--- Begin Message ---
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* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
* The Freedom Movement's Daily Newspaper
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* Volume VI, Issue #1,476
* Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
* Email Circulation 2,051
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* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
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In The News:
0) RRND-FND Mid-Year Fundraising Drive
1) US markets kick off week with broad-based decline
2) CA: Brown issues medical marijuana "guidelines"
3) Iraq: 25 Iraqis, one US soldier killed in fighting
4) Afghanistan: UN places US air strike toll at 90
5) NJ: Minister tells land thieves "no" on move order
6) Iraq: Maliki demands firm US withdrawal date
7) North Korea stops reactor shutdown, citing US delay
8) Kennedy to convention: "Dream lives on"
9) Myanmar: Suu Kyi may be on hunger strike
10) IN: Drug money fuels DTF spending spree
11) UK: Tibet protester returns home
12) UK: Economy "as bad as the Seventies"
13) Japan: Country ordered to pay damages for sailor's suicide
14) WA: Seattle holds off on gun restrictions
15) OK: Man shot after arguing with woman
16) DE: HOA tells residents to show up or pay up
17) Lone accountant takes on IRS ... and wins
18) TN: Nashville as Movie City? Film studio complex proposed
19) Georges Bank drilling weighed
20) New rays of hope for solar power's future
Everybody Has An Opinion:
21) Washington is quietly repudiating its debts
22) Does Bush want war with Russia?
23) The Barr campaign at three months
24) In search of a debatable proposition
25) Russia, Georgia, and the Kosovo connection
26) Doing the right thing, eventually
27) Hillary courts her own supporters
28) Economic myths
29) Obama/Biden: Escalating the war on fathers and families
30) Seattle, it's not
31) Psst -- While you were gibbering, the ruling class rigged the game
and won everything
32) Honey, I got the earmark
33) The thin man
34) Health care: Unions lie; choice dies
35) Who wouldn't trust the FBI?
36) Feds in the fishbowl
37) Welcome to the food revolution
38) A case for McCain-Palin
39) Gun control and the Second Amendment
40) Gun "rights" vs. freedom
41) Another US war resister from Canada court-martialed
42) Israeli outposts seal death of Palestinian state
43) A really rough stretch for Pax Americana
44) Not to worry: They're on our side
45) Breaking the cord with the Clintons
46) The Obama-Biden ticket: An analysis
47) Biden as VP: Why it makes sense
48) The whole world WAS watching
49) Biden's kitchen-table populism
50) US paying a price for backing dictator
See No Evil, Hear No Evil:
51) Lew Rockwell on Antiwar Radio, 08/26/08
52) Cato Daily Podcast, 08/26/08
53) Free Talk Live, 08/25/08
54) Wilson's war
55) THINKFuture #657
What's Up In The Freedom Movement:
56) Today's events
WaYbAcK:
57) "Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no
one else ..."
***************
* In The News
***************
0) RRND-FND Mid-Year Fundraising Drive
Update, 08/26/08 - The bad news is, I messed up. The good news is,
what I messed up on was remembering to acknowledge/add a contribution!
FND reader GR contributed $30 via ISIL last Friday, and between then
and Monday I forgot to include that in yesterday's update. Thanks, GR!
Also in the last 24 hours, reader AH's check for $50 arrived, as did
subscribing contributor RM's $20 monthly contribution and NEW
subscribing contributor GB's first $10 payment. Thanks to the three of
you as well!
That's a $110 day, bringing our running total to $1660 against our
goal of $5,000. We're also 1/20th of the way to our "mini-goal" for
the week -- recruiting $200/month in new subscribing contributors.
The fundraising graphic continues to be a problem. The "free service"
host for the current meter seems to be having big problems. Sometimes
the graphic appears, sometimes it doesn't, and the editing utility
remains unavailable. I've purchased a (cheap -- $3) commercial
script ... but the download link for it isn't working. I'd hate to
have to go back to my own hand-drawn monstrosities, but that's the
next step. Tune in tomorrow, but consider wearing sunglasses - TLK
Become a subscribing contributor: http://www.tinyurl.com/rrndsubs
Make a one-time contribution: http://www.tinyurl.com/rrndbux
Contribute by PayPal Mobile to: 314-750-6993
Other options: http://www.rationalreview.com/content/49503
-----
1) US markets kick off week with broad-based decline
All Headline News
"U.S. markets began the week lower as all three major indices opened
down on Monday. Selling was broad-based throughout the session as
declining stocks outpaced advancers by more than three to one. ...
Although every sector finished lower, the financials, down 3.1
percent, sold off far more than the other industries. In addition to
the weakness in AIG, investors were spooked by the failure of
Columbian Bank & Trust Company, a regional bank that was taken over by
regulators over the weekend. The bank is small but still showed
investors that more failures are still possible." (08/25/08)
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7012062050
-----
2) CA: Brown issues medical marijuana "guidelines"
Los Angeles Times
"For the first time in the dozen years of turmoil since state voters
legalized medical marijuana, California's top law enforcement official
stepped into the fray Monday with new guidelines designed in part to
quell the ongoing friction between the state and federal authorities.
Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown issued an 11-page directive intended to help
legitimate patients avoid arrest while giving police the tools to
distinguish legal medical marijuana operations from illegal
cultivators and criminal middlemen. ... The guidelines affirm the
legality of many of the state's medical marijuana dispensaries, but
only those operated as collectives or cooperatives and not in business
for profit. ... Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy project
questioned the nonprofit distinction, saying, 'The last I heard,
Walgreens isn't a charity.'" [editor's note: Exactly. Let's see if
Brown is willing to apply the same distinction to pharmacies - TLK]
(08/26/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5lwaaw
-----
3) Iraq: 25 Iraqis, one US soldier killed in fighting
Agence France-Presse
"A suicide bomber thwarted a security check at a police recruiting
centre in Iraq on Tuesday and blew himself up, killing at least 25
young people, the local police chief said. The attack in Jalwala 150
kilometres (90 miles) north of Baghdad came after a car bomb in
executed dictator's Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit wounded 13
people including four police officers. ... Also on Tuesday, the US
military said an American soldier has died from wounds sustained when
his foot patrol came under small arms fire in northern
Baghdad." (08/26/08)
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5goWlO4VS5hKXfpXb3GldEPWYCJmw
-----
4) Afghanistan: UN places US air strike toll at 90
Al Arabiya [United Arab Emirates]
"The United Nations said on Tuesday it had found convincing evidence
that 90 Afghan civilians, most of them children, were killed in air
strikes by U.S.-led coalition forces in western Afghanistan last
week. ... The U.S. military has launched an investigation into the
incident, after saying it was unaware of any civilians killed in what
it said was a single air strike in the Shindand district of western
Afghanistan on Friday. ... UNAMA sent its human rights team to the
Shindand area to investigate, meeting local officials, elders and
villagers." (08/26/08)
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/08/26/55485.html
-----
5) NJ: Minister tells land thieves "no" on move order
Asbury Park Press
"When the Rev. Kevin Brown learned Aug. 15 from Superior Court Judge
Lawrence M. Lawson that he must move on and that his property, owned
intermittently by him and by his church, would be acquired by eminent
domain, city officials agreed to give Brown some time. Although it
came as no surprise to Brown -- who has been fighting in one courtroom
or another the city's efforts to prevent him from establishing a
church, mission, soup kitchen and other uses out of 162 Broadway --
City Attorney James J. Aaron gave him 10 days to vacate. Those 10 days
were up Monday, but Brown stayed put. ... The city plans to be back in
court this week to evict Gopal and Kavita Panday, the owners of
Rainbow Liquors, and one of the only other remaining holdouts for the
zone that the city hopes will one day become the Broadway Arts Center,
a two-block arts and entertainment zone anchored by a newly restored
Paramount Theater." (08/26/08)
http://tinyurl.com/58myfr
-----
6) Iraq: Maliki demands firm US withdrawal date
Los Angeles Times
"Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said Monday that an agreement on
the future of U.S. forces in Iraq must include a firm withdrawal date
and that Iraq wants them out of the country by the end of 2011. It was
the first time Maliki explicitly demanded a fixed deadline for the
departure of all U.S. troops from Iraq. His words appeared to rule out
the presence of any U.S. military advisors, special forces and air
support after the withdrawal date. ... U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have
been haggling for months over the security agreement, which must be
approved by Iraq's parliament by the end of the year. That is when the
United Nations mandate governing the presence of U.S. forces here
expires. If an agreement is not reached, U.S. forces would, in effect,
be left with no legal standing to be in Iraq." (08/26/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5nujmb
-----
7) North Korea stops reactor shutdown, citing US delay
Guardian [UK]
"North Korea has stopped work on disabling its nuclear reactor and
threatened to restore it to operation because the US has failed to
remove Pyongyang from a list of state sponsors of terrorism. 'We have
decided to immediately suspend disabling our nuclear facilities,'
North Korea's KCNA news agency quoted a foreign ministry official as
saying today. He said work was suspended on August 14. Pyongyang has
been disabling the facilities under a disarmament-for-aid deal reached
last year, but the six-party agreement between North Korea and the US,
South Korea, China, Russia and Japan has run into trouble over
verification of the work." (08/26/08)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2008/aug/26/usa
-----
8) Kennedy to convention: "Dream lives on"
Baltimore Sun
"His wave familiar, his voice firm, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy told a
cheering Democratic National Convention last night that this is 'a
