas L. Knapp "A number of Libertarians have expressed interest in moving a resolution for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice-President Cheney at the Libertarian Party's upcoming national convention in Portland, Oregon. Of course, in order for a resolution to be moved, it first must be written. Here's my initial proposal (which has not, as of this writing, been adopted for promotion by any group) ..." (06/21/06) http://knappster.blogspot.com/2006/06/party-favor.html ----- 23) War apologists still unapologetic Free Market News Network by Ilana Mercer "In a letter to in response to Tibor Machan's 'Iraqi War Blues,' Lawrence Auster writes rather impatiently: 'For the ten thousandth time, the whole world, including those opposing the war, believed Iraq had WMDs, and there was ample reason for that belief.' This is absolutely false. As someone who was on top of every fallacy promoted by this administration from the onset (as of September 19, 2002, to be precise), and who has been proven right on each and every point, I refuse to countenance this Sean-Hannity inanity. It seems that those who were 100% wrong on the war want to, somehow, retain their credibility and pretend that those of us who got it 100% right, did so by coincidence. Not if I can help it." http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/56/5406/2006-06-21.asp?nid=5406&wid=56 ----- 24) Malignant dream-killers No Force, No Fraud by Bob Smith "My most frequent feelings from watching inane government machinations is disgust or anger. A conversation this week with members of a Twin Cities Hmong family is a prime example. You may recall media stories about the Hmong-American Shopping Mall in Brooklyn Center, and about the plans of owner Chafong Lee to transform it into a 'Little Asia,' with townhomes, retail space and an open-air celebration area. Not only did Brooklyn Center refuse, it TOOK his property in April 2005, using eminent domain, paying Mr. Lee what he had paid for the property years earlier. And the city now plans to let another developer build a similar project on Lee's former property." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/rgt9w ----- 25) Americans should be "anti-American" Future of Freedom Foundation by Sheldon Richman "'The Iraq war has also made anti-Americanism respectable again, as it was during the Cold War but had not been since the demise of the Soviet Union.' Those words come from Robert Kagan of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, writing in the June 18 issue of the Washington Post. In his article he was at pains to show that anti-Americanism did not begin with President George W. Bush and will not end with him. 'Some folks seem to believe that by returning to the policies of Harry Truman, Dean Acheson and John F. Kennedy, America will become popular around the world. I like those policies, too, but let's not kid ourselves,' Kagan writes." (06/21/06) http://www.fff.org/comment/com0606i.asp ----- 26) Clanarchy in Somalia TechCentralStation by Austin Bay "Though US-supported 'secular warlords' in the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism militia have fled Mogadishu, the fundamentalist Islamic Courts Union (ICU) doesn't control hearts, minds or, for that matter, all of Mogadishu. Clan militias still operate in parts of the shattered city. The disintegration of the Alliance may be a temporary phenomenon. Defeated Somali militias have a tendency to regroup in the countryside. Clans dominate Somali life and politics, which means even in the best of times Somalia is a country constantly grappling with divisive factional and regional interests." (06/22/06) http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=062206F ----- 27) How to go green Rebirth of Reason by Tibor R. Machan "In relatively free societies if pollution gets severe enough, one need not wait for some remotely initiated central government to begin to defend against the impact of it. The fact that pollution moves from one individual's -- or, more likely, company's -- region into another's makes it possible in a substantially private property based economy to contain it by private and local legal action. The government need not be involved much. And since moving a central government's policies is akin to turning around an aircraft carrier -- meaning it can take a very long time -- problems such as air pollution must await decades to be addressed. This was evident throughout the rule of Soviet style socialism and is still very much with us in such places as Cuba, North Korea and China. But the dirty secret is that the governmental habit is still the norm among all those who champion 'green.'" (06/21/06) http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/Machan/How_to_Go_Green.shtml ----- 28) Clear cut, rock solid -- and wrong Classically Liberal by "CLS" "Imagine this: a young woman is working at a Pizza Hut. She is attacked, raped and shot to death. Two young men are arrested. One of them confesses. Yes, he was there. Yes, he helped do this. Yes, his friend was guilty. And so the jury thought. And this is Texas which loves to use judicial killing as a punishment. ... The man who confessed was Christopher Ochoa and he testified that he and his friend, Richard Danziger, killed Nancy DePriest. Luckily for him and Danziger they got life sentences instead of the death penalty. Had they received the more severe, but very common, death sentence there is a good chance that they would have been executed by now. 