************************************************** * RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST * * Volume IV, Issue #1,007 * Thursday, October 19th, 2006 * Email Circulation 2,054 * * Published every non-holiday weekday * by the staff of Rational Review * * On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news * In cooperation with ISIL: htp://www.isil.org **************************************************
************************************************** * SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS * * THE WARRIOR'S WAY * Get fit FAST! * http://shannonstyle.com/warriors_way_guide.html * * MIDDLE AMERICA * The Third Revolution continues! * http://tinyurl.com/gl5od * * BIRD FLU: REAL OR JUST MORE HYPE? * Boost your immune system naturally! * http://www.shopnutronix.com/freetexas * * NEW LIBERTARIAN MANIFESTO -- BACK IN PRINT! * http://kopubco.com/nlm_trade.html * ************************************************** In The News: 0) Symposium -- Can't Stand the Suspense? 1) Poll: Public's opinion of GOP hits record low 2) Pentagon defends photographer's kidnapping 3) Iraq: US soldier killed; Mosul blast kills 12 4) Afghanistan: Occupation airstrikes kill 9 5) Chertoff: Internet may hone future terrorists 6) FL: Developer may sue city for not stealing land 7) Government: Stadium threats not credible 8) Bush: US will stop North Korea nuke moves 9) Rice says US ready to defend Japan 10) Social Security to raise benefit checks in 2007 11) US October death toll in Iraq hits 70 12) 10,000 refugees from Burundi coming to US 13) Troops to face courts martial on charges 14) Australia: "Carjacker" automatically caught 15) MD: Color coded IDs for students 16) FL: Frugal investor leaves $35.6 million to charity 17) IA: Officials cool toward guns-in-school idea 18) MI: Store manager cleared in shooting 19) TX: Burglar suspect shot to death 20) Bush sets "defense" as space priority 21) CA: Voters hazy about ballot's bond package 22) Arizona ranked dumbest in US 23) Funeral directors plead guilty to selling body parts 24) Defectors: No Kim Jong Il = no nuclear threat 25) MA: Liquor licensing spawns clash of political wills Everybody Has An Opinion: 26) Potheads, puritans and pragmatists 27) The Security-Industrial-Congressional Complex 28) Debtors prison 29) The American dream for everyone 30) Working class hero 31) About those 650 thou dead in Iraq 32) The edge of madness 33) Children, guns go together with proper lessons 34) In Duke rape case, justice relies on jurors 35) A loaves and fishes GOP victory in November? 36) The Killing Fields of Iraq 37) America has finally taken on the grim reality of Iraq 38) Mises's favorite Anglo-American economists 39) Statecraft and stagecraft 40) SOSing the vote 41) "Free press" organization threatens free markets 42) The Obama zeitgeist 43) Door-to-door democracy 44) Dead Iraqis, just like jelly beans 45) Jose Padilla and the Military Commissions Act 46) Officials broaden world view on taxpayers' dime 47) Fruitage of forgiveness: A widow's letter to the Amish 48) Censoring ideas 49) Constitutional restraints on power 50) Europe's economic cage 51) America's father hunger 52) The next test 53) Karl's marks 54) We're all soldiers of fortune now 55) George romances the nanny state 56) Lessons from the poor 57) Economic engagement makes sense 58) Exit stage right 59) The journalist and the murderers 60) Cindy Sheehan's lesser-evilism See No Evil, Hear No Evil: 61) Freedom Rings, 09/23/06 62) Free Talk Live, 10/18/06 63) TCS Daily Spotlight: Michael Anton 64) 300 million and counting 65) Freedomain Radio #462 What's Up In The Freedom Movement: 66) Today's events 67) VOTE NOW Postering Campaign WaYbAcK: 68) Strike up "The World Turned Upside Down" *************** * In The News *************** 0) Symposium -- Can't Stand the Suspense? ... or, "Once again, a symposium on the symposium." http://www.rationalreview.com/content/18992 ----- 1) Poll: Public's opinion of GOP hits record low MSNBC "Just 20 days until Election Day, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds approval of the GOP-held Congress is at its lowest mark in 14 years, the Republican Party's favorability rating is at an all-time low and President George W. Bush's approval rating remains mired in the 30s -- all ominous signs for a party trying to maintain control of Congress. In fact, according to the poll, Republicans are in worse shape on some key measures than Democrats were in 1994, when they lost their congressional majorities." (10/18/06) http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15319792/ ----- 2) Pentagon defends photographer's kidnapping International Herald Tribune [France] "The Pentagon has brushed off a request from a journalist organization seeking more information and a decision on Bilal Hussein, an Associated Press photographer held for six months in Iraq without formal charges. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, in a letter to the Committee to Protect Journalists, did not provide details about why Iraqi photographer Bilal Hussein continues to be held without charges at a U.S.-run prison camp. He instead repeated the military's longstanding assertion that it detained Hussein under authority of U.N. resolutions and in accord with the Geneva Conventions." (10/16/06) http://tinyurl.com/y2wnoe ----- 3) Iraq: US soldier killed; Mosul blast kills 12 Montreal Gazette [Canada] "A suicide car bomb hit a major police station in the northern city of Mosul Thursday, killing 12 people and wounding 25 more, many of then motorists waiting in a line outside a nearby gas station, police said. Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew after the attack on al-Tamam police station. Police fired into the air in several parts of the city, forcing motorists and pedestrians to scurry for cover. ... The U.S. military, meanwhile, announced Thursday that a soldier was killed in combat in Anbar province, the insurgent stronghold west of the capital. It was the 71st death of an American servicemember in October, putting it on course to be the bloodiest month for U.S. forces in nearly two years." (10/19/06) http://tinyurl.com/ybpgfs ----- 4) Afghanistan: Occupation airstrikes kill 9 Fort Wayne News-Sentinel "Airstrikes by NATO helicopters hunting Taliban fighters ripped through three dried mud homes in southern Afghanistan as villagers slept early Wednesday. At least nine civilians were killed, including women and children, said residents and the provincial governor. Shellshocked, angry villagers in Ashogho condemned the attack, which set back NATO's hopes of winning local support for their tough counterinsurgency campaign. The airstrikes came at about the same time a rocket struck a house in a village to the west, reportedly killing 13 people." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/vmzh8 ----- 5) Chertoff: Internet may hone future terrorists America's Network "Disaffected people living in the US may develop radical ideologies and potentially violent skills over the Internet, something that can present the next major security threat to the nation and to the world, Reuters quoted Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff as saying. 