season of hope' for a stronger future in America under the presidency
of Barack Obama. And he added: 'I pledge to you that I will be there
next January on the floor of the United States Senate.' That had
special meaning, given the bleak prognosis Kennedy faces with a
malignant brain tumor. ... For his emotion-charged appearance at the
launch of the convention here, Kennedy braved the fatigue and weakened
immune system caused by his treatment for brain cancer to celebrate
Obama's nomination and to witness a moving tribute that Democrats had
prepared for the 46-year Massachusetts senator. It included a speech
by Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the assassinated President John
F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy's older brother." (08/26/08)
http://tinyurl.com/56n2zo
-----
9) Myanmar: Suu Kyi may be on hunger strike
Guardian [UK]
"Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader, has begun a hunger
strike in protest at the country's continued military rule,
unconfirmed reports suggest. Suu Kyi, 63, who has been under house
arrest for 13 of the past 19 years, is said to have rejected food
delivered to her home. ... The reports are unconfirmed as Suu Kyi's
supporters are barred from meeting with her. It is known that the pro-
democracy leader relies on the NLD's food deliveries for survival. Nyo
Ohn Myint, the NLD's head of foreign affairs, said the party leader
had refused all food deliveries since August 15 and would continue to
do so until her demands were met." (08/26/08)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/26/burma
-----
10) IN: Drug money fuels DTF spending spree
Muncie Star Press
"The Muncie-Delaware County Drug Task Force and former Police Chief
Joe Winkle went on a spending spree last year with forfeited drug
money, including expenses for a personal trainer and a 50-inch plasma
television for the city hall gym. Even bigger expenses questioned in a
State Board of Account audit of 2007 city spending include payments of
$31,199 for two high-end sport-utility vehicles for DTF officers, and
paying off the remaining $17,873 loan balance on accused drug dealer
Adrian Kirtz's confiscated 2003 GMC Denali that sits in
storage." [editor's note: Why is anyone surprised that government
thieves act like private sector thieves? They steal money. They buy
things they like with it. That's how thievery works! - TLK] (08/26/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5mh7qy
-----
11) UK: Tibet protester returns home
BBC News [UK]
"A British woman held in a Chinese jail for three days without charge
after a Free Tibet demonstration has said she is 'elated' to be back
in the UK. Amanda McKeown, 41, of Bristol, was arrested while filming
protesters near the Beijing Olympics site on Thursday. ... Two
Americans and a German were also detained by the Chinese authorities
following the protest, during which a Tibetan flag was
unfurled." (08/26/08)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7581032.stm
-----
12) UK: Economy "as bad as the Seventies"
Independent [UK]
"Pressure is mounting on Gordon Brown to find help for hard-pressed
families as the new Deputy Governor of the Bank of England warned that
the financial situation was at least as bad as that of the 1970s. As
the Prime Minister returns to his desk today to work on an economic
plan that will form the centrepiece of his attempt at an autumn
political fightback, Charles Bean said that the slowdown may 'drag on
for some considerable time' and that social problems could be caused
by the squeeze on household incomes. Mr Bean, speaking at a central
bankers' conference in Wyoming, said that the financial crisis was a
'transitory period.' But he warned that every time the markets
appeared to be recovering, 'another grenade" exploded.'" (08/26/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5kpbpo
-----
13) Japan: Country ordered to pay damages for sailor's suicide
Yahoo! News
"The Japanese government will have to pay damages to the parents of a
sailor who hanged himself after being repeatedly insulted by his
superior, in the first such court ruling involving a civil servant,
media said. The Fukuoka High Court in southern Japan ordered 3.5
million yen ($32,000) be paid to the parents of the petty officer
third class, a court spokesman said, declining to give further
details. Kyodo news agency said the court recognized that the sailor's
suicide had been caused by depression, a result of stress accumulated
from insults such as: 'You are not qualified as a petty officer third
class' and 'Are you dumb?' The sailor had been 21 when he committed
suicide aboard a destroyer in 1999, it said. A lower court had ruled
in the government's favor, saying the remarks from the sailor's
superior had fallen within the scope of training, Kyodo
added." (08/25/08)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080825/od_nm/suicide_dc
-----
14) WA: Seattle holds off on gun restrictions
Seattle Times
"As summer began, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said he was taking steps
to prohibit guns on all city-owned property after three people were
injured in a shooting at Seattle Center's Northwest Folklife festival.