'So what?' say the advocates of judicial executions. 'Scum like them deserve to die.' Scum like them? Well, Ochoa confessed but he lied. He lied because he was terrified to deny the crime. Police had told him that unless he confessed he would get the death penalty and he would be executed." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/rr4qt ----- 29) Surrealpolitik Salon by Sidney Blumenthal "Rove defined the theme for the upcoming contest, the last one of the Bush presidency, as the same one he had set after Sept. 11, 2001, when he ordered Republicans to polarize the country on the issue of terrorism and war. Democrats were weak and soft, he said; Republicans, strong and tough. Now, with Bush's popularity at low ebb, Rove instructed the party to taint the Democrats as favoring 'cutting and running' in Iraq. The following week, on cue, the Republicans introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives against any 'timetable' for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Overnight the divided and dispirited Republicans turned the tables on the Democrats. Even as the Democrats issued a program calling for a 'new direction,' their own version of the 1994 Republican Contract With America, which carefully did not mention Iraq, they scattered in different directions upon mention of the war. Instilling discipline in their ranks would be a forbidding task even for a pack leader like Cesar Millan, the 'dog whisperer.' It was just as Rove had reckoned." [subscription or ad view required] (06/22/06) http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2006/06/22/iraq_debate/ ----- 30) Baby Shiloh: Chosen by God to end global warming The Free Liberal by Jonathan David Morris "I want to be more than the bearer of bad news here. I think An Inconvenient Truth is a convenient starting point for changing hearts and minds on the global warming issue. But in order to truly make a difference, I believe it needs some sort of marketing tie-in. People need to know this problem hits close to home. And they need to know it transcends mere politics. They need a reason to cross partisan boundaries -- a reason to unite on the steps of Capitol Hill and hold hands and sing the Pledge of Allegiance and/or We Shall Overcome. Only one thing can compel people to act this way. And that one thing is Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's baby, Shiloh. In order to stop global warming, Al Gore has to threaten to kill that baby." (06/21/06) http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002126.html ----- 31) Can freedom and opium coexist? Slate by Fred Kaplan "A military aide at NATO's headquarters in Afghanistan told me a story that explains how hard it will be to win the war here: An Afghan farmer stops growing poppies and shifts to wheat. But the Soviets destroyed the irrigation system 30 years ago, so he can't grow much. There are no good roads, so he can't deliver what he has grown to market. There's no money for silos, so he can't store the crop for another season. His drug dealer pays a visit, says he doesn't want wheat, and tells the farmer to pay him $3,000 -- the sum he would have made by selling opium from the poppies -- or he'll kidnap the farmer's daughter. The farmer goes to the chief of police, who reminds him that the drug dealer is the regional governor's brother-in-law, and asks him, 'Where's the $500 you owe me for protecting your property this year?' It's the story, the aide said, of hundreds of farmers all over Afghanistan, and it's a story that is corrupting everything about Afghan life." (06/21/06) http://www.slate.com/id/2144190/ ----- 32) Christian compassion vs. Christian warmongering LewRockwell.Com by Michael Tennant "How do you react when you see images of the suffering caused by war? Perhaps more to the point, how do you react when those images depict the suffering of non-Americans, especially Muslims, in a war being prosecuted by the United States government? Do you react with anger that the evil, left-wing, anti-American media just has to show this stuff because they're out to get 'our president?' Do you shrug your shoulders and say, 'Oh, well, that's just the way war is?' Or do you, as the late father of Dr. Teresa Whitehurst did, feel compassion and grief for the suffering, recognizing that aggressive war is a 'bad idea?' Dr. Whitehurst has written a moving and thoughtful Father's Day tribute to her dad, whom she describes as 'a Christian' and an 'old-fashioned fiscal Republican,' explaining why he turned against the Iraq war after having voted for both George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush. The short of it is that her dad, when confronted with the images of grieving fathers in Afghanistan and Iraq, felt compassion for those fathers and came to recognize that the policies of his own government -- indeed, of the very man for whom he had pulled the lever on Election Day -- were the direct and undeniable cause of this