'We now have a capability of someone to radicalize themselves over the Internet,' Chertoff said on the sidelines of a meeting of the International Association of the Chiefs of Police last Monday." (10/17/06) http://tinyurl.com/y6wxn2 ----- 6) FL: Developer may sue city for not stealing land Fox News "The builders of a multibillion-dollar redevelopment project are considering legal action against the state and city after being told eminent domain powers will not be used to seize property to make way for the plan. ... The $2.4 billion project is planned for an area that encompasses about 1,700 homes and businesses in an effort to revamp the marina district with high-end condominiums, houses, shops, offices and yacht slips .... The city was moving ahead with the plans over the objections of some residents who refused to move out of their homes to make way for the project in potentially one of the nation's largest eminent domain seizures. ... after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that local governments could use the power of eminent domain to obtain property for such private development, Florida and 30 other states passed laws restricting the seizures. Brown still said the plan would move forward because it was already in the works when the law was enacted this year. However, Floyd Johnson, executive director of Riviera Beach's redevelopment agency, said the city now has no choice but to follow the law." (10/19/06) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,222160,00.html ----- 7) Government: Stadium threats not credible Chicago Sun-Times "A Web site is claiming that seven National Football League stadiums will be hit with radiological dirty bombs this weekend, but the government on Wednesday expressed doubts about the threat. The warning, posted Oct. 12, was part of an ongoing Internet conversation titled 'New Attack on America Be Afraid.' It mentioned NFL stadiums in New York, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland and Cleveland, where games are scheduled for this weekend. The Homeland Security Department alerted authorities and stadium owners in those cities, as well as the NFL, of the Web message but said the threat was being viewed 'with strong skepticism.'" (10/19/06) http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/102993,CST-NWS-nfl19.article ----- 8) Bush: US will stop North Korea nuke moves Port Clinton News Herald "President Bush said Wednesday the United States would stop North Korea from transferring nuclear weapons to Iran or al-Qaida and that the communist regime would then face 'a grave consequence.' Bush refused to spell out how the United States would retaliate. 'They'd be held to account,' the president said in an ABC News interview. In light of North Korea's Oct. 9 test detonation of a nuclear bomb, Bush warned that any transfer of nuclear material elsewhere in the world by the North would be considered a grave threat to the security of the United States." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/yxxzcy ----- 9) Rice says US ready to defend Japan Rochester Post-Bulletin "The United States is willing to use its full military might to defend Japan in light of North Korea's nuclear test, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday as she sought to assure Asian countries there is no need to jump into a nuclear arms race. At her side, Rice's Japanese counterpart drew a firm line against his nation developing a nuclear bomb. The top U.S. diplomat said she reaffirmed President Bush's pledge ..." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/y3kz3j ----- 10) Social Security to raise benefit checks in 2007 Juneau Empire "Social Security checks for nearly 49 million retirees are going up by 3.3 percent next year -- an average increase of $33 per month, though rising health care costs will take a bite out of the gain. The monthly benefit for the typical retiree will rise to $1,044 from an average of $1,011 this year. The cost of living adjustment announced Wednesday by the Social Security Administration will go to more than 53 million people. Nearly 49 million receive Social Security benefits and the rest Supplemental Security Income payments aimed at the poor." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/u7uaj ----- 11) US October death toll in Iraq hits 70 Cadillac News "Eleven more U.S. troops were slain in combat, the military said Wednesday, putting October on track to be the deadliest month for U.S. forces since the siege of Fallujah nearly two years ago. The military says the sharp increase in U.S. casualties -- 70 so far this month -- is tied to Ramadan and a security crackdown that has left American forces more vulnerable to attack in Baghdad and its suburbs. Muslim tenets hold that fighting a foreign occupation force during Islam's holy month puts a believer especially close to God." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/uvklq ----- 12) 10,000 refugees from Burundi coming to US CNN "The United States plans to take in about 10,000 Burundian refugees -- many of whom fled their landlocked Central African nation as far back as 1972 -- from Tanzania, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. 'We are planning to offer permanent resettlement to a group of Burundian refugees who've been in western camps in Tanzania,' State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters, saying an estimated 10,000 people would be offered residence." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/yd972w ----- 13) Troops to face courts martial on charges Odessa Amercian "Eight soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were ordered Wednesday to be court-martialed on murder charges stemming from their service in Iraq, and two could get the death penalty for allegedly raping a 14-year-old and killing her and her family. The Fort Campbell soldiers facing the death penalty are Sgt. Paul E. Cortez and Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman. Both are accused of raping Abeer Qassim al-Janabi in her family's home in Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, then killing the girl, her parents and younger sister." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/u77os ----- 14) Australia: "Carjacker" automatically caught Sydney Morning Herald "An alleged female carjacker couldn't get into first gear when confronted with a manual vehicle in Sydney's south yesterday, police say. The woman, 20, allegedly dragged a 49-year-old woman out of her Toyota near the intersection of Forest and Wyangala roads in Miranda, police said. But the would-be carjacker found herself behind the wheel of a manual vehicle, which she didn't know how to drive, police said. When she tried to run away, two men who had witnessed the incident stopped her and police arrived shortly after." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/ygmhqe ----- 15) MD: Color coded IDs for students NBC 4 News "Students at Montgomery Blair High School are upset about a new policy requiring them to wear color-coded identification badges. The new badges issued two weeks ago are color-coded by the students' grades, and the lanyards worn around their necks designate 11 categories of learning 'academies' represented at the 3,000-student campus in Silver Spring, Md. Seniors wear black badges, students in magnet programs wear white and those who have limited English proficiency wear yellow. ... Gainous said he believes students are most upset about the penalties for not wearing them, which range from a verbal warning to an in-school suspension. Intentionally breaking the rule can mean a detention for the first infraction and suspension for the second." (10/18/06) http://www.nbc4.com/education/10101812/detail.html?rss=dc&psp=news ----- 16) FL: Frugal investor leaves $35.6 million to charity Miami Herald "Eugenia Dodson came to Miami from Minnesota at age 20 in 1924, got work as a beautician at the Flagler Street Burdines, married well, invested wisely after her husband died, lived frugally to almost 101 and now has surprised her community by donating $35.6 million to local diabetes and cancer research. Two-thirds of the gift goes to the University of Miami's Diabetes Research Institute, the largest gift in its 35-year history. The rest goes to UM's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. ... Throughout her life, 'Gene' Dodson, as she preferred to be called, consciously built up her fortune to donate to diabetes research to honor her two brothers, who died of its complications, and cancer research after she lost part of a lung to cancer. She lived below her means in a small condo near the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, refusing to spend money even for in-home care until a debilitating fall when she was nearly 100. She died Dec. 2, 2005 -- 24 days short of turning 101. ... And she refused publicity ...' (10/18/06) http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15784278.htm ----- 17) IA: Officials cool toward guns-in-school idea Daily Iowan "A Wisconsin lawmaker's call to arm teachers and other school administrators in the wake of school shootings across the nation has incited criticism from local education officials, who insisted such a measure would not succeed here. ... But local and state school officials find the idea of guns in schools alarming. 'I think it would be absurd to [arm teachers to] stave violence at school,' said Jerry Arganbright, the principal of West High. ... Kathi Slaughter, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Education, said school violence prevention starts at a young age, with children being taught to respect each other using classroom exercises, guest speakers, and role playing." [editor's note: Hmmm, role playing ... what to do when an armed lunatic comes to your school and starts shooting - MLS] (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/yfemsg ----- 18) MI: Store manager cleared in shooting WOOD TV "No charges will be brought against a Grand Rapids store manager who fatally shot a man during an attempted robbery. Around 10 p.m. Friday, three men walked into Alger Heights Foods at Alger Street and Eastern Avenue and attempted to rob the business. The suspects tied up employees and put them in a back room. The store manager pulled out his gun and shot one of the robbers, Michael Sams of Chicago, who had a gun. The other two men fled the scene and are still on the run. Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth says he reviewed the police report and surveillance video taken inside the store during the incident and made his decision relatively quickly. He told 24 Hour News 8 the store manager was protecting his own life and the lives of his coworkers." (10/18/06) http://www.woodtv.com/global/story.asp?s=5556341 ----- 19) TX: Burglar suspect shot to death Lewisville Star "A man suspected of burglarizing Toyota of Lewisville, at 1547 S. I-35E in Lewisville, was found shot to death in the parking lot of the business shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday. Police said a preliminary investigation indicates the person had been shot by an employee of the dealership when discovered inside burglarizing the business." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/yb2s5h ----- 20) Bush sets "defense" as space priority Washington Post "President Bush has signed a new National Space Policy that rejects future arms-control agreements that might limit U.S. flexibility in space and asserts a right to deny access to space to anyone 'hostile to U.S. interests.' The document, the first full revision of overall space policy in 10 years, emphasizes security issues, encourages private enterprise in space, and characterizes the role of U.S. space diplomacy largely in terms of persuading other nations to support U.S. policy. 'Freedom of action in space is as important to the United States as air power and sea power,' the policy asserts in its introduction. National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones said in written comments that an update was needed to 'reflect the fact that space has become an even more important component of U.S. economic, national and homeland security.'" (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/y6xz43 ----- 21) CA: Voters hazy about ballot's bond package San Francisco Chronicle "Voters appear to be skeptical about spending more than $37 billion on infrastructure projects, and it may take a big push by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger if the four bond measures on the November ballot are going to pass. Polls show that it may be the sheer size of the bonds -- which are to pay for transportation, housing, education and water projects -- that concerns voters. Television commercials in support of the measures are expected to begin airing today, said Paul Hefner, a spokesman for the bond campaign. 'As much as people would like to see improvements in transportation and schools, that level of expenditure over time seems very abstract to people,' said Mark Baldassare, research director of the Public Policy Institute of California." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/yedujj ----- 22) Arizona ranked dumbest in US Arizona Republic "Arizona has the dubious distinction of being the dumbest state in the Union, according to an independent research and publishing company in Kansas. The finding quickly made the rounds of morning talk shows and Internet postings, but a closer look at the methodology used for the survey suggests the rankings deserve more serious scrutiny. Morgan Quitno Press, which compiles state- and city-ranking publications, used a variety of measurements to create their list, including money spent on students, standardized test scores, graduation rates, teacher salaries and teacher/student ratios. It is, in short, a comparison of the education systems in the 50 states and not a measure of a state's intelligence." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/y427c6 ----- 23) Funeral directors plead guilty to selling body parts Fox News "Seven funeral home directors linked to a scheme to plunder corpses and sell the body parts for transplants have secretly pleaded guilty to undisclosed charges, prosecutors announced Wednesday. Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes also announced that a grand jury had voted to bring a new indictment in the case that adds allegations involving funeral homes in New York City and Rochester. 'It is clear that many more funeral home directors were involved in this enterprise,' Hynes said. The seven unidentified directors all agreed to cooperate in an ongoing investigation into what investigators describe as an enterprise to steal bone and tissue from cadavers and sell the material to biomedical supply companies for profit, Hynes said." (10/18/06) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,222140,00.html ----- 24) Defectors: No Kim Jong Il = no nuclear threat Christian Science Monitor "Defectors from North Korea are hoping that international sanctions will make life so much harder, that the North's elite class will rise up against leader Kim Jong Il and overthrow him, writes the Associated Press. The AP also writes that the Defectors' Alliance, a group that helps North Korean refugees settle in South Korea, says the surest end to the current crisis 'is to decisively eradicate dictator Kim Jong Il and his followers and establish a democratic government for the North Korean people,' who the group says will feel the brunt of the suffering caused by the current tensions. One defector thinks the nuclear test was meant more to be a message to North Koreans than to the rest of the world." (10/18/06) http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1018/dailyUpdate.html ----- 25) MA: Liquor licensing spawns clash of political wills Boston Globe "Prices on liquor licenses in Boston have more than doubled a year after the city ran up against a state limit on the number of licenses it can issue. With a growing pool of would-be restaurateurs and club owners trying to outbid one another for the few licenses coming available as establishments go out of business, the amounts being fetched have soared into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Those prices are well out of reach for many small operators, and some industry observers fear that restaurateurs will give up or bypass Boston to open new establishments in the suburbs." [editor's note: This is so similar to what happens with the taxicab world, when "medallions" are limited in number and doled out by city edict - SAT] (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/ykp9ho ******************************************************************* * HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 10/19/06 * * Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 43,937 ... Max - 48,783 * (source: www.iraqbodycount.org) * * American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,782 * (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/) ******************************************************************* **************************** * Everybody Has An Opinion **************************** 26) Potheads, puritans and pragmatists Reason by Jacob Sullum "Nevada is known for gambling, 24-hour liquor sales, and legal prostitution. Yet the main group opposing Question 7, an initiative on the state's ballot next month that would allow the sale and possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults 21 or older, is called the Committee to Keep Nevada Respectable. ... To sum up, smoking pot is less respectable than a drunken gambling spree followed by a visit to a hooker, while people who think adults shouldn't be punished for their choice of recreational intoxicants are like a tumor that will kill you unless it's eradicated. In the face of such self-righteous posturing, the marijuana initiatives' backers have refused to cede the moral high ground, a strategy from which other activists can learn." (10/18/06) http://www.reason.com/sullum/101806.shtml ----- 27) The Security-Industrial-Congressional Complex LewRockwell.Com by Robert Higgs "Bringing our fellow Americans to a greater understanding of the evils of a government-dominated society and the virtues of a free society has always been difficult and frustrating work. It's no wonder that Albert Jay Nock likened it to Isaiah's job. People are easily misled by promises of government salvation, especially when they are consumed by fear for their physical safety or their economic security. Making matters even more difficult is the state's co-optation of a large number of people who have discovered that in the United States the rise of Big Brother offers enormous opportunities for personal enrichment -- fascism's greatest advantage over socialism." (10/19/06) http://www.lewrockwell.com/higgs/higgs50.html ----- 28) Debtors prison Liberty For All by David Schlosser "On the campaign trail, I get a lot of quizzical looks when I tell people that the Federal government should use the same accounting standards that it requires of business. Last August, USA TODAY detailed the difference between the keeping books for business and the Federal government. Instead of a $318 billion budget deficit in 2005, under the government's accounting rules, the Federal budget deficit as measured by business accounting rules was actually $3.5 trillion for that single year." (10/18/06) http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=173 ----- 29) The American dream for everyone The Free Liberal by Carl S. Milsted, Jr. "Having a loophole ridden tax code wastes our time, tests our sanity, corrupts our morals, hurts small businesses, and makes the U.S. less competitive in the world economy. To end this corrupt practice, we must first make it unpopular, and that means starting with the most popular tax loophole of all: the mortgage deduction. 'What!?' you might say. 'The mortgage deduction is all-American! It allows the lower classes to experience the American Dream -- home ownership! We don't want everyone renting! It's bad for society!' I actually agree with these sentiments, but question the solution. Does the mortgage deduction really encourage home ownership?" (10/18/06) http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002367.html ----- 30) Working class hero Strike the Root by Douglas Herman "I can honestly say, Walden wrecked me for life. That is, what was written in each chapter of Walden wrecked me as an unquestioning American worker bee, wrecked me as a student working many years towards an advanced degree. Probably wrecked me as a 'professional male' (LOL). Instead, Walden made me stubbornly examine the idea of a long career in anything. I no longer considered a career as the epitome, the measuring stick, of success in life. Rather, experiences seemed equally valuable, if not more valuable. Life had too many facets to examine to restrict it to one." (10/18/06) http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/herman/herman3.html ----- 31) About those 650 thou dead in Iraq Free Market News Network by Ilana Mercer "My point is non-ideological; I'd simply like to see accurate reporting. The 650,000 figure would include deaths due to a greater incidence of heart attacks, cancer, strokes, stress and displacement-related