But as the Center's summer festival season concludes with Bumbershoot
this weekend, no prohibition has taken effect. ... In the state
Legislature, representatives and senators have asked state Attorney
General Rob McKenna to issue an informal legal opinion on whether
state law pre-empts Nickels' executive order. ... Also, the Second
Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep
and Bear Arms, both based in Bellevue, have notified Nickels they
intend to mount a legal challenge to the executive order." (08/24/08)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/text/2008136296_gunfree25m.html
-----
15) OK: Man shot after arguing with woman
KOCO News
"Officers said a man and woman were fighting at Northeast 28th Street
and Santa Fe Avenue when another man pulled up in a truck. The woman
got into the truck, police said, but the man she was fighting with
broke the back window and tried to pull her through it. That's when
the truck's driver shot the man twice." (08/24/08)
http://www.koco.com/news/17280460/detail.html
-----
16) DE: HOA tells residents to show up or pay up
Cape Gazette
"In an effort to get homeowners to attend an annual meeting, a Long
Neck condominium association has threatened to fine homeowners $100 if
they don't attend or at least return a proxy. Bayshore Condominium
Association President Tom Durkin said in order to conduct business, at
least half of the 147 condominium association members must attend the
annual board meeting, Saturday, Aug. 23. The July 29 letter states,
'Please be aware that the board passed an official resolution. If you
are unable to attend the meeting and do not return your proxy/ballot,
you will be assessed a fine of $100.'" 908/22/08)
http://www.capegazette.com/storiescurrent/200808/bayshore082208.html
-----
17) Lone accountant takes on IRS ... and wins
Fox News
"It took seven years, but Charles Ulrich did something many people
dream about, but few succeed at: He beat the IRS in a tax dispute. Not
only that, but tax experts say potentially millions of other taxpayers
could benefit from his victory. The accountant from Baxter, Minn.,
challenged the method the IRS has used for more than 20 years to tax
shares and cash distributed by mutual life insurance firms to their
policyholders when they reorganize as public companies. A federal
court recently agreed with his interpretation. 'There's a tremendous
amount of money at stake,' said Robert Willens, a New York City-based
tax analyst at Robert Willens LLC. 'Tens of thousands of people could
be in line for a refund.'" [editor's note: This "win" is only a
diversion from the much larger issues in this arena of "taxable
income" - SAT] (08/25/08)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,409761,00.html
-----
18) TN: Nashville as Movie City? Film studio complex proposed
Tennessean
"Picture this: a film studio complex and public entertainment venue in
Nashville that would capture the look and feel of Universal Studios
Hollywood -- only without the rides and with a project pipeline loaded
with films targeted at heartland audiences. That's the pitch being
made to redevelop the Tennessee State Fairgrounds by Woodland, Calif.-
based Tower Investments and Nashville's 821 Entertainment, whose
projects include a forthcoming film about the life of the Rev. Billy
Graham, as well as a biopic on music legend Hank Williams. But whether
that studio concept turns out to be one of the four ideas selected by
the fair board to revamp the 117-acre site doesn't seem ultimately to
matter to Tower Investments Senior Vice President Alex Marks and 821
co-founder Eric Geadelmann. What matters most to the partners is being
able to secure a suitable spot in the Nashville area that allows them
to tap into what they said is intense interest from well-heeled
potential tenants who want to see movies added to Music City's
entertainment portfolio." [editor's note: The idea's not as bizarre as
it seems; the challenge is to get private interests to fund it and
take it off the city taxpayers' hands (cf. the oft-repeated "stadium
project" scams) - SAT] (08/25/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5lozuc
-----
19) Georges Bank drilling weighed
Boston Globe
"Canadian government officials and some fishermen are considering the
once unthinkable: drilling for oil and gas on the fabled Georges Bank
fishing ground their nation shares with the United States. Surging
energy prices, advances in drilling technology, and the decline of
fishing have combined to reignite interest in looking for oil on the
vast elevated stretch of sea floor that sits roughly 100 miles off
Cape Cod and runs northeasterly toward Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia's
energy minister, Richard Hurlburt, said in an interview that it is
possible that fishing and oil drilling 'can coexist' on
Georges." (08/25/08)
http://tinyurl.com/6ntpcf
-----
20) New rays of hope for solar power's future
Christian Science Monitor
"From five miles away, the Nevada Solar One power plant seems a
mirage, a silver lake amid waves of 110 degree F. desert heat. Driving
nearer, the rippling image morphs into a sea of mirrors angled to the
sun. As the first commercial 'concentrating solar power' or CSP plant
built in 17 years, Nevada Solar One marks the reemergence and updating
of a decades-old technology that could play a large new role in US
power production, many observers say. 'Concentrating solar is pretty
hot right now,' says Mark Mehos, program manager for CSP at the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Co. 'Costs look pretty
good compared to natural gas [power]. Public policy, climate concern,
and new technology are driving it, too.'" (08/22/08)
http://tinyurl.com/64gl6p
*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 08/26/08
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 86,664 ... Max - 94,561
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 4,147
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************
****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************
21) Washington is quietly repudiating its debts
Cato Institute
by Gerald P. O'Driscoll Jr.
"Will the U.S. Treasury repudiate its obligations to its creditors, be
they citizens or investors around the world? Most observers would
answer 'no' without hesitation. But Congress, with the complicity of
the White House and the Fed, has arguably embarked on a stealth
repudiation. In his famous treatise, 'The Wealth of Nations,' Adam
Smith noted there had never been a 'single instance' of sovereign
debts having been repaid once 'accumulated to a certain degree.' We
may have reached Smith's threshold." (08/25/08)
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9599
-----
22) Does Bush want war with Russia?
LewRockwell.Com
by Pat Buchanan
"If we proceed on a course of isolating Russia from the West, keeping
her out of the World Trade Organization, throwing her out of the G-8
and ending cooperation with NATO, where do we think Russia will go?