suffering." (06/22/06) http://www.lewrockwell.com/tennant/tennant12.html ----- 33) Put a line through it National Review by Kathryn Jean Lopez Interview with US Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) Paul Ryan: "The line-item veto is one part of a larger drive to improve fiscal discipline, and it will help bring greater transparency, accountability, and common-sense restraint to the federal budget process. The system that Congress uses today to spend taxpayer dollars is the legacy of the 1974 Congressional Budget Act, and it's institutionally biased toward spending rather than saving. One case in point: If a member of Congress passes an amendment that removes wasteful spending from an appropriations bill, that savings is not locked in -- it is automatically funneled to other government spending." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/hrszn ----- 34) Air conditioning: Our cross to bear AlterNet by Stan Cox "When it's hot and humid out and the air conditioner's not running, America suffers. Babies break out in rashes, couples bicker, computers go haywire. In much of the nation, an August power outage is viewed not as an inconvenience but as a public health emergency. In the 50 years since air-conditioning hit the mass market, America has become so well-addicted that our dependence goes almost entirely unremarked. ... We're as committed to air-conditioning as we are to cars and computer chips. And a device lucky enough to become indispensable can demand and get whatever it needs to keep running. For the air-conditioner, that's a lot." (06/22/06) http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/37882/ ----- 35) Among the Syrians Independent Institute by Alvaro Varga Llosa "A new openness in Syrian society seems to have resulted in a backlash from many Syrians who are turning to fundamental Islam. The fact that President Bashar al-Assad has allowed that openness in areas such as telecommunications is strengthening Islamists because the modernization of some young Syrians now glued to satellite TV and the Internet is making traditional segments of society nervous." (06/21/06) http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1755 ----- 36) White-collar crime: End the draft Cato Institute by John Hasnas "What would you say about a federal policy that not only discouraged corporations from meeting their ethical obligations, but prevented them from adopting the most effective measures for reducing violations of law by their employees? This is precisely the policy the government is pursuing in its war against white-collar crime. This situation arises from the government's decision to prosecute this war by means of a draft. In this case, it is corporations that are drafted rather than individuals. But as Vietnam should have taught us, drafts can have perverse consequences. The draft arises from the aspects of federal law and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) policy that conscript corporations into becoming deputy law enforcement agents." (06/22/06) http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6439 ----- 37) Cap'n Killmore's Whale Shack Mother Jones by Mark Fiore Cartoon. [Flash format] (06/21/06) http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/fiore/2006/06/shack.html ----- 38) Shameful straddling on Iraq Tom Paine by Robert Scheer "How do you triangulate among death, hypocrisy and stupidity? Not at all logically, which is why Hillary Clinton's dissembling on Iraq has become a fatal embarrassment not only for her, but for anyone who hopes she can provide progressive leadership for the nation. If she has still not found the courage to reverse course on this disastrous war, why assume that as president she would behave any differently? It is unconscionable that those who can accurately measure the true cost of the Iraq folly in wasted lives and resources -- more than 2,500 Americans, tens of thousands of Iraqis and hundreds of billions of dollars -- dare prefer her to potential 2008 presidential election rivals John Kerry, Al Gore, Russ Feingold and John Edwards, who have all come to speak honestly of this quagmire and our need to extricate ourselves from it." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/rl5sw ----- 39) Behold, all my dirty secrets San Francisco Chronicle by Mark Morford "I confess. There is, right this minute, quite a lot of very hot pornography on the PowerBook computer upon which I am typing this column. I know, shocking. There are very naughty MPEG movie clips and still shots, DVD rips and a rather debauched link history buried somewhere in my Safari Web browser amidst the New York Times and the politics and the music and the blogs, links that would almost certainly reveal certain predilections and fantasies and fetishes and preferred, um, angles of view. The websites you visit, your chat conversations, and all of your Internet and other PC files ... could get you into a heap of trouble. (From a piece of alarmist e-mail spam ... hawking disk-erasing software called Evidence Nuker) I also have a towering pile of downloaded MP3 files, [though] ... I certainly would never download such material illegally, but much of it would nevertheless make the RIAA scream and pule and wish it were 1992, a.k.a. the salad days of gleefully ripping off consumers for $16 CDs that cost 89 cents to produce." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/jqtta ----- 40) Midway through the year of silence Wolfesblog by Claire Wolfe "This is new territory for me, although when I look back on the path I embarked upon with 101 Things To Do 'Til the Revolution it now seems inevitable that if I kept going I'd end up here. Inevitability: so clear in hindsight. This is new territory for me, even though others have explored it through thousands of years. This trip takes place on two levels, distinct but inseparable. One is what I experience and learn. The other is what those experiences and learnings reveal about the Big Questions of freedom, creativity, spirituality, presence, and the quest (whatever the quest may be)." (06/21/06) http://www.clairewolfe.com/wolfesblog/00002083.html ----- 41) Stop extorting parents Tennessean by Kelli Turner "Many parents welcome expanded basic cable into their homes because of the wide variety of family-friendly programming that is available: Networks such as the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and others offer programming that is generally more suited to family viewing. However, to access the educational and family-friendly networks, families are also forced to pay for channels they don't want, and that actually make their jobs as parents more difficult. ... Most people probably would say you shouldn't have to pay for a product you don't want in order to get something you do want. For example, what if you were required to purchase a subscription to Playboy in order to get Better Homes and Gardens magazine? In effect, that's what the cable industry has been forcing cable subscribers to do for years, and the practice amounts to nothing short of licensed extortion of American families." [editor's note: This "one size fits all" socialist programming model affects everybody, not just parents of young children. And don't get me started about the billing practices of these allegedly "private" entities - SAT] [additional editor's note: The government-conferred monopolies are certainly a devil in detail, but satellite TV has obviated the "I was forced to buy whatever X offered" argument, and the fact that TV is an OPTION in the first place has been true from the beginning; this is a tempest in an exceedingly small teapot - TLK] (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/f9ftd ----- 42) For Dan Rather ditching, shame on CBS Fox News by Susan Estrich "Shame on CBS for treating Dan Rather so badly. In a business that depends on loyalty, they've shown none. And what goes around may come around, if viewers are indeed watching. CBS has every right to replace Dan Rather in the anchor chair. That's their business, and it is a business. If they think Katie Couric can rate better, so be it. If they think an entirely new team will repair their relationship with the White House, so be it. But when people serve you loyally, you don't trash them, step all over them, treat them like dirt, then kick them out the door -- and expect your customers, consumers, your audience to look the other way, and keep watching. ... What is happening to Dan, unfortunately, is not so different from what happens to lots of people his age- - the difference being that for Dan, it is happening on a much more visible scale." (06/21/06) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200345,00.html ----- 43) Iraq legacy affects not only Bush, but Dems, too Christian Science Monitor by John Hughes "My column last week suggested that the Bush presidency was at the tipping point, largely because of Iraq, the issue that will define it. In the days since then the scales have tilted a smidgen in the president's favor. There was President Bush's stealth trip to Baghdad, closely held until he got there, to look into the eyes of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, to stiffen the backbone of the new Iraqi cabinet, and to publicly transfer the responsibility for whatever happens next in Iraq to the Iraqi leadership now in place. The Iraqis responded with a show of force intended to convince him that they will contain terrorism and restore law and order -- at least in Baghdad." (06/21/06) http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0621/p09s01-cojh.html ----- 44) Misreading a sign of the times Boston Globe by Jeff Jacoby "This is America. If you plan on responding to this column, make sure you do it in English. Wait a second -- am I allowed to say that? Six months ago, Joey Vento posted a sign saying more or less the same thing -- 'This is America. When ordering, speak English' -- at the takeout window of his popular South Philadelphia cheesesteak joint, Geno's Steaks. As a result he finds himself the target of legal action by the city's Commission on Human Relations, which issued a complaint last week accusing Geno's of discriminating against non-English speakers on the basis of national origin or ancestry. Under the city's Fair Practices Ordinance, the commission will investigate the complaint and could ultimately order Vento to take down his sign or face a fine for refusing. The sign attracted little notice until a story about it appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on May 30." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/mnscs ----- 45) Self-control not gun control Payson Roundup by staff "This is not an editorial about gun control. This is an editorial about self-control. On our front page today, we have two stories that involve handguns. One is the story of Harold Fish who fatally shot a man at a trailhead because he feared for his life. There is also the story of Payson teenager Susan Crim, who did not lose her life, but who lost her mobility from a bullet-caused spinal injury. And even one week ago on our front page we published a story about a mother who shot and killed her son during an argument. We look at these stories as a gathering mass and wonder what could have happened in each of those moments to change the course of events. We do not believe in gun regulation. Owning a gun is a constitutional right, but we believe these incidents show that people are increasingly forgetting the weight of responsibility that comes with gun ownership." (06/20/06) http://www.paysonroundup.com/section/opinion/story/23977 ----- 46) How to make your wife hate guns Cornered Cat by Kathy Jackson "An attractive young guy sidled up to me at the range the other day. He'd been watching me shoot for awhile, looking at me out of the corners of his eyes while I worked on my drawstroke ... Here it comes, I thought, and braced myself. ... 'How do I get my wife to like guns, too?' You know, if I knew the answer to that one, I could have my pick of any guy at the range. They'd flock around me in eager anticipation that I might let them in on the secret. But the fact is, I don't know that. What I do know is how a guy might go about making his woman hate guns. That secret, I can tell you." (06/21/06) http://corneredcat.com/ForMen/HateGuns.htm ----- 47) UN wants global ban on guns Navasota Examiner by Gina Parker "Acclaimed actor James Earl Jones summarized it best when he commented, 'The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns, we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise they will win and the decent people will lose.' Although that concept seems quite clear to most Americans, the United Nations has failed to grasp its obviousness and is quickly moving towards a global gun ban. ... As Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association stated, 'This fight is about more than firearms ownership. This is a fight for our national sovereignty, our individual freedoms and the future of our nation.'" (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/q7t9a ----- 48) Iran: US opts for regime change, not force Asia Times by Gareth Porter "In every statement on Iran, officials of the Bush administration routinely repeat the party line that 'the president never takes any option off the table.' Despite the constant invocation of a possible military attack on Iran, however, a little-noticed section of the administration's official national-security strategy indicates that President George W Bush has already decided that he will not use military force to try to prevent Iran from going nuclear. Instead, the administration has shifted its aim to pressing Iran to make internal political changes, based on the dubious theory that it would lead to a change in Iranian nuclear policy." (06/21/06) http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HF22Ak03.html ----- 49) American lives, Iraqi props Candide's Notebook by Pierre Tristam "It's one of those stories that took on a life of its own with outlandish, and ultimately offensive, disproportion. Two American soldiers go missing last Friday. The military in Iraq devotes the equivalent of 6 percent of American ground troops to the manhunt. The press in the United States devotes what looks like a fifth of every front page to trailing the story. ... So two Americans go missing. It's not that the U.S. press shouldn't react, or that the military shouldn't have done all it could to recover the missing men. That only speaks honorably of both: caring is not a bad thing, even when it's disproportionate. The question is, disproportionate at whose expense?" (06/20/06) http://www.pierretristam.com/Bobst/Archives/CN062006.htm ----- 50) Their barbarism, and ours Common Dreams by Norman Solomon "The Baghdad bureau chief of the New York Times could not have been any clearer. 'The story really takes us back into the 8th century, a truly barbaric world,' John Burns said. He was speaking Tuesday night on the PBS NewsHour With Jim Lehrer, describing what happened to two U.S. soldiers whose bodies had just been found. Evidently they were victims of atrocities, and no one should doubt in the slightest that the words of horror used by Burns to describe the 'barbaric murders' were totally appropriate.The problem is that Burns and his mass-media colleagues don't talk that way when the cruelties are inflicted by the U.S. military -- as if dropping bombs on civilians from thousands of feet in the air is a civilized way to terrorize and kill. ... We hear that of course the U.S. tries to avoid killing civilians -- as if that makes killing them okay. But the slaughter from the air and from other U.S. military actions is a certain result