deaths; deaths associated with a lack of health care and potable water, etc. Thus, silly journalists build doubt into the report because they give the impression that this many people died directly because of the war. Rather, the figure represents both direct and indirect casualties of the invasion, which is why it's believable. It goes without saying that the report is a criminal indictment of the invasion. If not for the invasion, the leading cause of death in Iraqi would still be natural, as it was during Saddam's suzerainty." (10/18/06) http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/56/6194/dead.asp?nid=6194&wid=56 ----- 32) The edge of madness AntiWar.Com by Nebojsa Malic "History is a graveyard littered with bones of peoples who 'trusted' the great powers to do the right thing. Albanians think the right thing is independence, because they are 90 percent of the population, they are in de facto possession of the province, and they have the image of victims from the 1998-99 war. Serbs think the right thing is no independence, because they have a de jure claim to the province, because the Albanian majority was created through terror and ethnic cleansing, and because they are victims of the post-1999 occupation, however hard that's been covered up. But the Empire doesn't care either way. As Tisdall unwittingly reveals, the 'game' is bigger than Kosovo, Serbs, or Albanians -- it's about the old rivalry between East and West, going back to the Cold War and maybe even as far as the 19th-century Great Game." (10/19/06) http://www.antiwar.com/malic/?articleid=9884 ----- 33) Children, guns go together with proper lessons Journal Gazette by Penny Weaver "The mental image of my 2-year-old niece hefting a gun in her cute little hands almost brings a smile to my face. No, not because she's a crack shot and I taught her everything she knows. She's not, and I didn't -- yet. That scenario makes me happy in a way because of the rest of the picture: Her parents with her, carefully showing her proper use of and respect for a gun. I wasn't there, so I don't know how accurate that image might be -- maybe she never even touched the guns -- but I'm glad my sisters and brothers-in-law recently took their kids out to learn gun safety and do some harmless target shooting under close supervision." (10/18/06) http://www.jg-tc.com/articles/2006/10/18/opinion/columns/column001.txt ----- 34) In Duke rape case, justice relies on jurors Fox News by Wendy McElroy "On Sunday on CBS's '60 Minutes,' the key witness against the three Duke University students accused of rape flatly contradicted the story their accuser gave to police. Prosecuting District Attorney Mike Nifong now has exculpatory DNA tests, a solid alibi for one defendant, a string of contradictions from the accuser, an irredeemably tainted police identification and a witness who benefits the defense. Nevertheless, charges are unlikely to be dropped in the immediate future -- at least not until the election for D.A. is concluded. Politics, not justice, will be done." (10/17/06) http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,221819,00.html ----- 35) A loaves and fishes GOP victory in November? Common Dreams by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman "Major studies from the Conyers Committee, the Government Accountability Office, Princeton University, the Brennan Center, the Carter-Baker Commission, and esteemed others, have all come to the same conclusion: it takes just one individual with inside access -- or even just a wi-fi machine -- to change the outcome of any election anywhere. Electronic voting machines can be pre-programmed, re-programmed, re-calibrated, electronically adjusted, hacked, jimmied, jammed or otherwise blessed with a few well-placed electrons and -- LO AND BEHOLD! -- a Democratic landslide can be born again to a Republican deliverance." (10/18/06) http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1018-26.htm ----- 36) The Killing Fields of Iraq Truthdig by Robert Scheer "Martin Luther King Jr., shortly before his assassination, grieved that his own nation was 'the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.' He was referring to the U.S. quagmire in Vietnam, but were he alive today, his prophetic voice would no doubt similarly question the bloodbath in Iraq. In response to the 9/11 killing of 3,000 Americans by a gang of mostly Saudi Arabian terrorists with no links to Iraq, the president has rendered that country a veritable killing field. An occupation initially advertised as a 'cakewalk' war to disarm a tyrant is now, according to our politically desperate president, a fight for the soul of the world -- good versus evil, democracy versus tyranny. But the carnage we have visited upon Iraq represents nothing of the sort. We are not building democracy, we are creating mayhem." (10/17/06) http://tinyurl.com/wslkr ----- 37) America has finally taken on the grim reality of Iraq Guardian [UK] by Simon Jenkins "The Baker report on an exit strategy from Iraq, leaked this week in the US, is as sensible as it is sensational. It rejects 'staying the course' as no longer plausible and purports to seek alternatives to just 'cutting and running.' Stripped of political sweetening, it concludes that there is none. America must leave Iraq without preconditions and hope that its neighbours, hated Syria and Iran, can clear up the mess. This advice comes not from some anti-war coalition but from the Iraq study group under the former Republican secretary of state, James Baker, set up by Congress with President George Bush's endorsement. Students of Iraq studies should at this point sit down and steady their nerves. Kissinger is in Paris. The Vietnam moment is at hand." (10/18/06) http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1924581,00.html ----- 38) Mises's favorite Anglo-American economists Ludwig von Mises Institute by Joseph T. Salerno "While it was the reading of Menger's path-breaking book, Principles of Economics, by Mises's own account that turned him into an economist, it was his attendance at Bohm-Bawerk's legendary seminar at the University of Vienna that awakened Mises's creative genius and gave direction to his life-long research interests. Following the example and suggestions of his revered teacher Bohm-Bawerk, Mises also read widely and absorbed a myriad of influences from a diverse group of economists." (10/18/06) http://www.mises.org/story/2345 ----- 39) Statecraft and stagecraft Frontiers of Freedom by Joe Mariani "Less than a week after North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon, the fifteen members of the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution invoking sanctions against the regime of Kim Jong-Il. Finally, the UN has 'done something' to prevent him from building another one, right? In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, the resolution demanded 'that the DPRK not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile.' It also required 'that the DPRK shall eliminate its nuclear weapons and nuclear programme in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner,' as well as 'other weapons of mass destruction.' Tough talk, to be sure. But talk is cheap." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/ym9yq5 ----- 40) SOSing the vote In These Times by Phoebe Connelly "Mark Ritchie knows how to get people to the polls. In 1986, he founded the League of Rural Voters and in 2004, he founded November 2, a nonpartisan voter registration that registered 5 million voters. So this year, instead of returning to his job at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he decided to run for secretary of state. 'I became aware that free and fair elections are the way we pick policymakers who really matter,' says Ritchie. 'The secretary of state in my state, like in other states, had transformed her office into a partisan arm of the Republican Party.' Nonpartisan administration of voting, he says, is the only way to guarantee 'free and fair elections to pick the policy makers who then make the rules about food and agriculture and trade.'" (10/18/06) http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2852/ ----- 41) "Free press" organization threatens free markets FreedomWorks by Matt Schumsky "While the typical American family is at home watching their favorite show, surfing the Internet, text messaging their friends, or even downloading local news and weather to their cell phones, the Federal Communications Commission will be holding hearings to discuss media ownership, an idea that evolved out of the world of rabbit ear antennas, over the air television broadcasts, and radios that did not involve satellites." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/unmab ----- 42) The Obama zeitgeist Tom Paine by Paul Waldman "With the 2008 presidential campaign about to begin in earnest, the Democrats who want to reach the White House -- and the voters who will choose between them -- might want to take a close look at the campaign of one George W. Bush, circa 2000. Successful presidential candidates understand that in order to win they must calibrate their campaigns to the particular historical moment in which they operate. In 2000 Bush did this as well as anyone has, and therein lie some important lessons -- and some revealing clues about how successful the potential Democratic candidates might be. The candidate best positioned to capture the moment may be one who is getting increasing buzz in the last few weeks: Barack Obama. In 2000, one of Bush's favorite gimmicks was to raise his right hand and pre-enact his swearing-in, a trick he borrowed from John F. Kennedy." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/y9q6h5 ----- 43) Door-to-door democracy The American Prospect by Heather Booth "Why have conservatives been winning so many political campaigns and policy battles in the past quarter century? Why have so many low- and moderate-income Americans, whose living standards have flatlined, dropped out of the political process? And what will it take to build a winning progressive movement and breathe new life into American democracy? These questions deserve to be debated in the progressive community, and one prolific writer engaging with them is sociologist Dana Fisher, author of a recent book, Activism, Inc.: How the Outsourcing of Grassroots Campaigns Is Strangling Progressive Politics in America. ... Fisher asks many of the right questions about the conservative ascendancy and the progressive eclipse. Unfortunately, she concentrates her criticism on one progressive tool -- canvassing programs which attempt to recruit members and raise funds by going door to door." (10/18/06) http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12120 ----- 44) Dead Iraqis, just like jelly beans San Francisco Chronicle by Mark Morford "George W. Bush was confused. It certainly wasn't the first time. He was muttering a sullen response to a reporter's question about some big new study. He was saying no, he really didn't believe that it was possible that the disastrous U.S. invasion of Iraq had resulted in the brutal deaths of more than half a million Iraqi civilians, about 650,000, or 2.5 percent of the entire Iraq population, or one heckuva lot more jelly beans than you could fit into that giant glass jar at the county fair. Wait, what? Where did that last part come from? Did he just say that out loud? Check the icky media people: No one was looking at him strangely. No reporters were dialing their cell phones in a delirious rush to call their editors with a crazy new Dubya quote. OK. Whew. Must have been in his head. Thank goodness." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/ya3mza ----- 45) Jose Padilla and the Military Commissions Act Future of Freedom Foundation by Jacob G. Hornberger "Anyone who hoped that U.S. military detention of Americans accused of terrorism expired with the transfer of American citizen Jose Padilla from military custody to Justice Department custody have seen their hopes dashed by the Military Commissions Act that the president signed into law yesterday. Although the act limits to foreign citizens the use of military tribunals and the denial of habeas corpus, any person, including American citizens, can still be labeled and treated as an 'unlawful enemy combatant' in the war on terrorism." (10/18/06) http://www.fff.org/comment/com0610f.asp ----- 46) Officials broaden world view on taxpayers' dime Arizona Republic by Laurie Roberts "I suspect the fine folks who run Mesa Community College may find a legislative hearing in their future given Sunday's news about their forays around the world. Some people, after all, can be just so provincial. Clearly, this is an educational institution of the finest sort, one devoted to intellectual pursuit on an international scale. A place of learning that is committed to expanding its global reputation. You know ... Oxford, Cambridge, Mesa Community College. As MCC President Larry Christiansen put it: 'There is life outside of the six-mile service area of Southern and Dobson.' It's true. And he's got $324,000 worth of tax-funded receipts to prove it." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/ur5yy ----- 47) Fruitage of forgiveness: A widow's letter to the Amish Christian Science Monitor by Marie Roberts "Marie Roberts, widow of the gunman who killed five Amish girls and wounded five others Oct. 2, wrote a letter recently to thank the Amish for their extraordinary forgiveness after the shootings: Our family wants each of you to know that we are overwhelmed by the forgiveness, grace, and mercy that you've extended to us. Your love for our family has helped to provide the healing we so desperately need. The prayers, flowers, cards, and gifts you've given have touched our hearts in a way no words can describe. Your compassion has reached beyond our family, beyond our community, and is changing our world, and for this we sincerely thank you." (10/18/06) http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1018/p09s02-cogn.html ----- 48) Censoring ideas Boston Globe by Jeff Jacoby "Did the Ottoman Turks commit genocide against the Armenians in 1915? Careful -- in some places you can be arrested if you give the wrong answer to that question. Under Article 305 of the Turkish Penal Code, for example, those who promote 'recognition of the Armenian genocide' are subject to prosecution, while Article 301 makes the denigration of 'Turkishness' a crime punishable by up to three years in prison. The Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature, is among those who have been charged under Article 301. His offense was to tell a Swiss interviewer that '30,000 Kurds and a million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares to talk about it.' Yet if acknowledging the Armenian genocide is a crime in Turkey, gainsaying it could soon be a crime in France." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/tgmja ----- 49) Constitutional restraints on power Foundation for Economic Education by Edmund A. Opitz "American political institutions presuppose certain convictions about human nature, the worth and prerogatives of persons, the meaning of life, the distinction between right and wrong, and the destiny of the individual. The Colonists came to their understanding of these matters as heirs of the intellectual and religious heritage of Christendom -- the culture whose shaping forces 'sprang from ancient Israel, Greece, and Rome.'" (written 09/87; posted 10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/yyw35m ----- 50) Europe's economic cage Acton Institute by Samuel Gregg "Since early 2006, Western Europe has experienced an economic turnaround. With annual GDP growth-forecasts of 2.3% across the European Union and with the Euro-zone recently experiencing the fastest growth of the world's three major economic areas some believe that Europe's sclerosis is diminishing and that the region may be turning a corner. Careful analysis of recent European political developments, however, suggests it is questionable whether meaningful change is occurring in Europe's fundamental economic settings." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/y48pl5 ----- 51) America's father hunger Liberty For All by Mike McCormick and Glenn Sacks "Are fathers irrelevant? Are they really the useless buffoons we see on TV? The irresponsible deadbeats the local DA says they are? The controlling abusers we see in domestic violence PSAs? That's not the way Tim Russert's readers see them. Russert's new book, Wisdom of Our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons, is a surprise runaway hit, reaching #1 on both the New York Times bestseller list and on Book Standard's Overall Bestsellers Chart. In 2004, Russert published Big Russ and Me about his father, and says he received an 'avalanche' of letters from men and women who wanted to tell him about their own dads. Wisdom is largely a sampling of those 60,000 letters." (10/18/06) http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=165 ----- 52) The next test The Weekly Standard by Michael Goldfarb "Last week, John Pike, founder and director of globalsecurity.org, offered his opinion that the nuclear test conducted by North Korea may have been neither a 'first test,' nor a test of a conventional fission bomb. Rather, Pike said that the North Koreans may have been testing a 'trigger device' for a much larger hydrogen bomb .... Now CNN is reporting that North Korea plans to conduct as many as three additional tests. South Korean media outlets, on the other hand, seem less concerned with the number of tests than the type. This story from the Korea Times ran under the headline 'North Korea Will Test H-Bomb,' and lends further credence to Pike's theory ..." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/y76hv2 ----- 53) Karl's marks Slate by Jacob Weisberg "Is Karl Rove the great mastermind of American politics? Everyone seems to think so. George W. Bush's nicknames for him include 'The Architect' and 'Boy Genius.' Other Republicans see Rove as a shaman who can conjure victory out of the air -- and Democrats agree. (They would rather think they've been losing to a nefarious wizard than to a lazy moron.) The political press, always more comfortable with personality than ideology, cottons readily to the myth that the country is run by an elusive puppeteer. Let me concede that Rove is a detail-minded, relentless, and methodical political operator with unusual skill at networking and organization-building. He is also, clearly, a strategic and historical thinker. ... But with the conservative edifice groaning and shifting, there are at least some grounds for skepticism about the architect's brilliance." (10/18/06) http://www.slate.com/id/2151740 ----- 54) We're all soldiers of fortune now TCS Daily by Glenn Harlan Reynolds "Survival kits and disaster preparedness used to be something out of the mainstream. After a brief (and heavily-mocked) period of fallout-shelter construction in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the notion of private disaster preparedness retreated from the mainstream. Survival kits and equipment were available, but mostly through military surplus stores and other specialty sources. But now that seems to have changed." (10/18/06) http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=101806B ----- 55) George romances the nanny state Intellectual Conservative by Bernard Chapin Interview with Bruce Bartlett, author of Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy: "While the Republican Party is the more conservative of the two major parties, its interests are not at all the same as those of the conservative movement. Republicans, ultimately, are only interested in getting elected and wielding power. Conservatives see elections not as ends, but means. They are a way of implementing a conservative agenda. But politicians by their nature are risk averse and always fearful of arousing the ire of the electorate. This means that they will always end up disappointing ideologues." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/ue749 ----- 56) Lessons from the poor Independent Institute by Alvaro Vargas Llosa "Nobel Peace Prizes are not supposed to go to those who believe the poor can fend for themselves. Yet this year's worthy winner, the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, is essentially a commercial operation and its founder, Muhammad Yunus, has clearly spelled out politically incorrect views regarding poverty: 'Grameen believes that charity is not an answer to poverty. ... It creates dependency. ... Unleashing of energy and creativity in each human being is the answer to poverty.' The bank lends tiny amounts of money to village-dwellers so they can start small businesses. The scale can be so modest as to involve the purchase of a cow in order to sell milk. Since no collateral or credit history is required, the system works on the basis of trust and peer pressure: Lenders are placed in groups of five, with part of the group guaranteeing the loans of the rest. If a loan is not repaid, the community shuns the borrower." (10/18/06) http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1834 ----- 57) Economic engagement makes sense Cato Institute by James A. Dorn "Just a few weeks ago, Senators Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, sent