Where did Il Duce go, when he was excommunicated from the West? Condi
Rice compares Vladimir Putin's action in Georgia to Leonid Brezhnev's
crushing of the Prague Spring in 1968. She raced to Warsaw to ink a
deal to put 10 anti-missile missiles and U.S. Patriot missiles manned
by Americans into Poland. Does the Stanford provost have any idea
where the end of this road lies, upon which she and Bush have started
the United States?" (08/26/08)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/buchanan/buchanan96.html
-----
23) The Barr campaign at three months
Nolan Chart
by David F. Nolan
"First, the good news. Polls by the Zogby organization show Bob Barr
pulling as much as 5% of the popular vote nationwide, and double that
in some states. If this materializes we should all be excited, but
early polls usually show third-party candidates getting two to four
times the vote they actually receive in November. I still hope and
expect Barr to receive the highest vote total of any Presidential
candidate to date (i.e. more than 921,000) and think he is likely to
exceed our best percentage showing (1.06% in 1980). This will require
about 1.3 million votes, but I think it could happen. Unfortunately,
the good news pretty much ends there." (08/26/08)
http://www.nolanchart.com/article4605.html
-----
24) In search of a debatable proposition
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
by Thomas L. Knapp
"Resolved, that the primary effect of the alleged ongoing 'war on
terrorism,' as launched and promoted by the Bush administration and
embraced by the LDC, has not been significant progress toward the
defeat of terrorism, but rather the maintenance of either the
existence or the appearance of a significant existential threat to the
United States which masks and/or purports to justify a massive
transfer of wealth from the pockets of taxpayers to the bottom lines
of corporations which support the American political status quo with
campaign contributions, sweetheart post-government sinecures for
cooperative public officials, etc. and other forms of
bribery." (08/25/08)
http://tinyurl.com/6r3zdb
-----
25) Russia, Georgia, and the Kosovo connection
Independent Institute
by J. Victor Marshall
"In Russia even more than in America, 'Kosovo' rhymes with 'I told you
so.' Many Americans don't realize that the former Serbian province of
Kosovo, which broke away in 1999 after US-led NATO forces bombed
Serbia for 78 days, helped set the stage for the recent conflict
between Russia and neighboring Georgia. But Russian leaders, who like
most leaders care intensely about what happens at their borders
(Georgia) and to their longtime allies (Serbia), warned earlier this
year that support for Kosovo's independence would set a precedent that
could trigger separatist conflicts in places like Georgia. It was a
warning that Washington and several of its European allies foolishly,
even recklessly, failed to heed." (08/22/08)
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2301
-----
26) Doing the right thing, eventually
The Free Liberal
by Paul Jacob
"Give Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal credit for doing the right thing
sooner rather than later. Jindal acted faster than, say, former
Governor Gray Davis of California. In 2003, Davis tripled California's
car tax, provoking widespread anger. Finally, Davis agreed it should
be repealed ... but only after voters were about to recall him. Voters
weren't mollified, and Davis was duly ousted. In Louisiana, the scam
didn't touch taxpayers' wallets so directly. As symbolism, though, it
bit painfully enough. Out of the blue, legislators more than doubled
their salaries. The hike would have taken effect in the same session.
Governor Jindal had promised to veto any such pay raise. But he flip-
flopped." (08/26/08)
http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/003490.html
-----
27) Hillary courts her own supporters
Slate
by John Dickerson
"Two months ago, I wrote that unhappy Hillary voters would come home
to support Barack Obama by Election Day. Those that remained fixed
against Obama, I further argued, wouldn't be numerous enough (or live
in the right battleground states) to play much of a role. I still
believe this. But I'm getting wobbly. In the two and a half months
since Barack Obama won the nomination, he's been trying to convince
Hillary's supporters -- but his standing with them has gotten only
worse. Roughly 30 percent of Clinton voters say they won't vote for
him, and this is not a one-poll anomaly." (08/25/08)
http://www.slate.com/id/2197501/
-----
28) Economic myths
Human Events
by Walter E. Williams
"By taking a couple of courses in economic theory, we could immunize
ourselves from nonsense spouted by politicians and pundits, but in the
meantime check out Professor John R. Lott's 'Freedomnomics: Why the
Free Market Works.' His first chapter is 'Are You Being Ripped Off?'
It addresses myths about predation where it's sometimes alleged that
corporations will charge below-cost prices to bankrupt their rivals
and then charge unconscionable prices. There's little or no evidence
that corporations would choose predation as strategy; there are too
many pitfalls." (08/20/08)
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=28110
-----
29) Obama/Biden: Escalating the war on fathers and families
The Price of Liberty
by Gordon E. Finley, Ph.D.
"With the restraining order in hand, Sen. Biden's VAWA removes the
father from his home at any hour of the day or night, separates him
from his children, requires him to stay away from his wife, and
immediately orders him to begin paying child support to his wife based
only on her self-reported 'fear.' VAWA explicitly denies the father
his Constitutionally guaranteed due process protections. Children
explicitly are denied the love and companionship of fit fathers. In
short, the feminist objective of destroying family life is achieved
and the only real beneficiaries are the lawyers. While Sen. Biden's
contribution to the war on fathers and families is clear, much remains
to be learned about Sen. Obama and his attitudes towards fathers and
families." (08/25/08)
http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/08/08/25/finley.htm
-----
30) Seattle, it's not
Nanny State
by David Harsanyi
"The threat of violent protests at the Democratic National Convention
was a topic of endless discussion here in Denver leading up to the
DNC. There were city council meetings, lawsuits, hand wringing and
secret detentions centers (otherwise known as Gitmo on the Platte).