of the occupiers' war. (What would we say if, in our own community, the police force killed shoppers every day by spraying blocks of stores with machine-gun fire -- while explaining that the action was justifiable because no innocents were targeted and their deaths were an unfortunate necessity in the war on crime?)" (06/20/06) http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0621-33.htm ----- 51) Wall Street rules Truthout by Dean Baker "The idea that the government, or some arm of government, is controlled by a special interest group naturally prompts outrage. The government should be answerable to the public as a whole, not special interests that have extraordinary political power. For this reason, it was striking to see a piece (Confusion From the Fed Head) in the Washington Post's Outlook section in which Richard Yamarone, an investment analyst, matter of factly asserted that Wall Street controls the Federal Reserve Board of Fed. As Mr. Yamarone put it, 'The Fed chairman may be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, but his real bosses are on Wall Street.' This statement is an incredible indictment of the U.S. political system." (06/21/06) http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062106O.shtml ----- 52) Embassy work is a death sentence CounterPunch by Patrick Cockburn "A leaked cable from the US embassy in Baghdad signed by the ambassador paints a grim picture of Iraq as a country disintegrating in which the real rulers are the militias, and the central government counts for nothing. The cable, signed by the US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and sent to the State Department in Washington on 6 June, is wholly at odds with the optimistic account of developments given by President George Bush and Tony Blair in their recent visits to Iraq." (06/21/06) http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick06212006.html ----- 53) Teaching basic economics to fifth graders Ludwig von Mises Institute by Arthur E. Foulkes "To illustrate trade, I gave each student a very small, inexpensive gift I had purchased at a Dollar General nearby. I distributed the gifts randomly, then told the students they could trade their gifts (if they wanted to) with their immediate neighbors. Some did. Then I opened the class up to unrestricted trade and said they could trade with anyone in the whole classroom. Many more now traded. When they were finished I asked how many of them had traded because they believed by trading they would be better off. All said they had." (06/21/06) http://www.mises.org/story/2207 ----- 54) Fireworks over fireworks Foundation for Economic Education by Becky Akers "As we approach July 4 each year, the bureaucratic busybodies kick into high gear, warning us against a hallowed tradition and its immense fun. 'Fireworks are a wonderful way to celebrate Independence Day,' New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg admitted on June 8, 'but it's critical that we leave it to the professionals. ... In the hands of an untrained individual, fireworks can have deadly consequences.' Apparently, John Adams's famous exhortation that untrained individuals celebrate the country's birthday with 'Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other' cuts no ice with the mayor and his ilk. On this, as on so many matters, poor John's advice is far too radical for our safety-cap-and-security-camera age." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/gy4xs ----- 55) "Big Tofu" and you Center For Individual Freedom by staff "We've been writing about the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and the other radicals who crusade against any food or drink that might taste good. With every whacky new proposal, they expand their agenda to limit our freedom to choose what we eat and drink. And as we've sounded off, we've groped for a term that captured, in a word or two, their absurd agenda and the threat that it poses to our freedom. We've referred to them as the food police, nutrition nannies, anti-food zealots and pretty much anything that we could think of." (06/16/06) http://tinyurl.com/qxhy5 ----- 56) The limits of policy Acton Institute by Kevin Schmiesing "In recent years, an extraordinary change has occurred at the level of international social policy discussion. The 'population bomb' parlance of alarmists such as Paul Ehrlich has given way to the 'population implosion' warnings of European government and United Nations officials. Granted that this is a localized phenomenon and that countervailing forces complicate the matter; the conventional wisdom concerning overpopulation as the main problem, globally speaking, holds sway in scientific and public policy circles. Nonetheless, in Europe and parts of Asia especially, there is a new willingness to confront the problem of demographic decline." (06/21/06) http://tinyurl.com/qhroj 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) Barbarossa 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 --------------------------------- Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business. --------------------------------- Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! 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