a strong message to China: 'the time for patience has run out.' China must allow its currency (the yuan) to appreciate significantly against the dollar or face an across-the-board tariff of 27.5 percent. Now the senators have decided, upon the advice of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, to drop their controversial bill. That's good news, but the threat of economic nationalism has not disappeared." (10/18/06) http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6731 ----- 58) Exit stage right The American Conservative by W. James Antle III "Small-government conservatives are ready to conclude that their attempt to curb Washington's appetite through a majority that was supposed to be ideologically congenial -- that is, entirely Republican -- has failed. Now they recall wistfully the bad old days of Bill Clinton, when discretionary spending grew at half the rate that has prevailed under Bush and are ready to try divided government instead. Who knows? A time in the wilderness may even give the GOP a chance to come up with an agenda other than self-preservation." (for publication 10/23/06) http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_10_23/article1.html ----- 59) The journalist and the murderers Mother Jones by Charles Digges "In the days following the brutal and senseless assassination of Anna Politkovskaya last Saturday, my phone and email were abuzz with the shock and outrage of my former colleagues in the Moscow foreign press corps. Many of them were already busily typing away, collecting theories and interviewing one another about our recollections of the iron lady of Russian journalism. 'It could have been any one of us,' we told one another. But I have been mulling that over, asking myself: could it really? I concluded that, except for special cases, I don't really think so. Such an assertion is really more a statement of solidarity by western journalists with Politkovskaya, as none of us -- restricted by our particular journalistic vows to not draw our own conclusions -- ever went as far as Politkovskaya did. None of us ever stated outright, in our own copy, that President Vladimir Putin is a cynical, racist liar who is directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people. Instead, we would draw on our collection of dial-a-quotes that could be ventriloquated to state the obvious unpleasant truth for us." (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/y5msy7 ----- 60) Cindy Sheehan's lesser-evilism CounterPunch by Joshua Frank "You can sure tell it's an election year. Despite the fact that over 2770 US soldiers and 600,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq, the mainstream antiwar movement, or what's left of it, has failed to hold the two war parties accountable for the destruction and death they've initiated. And perhaps most disappointing of all, Cindy Sheehan, the brave soul who almost single handily [sic] resurrected the antiwar movement from the dark vestiges of the 2004 elections, has now surrendered to the politics of lesser-evilism." (10/18/06) http://counterpunch.org/frank10182006.html ******************************************************************* * RRND MEDIA SHELF -- Tchotchkes from today's edition * * Walden, by Henry David Thoreau * http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486284956/rationalrev08-20 * * Principles of Economics, by Carl Menger * http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0910884277/rationalrev08-20 * * Activism, Inc., by Dana Fisher * http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0804752176/rationalrev08-20 * * Wisdom of Our Fathers, by Tim Russert * http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400064805/rationalrev08-20 * * Big Russ and Me, by Tim Russert * http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000GY78HS/rationalrev08-20 * * Impostor, by Bruce Bartlett * http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385518277/rationalrev08-20 * * The Suit, by Nicholas Antongiavanni * http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060891866/rationalrev08-20 * * Note: Affiliate links generate commissions for RRND's editors. ******************************************************************* ***************************** * See No Evil, Hear No Evil ***************************** 61) Freedom Rings, 09/23/06 Freedom Rings Michael Noland, Illinois Libertarian for State Senate, on libertarian talk radio with Kenneth John. 9 a.m. CST on WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin, Illinois, or live on the web. [live radio or stream] http://www.freedomrings.net/ ----- 62) Free Talk Live, 10/18/06 Free Talk Live "TSA Jorge / Enemy Combatant Tee / 'V' Protest / More about Unlawful Enemy Combatant status and what it means for your freedom / Restore the constitution or secede? / Nevada's Legalization Ballot Measure / DEA Bandits / RFID / Unions / Leo Who? / Smoking Ban / Libertarians vs. Neo Cons / Paypal Lockdown / Enemies of America? / Legalization Scariness! / China." [MP3] (10/18/06) http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-10-18.mp3 ----- 63) TCS Daily Spotlight: Michael Anton TCS Daily "TCS Daily columnist Ed Driscoll interviews Michael Anton of Fox News, AKA 'Nicholas Antongiavanni,' about his new book, The Suit: A Machiavellian Approach to Men's Style." [MP3 or stream] (10/18/06) http://www.tcsdaily.com/Multimedia.aspx?id=54 ----- 64) 300 million and counting Cato Institute Cato daily podcast, featuring Daniel T. Griswold. [MP3] (10/18/06) http://tinyurl.com/uk4nj ----- 65) Freedomain Radio #462 Freedomain Radio "Government as cover for predators: Ummm, is that John Kerry creeping up through the waving grass?" With host Stefan Molyneux. [MP3] (10/16/06) http://tinyurl.com/y7pmre ************************************* * What's Up In The Freedom Movement ************************************* 66) Today's events Freedom Movement Events Check out the Google calendar in our sidebars for this week's events, including forums presented by the Independent Institute and the Cato Institute, as well as Liberty magazine's editors' conference. Don't see YOUR event listed? Drop us a line at info at rationalreview.com. http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com ----- 67) VOTE NOW Postering Campaign VOTE NOW thru 11/07/06 "1. Download the PDF Poster 2. Print it, and post it around town and in your cubicle. 3. Tell your friends. Send it to your mom. Email them the link: votenow.pbwiki.com/f/votenow.pdf 4. On Tuesday, November 7, 2006: grab a group of friends. Get your ID. Go VOTE. BE HEARD." http://votenow.pbwiki.com/ *********** * WaYbAcK *********** 68) Strike up "The World Turned Upside Down" Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at: http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi ********************************************************************** * RRND is through the valued support of our readers. 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 Brad Spangler ....... Editor --------------------------------- All-new Yahoo! 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