Yet, up to this point, it seems, all of it was an overreaction to a
clever public relations campaign waged by a handful of 'anarchist'
groups." (08/25/08)
http://davidharsanyi.com/blog/2008/08/25/seattle-its-not/
-----
31) Psst -- While you were gibbering, the ruling class rigged the game
and won everything
The Power of Narrative
by Arthur Silber
"These are the idiotically empty cliches and slogans of our civic
religion, which serve to drug 'the people' into apathy, into granting
the ruling class still more power, into taking part in these vacuous
exercises in 'democracy,' and into colluding in a massive coverup of
the truth of what has transpired over more than a century and is now
set in stone: this is government of the ruling class, by the ruling
class, and for the ruling class. Barring severe economic collapse
(more than possible), widespread global war (also more than possible),
repeated natural catastrophes (similarly more than possible), it shall
not perish from the earth -- until it implodes as the result of its
own rot and corruption, as have all similar systems in the past.
Assuming disasters on a massive scale don't occur, it's probably here
for your lifetime at least." (08/25/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5ac3a6
-----
32) Honey, I got the earmark
Mother Jones
by Ryan Grim
"Congressman Mike Turner, a Republican vying for a seat on the
powerful House Appropriations Committee, has declared himself to be a
pork buster, sponsoring legislation that would put a moratorium on all
federal earmarks -- those backdoor funding requests made by House and
Senate members for local projects that are not vetted in the usual
appropriations process. But for Turner, who represents a district in
southwest Ohio, pork has been a family affair. Since 2004, Turner has
requested millions in earmarks for a local organization that later
hired his wife, and a highway project that would benefit one of her
business partners." (for publication 09/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5kvpr2
-----
33) The thin man
The Weekly Standard
by William Kristol
"Here is Obama's resume: an Ivy League law degree, a few years of
community organizing, seven years in the Illinois senate, three and a
half years as a U.S. senator. Kind of modest. What has he accomplished
in any of those jobs? Not much, not much at all. Has he shown great
courage in his political career? Has he shunned the easy path or
broken with the conventional liberal pieties of those around him? Has
he taken on his own party on a major issue? Nope. Has he shown
exemplary character? He has undoubted skills and abilities. He has
always had great potential. But has he followed through on it? Is
there a moment in his public life that one looks to and says: Agree or
disagree, that was impressive? His defining moment so far was his
keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention." (for publication
09/01/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5hufud
-----
34) Health care: Unions lie; choice dies
Liberty For All
by Brian Schwartz
"Who would support a self-serving political agenda at the expense of
your health, wealth, and job mobility? AFL-CIO president John Sweeney
and Colorado executive director Mike Cerbo. In a recent Denver Post
commentary, they perpetuate the big lie behind politician-controlled
medicine: 'that the free market is not working,' and that
consequently, 'costs have been spiraling out of control.' But costs
have been increasing largely because of what unions defend: a tax code
that favors employer-sponsored insurance." (08/25/08)
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=1402
-----
35) Who wouldn't trust the FBI?
Disloyal Opposition
by JD Tuccille
"We don't have to delve into the past to find evidence of FBI
overstepping, and there's no grounds for Mukasey to pretend that
abuses of surveillance powers are ancient history. Just two weeks ago,
Senators Arlen Specter and Patrick Leahy wrote to FBI Director
Mueller, complaining that 'the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
misused so-called 'exigent letters' to obtain the telephone records of
reporters working in the Jakarta, Indonesia, bureaus of The Washington
Post and The New York Times.' That letter cited a scathing March 2007
Department of Justice Inspector General's report which found extensive
abuses of the use of national security letters and exigent letters to
obtain information." (08/25/08)
http://www.tuccille.com/blog/2008/08/who-wouldnt-trust-fbi.html
-----
36) Feds in the fishbowl
Reason
by Ronald Bailey
"Under the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers are granted jurisdiction over
the 'navigable waters' of the United States. If a boat can float on
it, it's theirs to regulate. Over the years, the definition of
'navigable waters' overflowed its banks, expanding to include
virtually anywhere with detectable levels of H2O." (08/25/08)
http://www.reason.com/news/show/127399.html
-----
37) Welcome to the food revolution
AlterNet
by Kerry Trueman
"I'd rather go to a Woodstock for garden gnomes, myself -- at least
those Lilliputian lawn ornaments share my fondness for front yard
farming. Gastro gnomes, on the other hand, sound like elitist elves
who are overly fond of artisanal cheeses and grass-fed beef. Do we
really need a celebration of such highfalutin culinary novelties at a
time when high fuel and food costs are making it harder for people to
keep their pantries stocked with even the most basic staples? Well,
yes, we do, because we need to remember that the fresh, unadulterated,
minimally processed, locally produced foods that Slow Food Nation is
showcasing were our pantry staples, before the military-industrial
complex annexed our food chain a half a century or so ago in the name
of progress." (08/25/08)
http://tinyurl.com/6m7myk
-----
38) A case for McCain-Palin
Intellectual Conservative
by Steven D. Laib
"So what makes Palin special that she should be selected ahead of
anyone else? There isn't any single qualification. It is the
combination of things that makes Palin an excellent choice. She is
young, dynamic, a cost cutter, and she has populist roots, as well.
She is likely to help cement the Middle American hunting and fishing
generally blue collar vote through her ties to a similar community in
Alaska. She is a pro-life Christian, which will strengthen McCain's
hand with the evangelical community. While we haven't seen it yet on
the national scene, she may be a tougher woman than Hilary Clinton.
She made her way into the governor's office on her own, rather than on
her husband's coattails. At the same time, she can be a diplomat. She
was named Miss Congeniality in the Miss Alaska pageant. In short, she
as all the credentials to be a strong running mate, who can help
strengthen the foundation that McCain needs to win this year. But
wait, there's more." (08/25/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5cyvaj
-----
39) Gun control and the Second Amendment
OpEd News
by Mike Kimball
"Gun control laws frequently require the use of technology by law
enforcement, as well as placing requirements on manufacturers and,
ultimately, the consumer. Are these effective? Since I live in
California I will focus on local laws, the #1 state for the Brady
Campaign." (08/24/08)
http://tinyurl.com/6q7n79
-----
40) Gun "rights" vs. freedom
Chicago Tribune
by Steve Chapman
"Supporters of the right to keep and bear arms have long recognized
the value of firearms for the defense of life, liberty and property.
But in Florida, a perverse conception of the 2nd Amendment has
produced the opposite effect: The cause of gun rights is being used to
attack property rights. ... Robert Levy, the Cato Institute lawyer who
participated in the successful challenge of the Washington ordinance,
says the Florida law 'has nothing to do with the 2nd Amendment.' The
Constitution, he notes, is a limit on government power, not a
constraint on what private individuals or corporations may do. A
municipal government may not forbid guns to everyone on the territory
under its control. But, as far as the Constitution is concerned, a
private property owner certainly can." (08/24/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5kapb7
-----
41) Another US war resister from Canada court-martialed
Common Dreams
by Ann Wright
'In June, 2008, by a vote of 137 to 110, Canadian parliamentarians in
a non-binding resolution asked the Harper government not to deport US
war resisters 'who have refused or left military service related to a
war not sanctioned by the United Nations.' Yet, one month later, in a
controversial move, Canadian police jailed and then deported on July
15, 2008, US war resister Robin Long for having not reported a change
of address. Canadian Immigration put Long into the waiting hands of US
law enforcement authorities who immediately turned Long over to the US
Army." (08/25/08)
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/08/24/11135/
-----
42) Israeli outposts seal death of Palestinian state
CounterPunch
by Jonathan Cook
"Long-established Palestinian villages are instantly identifiable by
their homes' flat roofs and the prominence of the tall minarets of the
local mosques. Interspersed among them, however, are a growing number
of much newer, fortified communities of luxury villas topped by
distinctive red-tiled roofs. These are the Jewish settlements that now
form an almost complete ring around Palestinian East Jerusalem,
cutting it off from the rest of the West Bank and destroying any hope
that the city will one day become the capital of a Palestinian
state." (08/25/08)
http://counterpunch.org/cook08252008.html
-----
43) A really rough stretch for Pax Americana
Asia Times
by Jim Lobe
"In a 'breathtaking' two weeks of foreign policy failures, Washington
has seen bloody attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the possibility
of renewed civil war in Iraq and the embarrassment of Russia's
invasion of Georgia. In sum, the Pax Americana era, in which the US
maintained a monopoly on the use of military force, came to an
end." (08/25/08)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/JH26Aa02.html
-----
44) Not to worry: They're on our side
Strike the Root
by George F. Smith
"It's pointless to look at their campaign platforms. They're made up
of words, and words to a politician are like drops of water on a hot
skillet -- they sizzle, then they're gone. We know a priori both
candidates are certified, homogenized, lobotomized statists, otherwise
they wouldn't be the two contenders." (08/25/08)
http://www.strike-the-root.com/82/smith/smith4.html
-----
45) Breaking the cord with the Clintons
Boston Globe
by James Carroll
"I saw an ad that offered a 'free Obama button,' and I thought ... now
there's a slogan: 'Free Obama.' This week, what Barack Obama must be
freed from are the Clintons. The most obvious problem is the wild-card
character of the Hillary Clinton faction in Denver, but there are ways
in which both Clinton and her husband embody and prolong the deep
dysfunction of the Democratic Party. It was inevitable that each
Clinton be spotlighted at the convention, but the prime-time focus on
Hillary on Tuesday and Bill on Wednesday, with the Hillary Clinton
roll call assuring an unpredictable outburst, threatens to derail the
Obama campaign before it leaves the station" [editor's note: I had
exactly the same reaction to that button-ad ... and to the other
issues raised here! - SAT] (08/25/08)
http://tinyurl.com/6n9c3p
-----
46) The Obama-Biden ticket: An analysis
Christian Science Monitor
by Peter Grier
"Barack Obama says he represents a new kind of post-partisan politics
-- but he's made what appears to be a traditional choice for running
mate. Advisers often urge presidential candidates to plug holes in
their own resumes with their vice-presidential picks, and that's what
Senator Obama may have done in opting for Sen. Joseph Biden (D) of
Delaware. Senator Biden is many things Obama is not: experienced (35
years in the Senate), a foreign policy expert, and Catholic, for
instance. Perhaps most importantly, he's nobody's idea of effete. With
a blue-collar background and tough campaign style, Biden could counter
GOP efforts to frame Obama himself as an elitist. 'Biden fills gaps
many people see in Obama's credentials,' says Cal Jillson, a political
science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. The
reverse is also true: Obama's strengths are Biden's
weaknesses." (08/23/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5hn88h
-----
47) Biden as VP: Why it makes sense
The American Prospect
by Ezra Klein
"All media outlets are reporting it's Biden, which suggests the Obama
campaign is ready to take the foreign policy fight to McCain. There'll
be more to say soon enough, recapping Biden's effort to disrupt the
war in Iraq through the Biden-Lugar resolution (though when that
failed, Biden voted for the war), noting that his son is going to Iraq
in October, mentioning that he authored the Violence Against Women
Act, and playing up the fact that he chairs the Foreign Relations
Committee." (08/23/08)
http://tinyurl.com/6mkrfk
-----
48) The whole world WAS watching
In These Times
by Laura S. Washington
"In August 1968, the most wrongheaded war in American history was
being executed badly and brutally in distant Southeast Asia. Yet 40
years ago this week, when the Democratic Party gathered in Chicago to
nominate its standard-bearer, the world was riveted by the blood on
avenues, sidewalks and parks much closer to home. The '68 Democratic
National Convention debacle remains a symbol of everything that went
wrong with American politics, society and culture in that tumultuous
and iconic year. It was five days of mayhem in the Windy City, five
days that left the Democratic Party in shambles." (08/23/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5dbwls
-----
49) Biden's kitchen-table populism
The Nation
by John Nichols
"Barack Obama stumbled at one point in his introduction of his vice
presidential pick, telling the crowd in Springfield that he had come
to 'introduce you to the next President ... the next Vice President of
the United States of America: Joe Biden.' But, in the last setting
that will ever see Obama introducing Biden, it was the Vice
Presidential candidate who drew the most raucous cheers from the
crowd. When Biden went after John McCain, with a vigor and, yes, a
venom that has been missing from Obama's stump speaking, it was a
tonic for the troops who have been waiting for a campaign that is more
prepared to throw punches than take them. Biden was ready to
rumble." (08/23/08)
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/347879
-----
50) US paying a price for backing dictator
Tennessean
by Karen Petersen, Ph.D.
"Pakistan presents the most significant and difficult foreign policy
challenge facing the United States today. While numerous factors
complicate our relationship with Pakistan, I will focus on three:
history, nuclear weapons and terrorism. U.S. support for Gen. Pervez
Musharraf mirrors a consistent policy of support for corrupt autocrats
in Pakistan. Attempts at establishing civilian control of political
institutions in Pakistan have failed to win the support of the U.S.
under both Democratic and Republican administrations. Under the
current administration we have spent more money in Pakistan ($11
billion) than we did in the previous 50 years. The payoff? Increased
hostility toward the U.S. and domestic support for militant Islamist
institutions and schools that have moved into Pakistan to fill the
void left by an ineffective and corrupt government. Why? Because
little to none of the money we spend in Pakistan reaches civilian
institutions; instead, it has been used to fund an alarming and
dangerous arms race in the region." (08/23/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5rzeyd
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* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
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51) Lew Rockwell on Antiwar Radio, 08/26/08
KAOS 92.7 FM
Lew Rockwell, president of the Ludwig von Mises Institute and
proprietor of LewRockwell.com joins host Scott Horton to discuss the
Russia – Georgia conflict and Senator Joe Biden. 12:15pm Eastern on
KAOS 92.7 FM, Austin, TX or live on the web. [live radio or stream]
(08/26/08)
http://www.kaosradioaustin.org/
-----
52) Cato Daily Podcast, 08/26/08
Cato Institute
"The fix is in for retail prices," featuring Thomas A. Firey. [MP3]
(08/26/08)
http://www.cato.org/dailypodcast/podcast-archive.php?podcast_id=715
-----
53) Free Talk Live, 08/25/08
Free Talk Live
"Overdue Library Book Arrest / Radio Syndication / Sloppy TSA /
Private Library / Sting Alert / Jailed for Shorts in Court / Federal
Porn Prosecutions Continue / Americans, Patriotism, Nationalists / War
on Drugs Unintended Consequences / Selfishness / IOUSA Outreach / The
National Debt / Building the State, Destroying Liberty." [MP3]
(08/25/08)
http://media.libsyn.com/media/ftl/FTL2008-08-25.mp3
-----
54) Wilson's war
The Lew Rockwell Show
Lew Rockwell interviews John Denson on WWI. [MP3] (08/25/08)
http://tinyurl.com/5z9qrp
-----
55) THINKFuture #657
THINKFuture
"Back To School Blues / OBiden Emerges / Out Cheney Cheney / Pity The
Abandoned Child / Obama Praises Communism." [MP3] (08/25/08)
http://tinyurl.com/tf657
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* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
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56) Today's events
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* WaYbAcK
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57) "Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no
one else ..."
Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:
http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi
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