 Update, 08/20/08 – Thanks to contributor CRM, whose $60 payment yesterday (via ISIL) brings our running total to $1482.50 against our goal of $5,000! CRM writes: “I have resisted donating for at least five years because [PayPal] is such a PITA; how many other readers have the same problem?” That’s a good question. The answer is “I don’t know.” But I would like to explain why we use PayPal, and that we do offer other options. We use PayPal because it is popular, because its transaction costs are reasonable, and because so far it has been trustworthy. I’ve vetted other online payment processors, and have yet to find another (other than as mentioned below) that meets our needs … but I’m still looking. A couple of times a year, I investigate new services, look at old ones to see if they’ve changed in a way that makes them viable for us, etc. When I find one, we’ll add it (and perhaps eventually transition entirely away from PayPal … they’re anti-gun, among other things). We also accept e-gold. It’s not as popular as PayPal, but some people (including me) like it a lot. Prior to the government raids on Liberty Dollar, we accepted it (and still will, if you’ve got warehouse receipts you’d like to send!), but as of the last time I checked (before the raids) they had still not put out scripts and such for automated online contributions, so we didn’t stress that option. And, of course, I’m happy to take your check, money order, FRNs, gold bullion, car title, or collection of old baseball cards via snail, UPS, etc. (just email me for address information and such). We want to make it easy to support the freedom movement’s daily newspaper. Really! See that email link above if you have a suggestion on how we can - TLK —– Dear readers, Earlier this year, I told you that RRND/FND would be moving to a “twice-a-year” fundraising schedule — and we’re keeping our word. We’ve even waited almost a month past mid-year to start our first 2008 drive. But now it’s time. The goal is $5,000, and we’ll keep plugging until we reach it (even if that means extending into our year-end fundraiser, which we’d certainly prefer not to do!). You can support “the freedom movement’s daily newspaper” (and our offshoot publications — 2nd Amendment News Digest, Liberty Action News Digest and Progressive News Digest) in any of several ways: One-Time Payments Online
Become a Subscribing Contributor! [Note: All subscription payments received during the fundraiser will be credited toward its total]
Other Options If you prefer to support RRND/FND through the International Society for Individual Liberty, to target your contribution to this project. Please drop me a line so that I can thank you and add your contribution to our total (ISIL doesn’t send us a daily report). If you’d like to send a check, money order, cash or other valuable thing via US Snail, again, write me so I can send you the address and instructions. And Now For Something Completely Different Would you like to see NO MORE RRND/FND fundraisers for nearly a year? So would we … so here’s a “side bet.” Up-front disclaimer: This mid-year fundraiser WILL continue until the goal is met, even if that’s some time next year (hopefully it will be some time next month!). But, we’re running a simultaneous “contingent pledge drive” through Fundable.Com to raise ANOTHER $5k … and if we make it, our next fundraiser won’t be until at least mid-2009. It’s a simple concept: You pledge the amount of money you’re willing to contribute to that second $5k. If we raise $5k in pledges like yours, you pay. If we don’t, you don’t. That simple. Click here to make your pledge. Yours in liberty, | | Report Bad Link |
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“A U.S. soldier was killed during a rocket attack at a base near Amara. In what may be the same incident, the Iraqi army base in Missan was rocketed, but no casualties were reported. The base is north of Amara at the al-Betiera airport. In Baghdad, one person was killed and four were wounded during a roadside bomb attack in Ubaidi. In Zaafaraniya, a civilian was killed by another roadside bomb. One person was killed and three others were wounded during a small arms attack at a checkpoint.” (08/20/08) http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=13326 | | Report Bad Link |
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“France’s new commitment to put more of its troops on the line in Afghanistan was severely tested yesterday after a Taliban ambush near Kabul left 10 of its soldiers dead and 21 wounded in the worst single-day death toll for the French military in 25 years. President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose Afghan policy defies decades of French hostility toward NATO combat missions, said the heavy losses would not weaken his resolve to ‘pursue the battle against terrorism.’ … The French paratroopers were on a reconnaissance mission with U.S. Special Forces operatives and the Afghan National Army when they were ambushed in a strategic valley in the Sarobi district, about 50 kilometres northeast of the capital, Kabul. While details of the battle were sketchy, French Defence Minister Herve Morin said that about 100 heavily armed Taliban fighters attacked the tank column late Monday, setting off three hours of fierce fighting and clashes that continued overnight.” (08/20/08) http://tinyurl.com/64trvl | | Report Bad Link |
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“Twin car bombings rocked a hotel and military headquarters in the Algerian town of Bouira on Wednesday, killing 11 people, official media and witnesses said a day after a suicide bombing in a neighboring region killed 43. A car laden with explosives went off at about 6 a.m. (12 a.m. ET) in front of the Bouira sector military command, injuring four soldiers …. It was followed a minute later by a second bombing against the nearby Hotel Sofi, Bouira’s largest, witnesses said. That attack killed 11 people and wounded 27 others …. The bombings came a day after a suicide bomber rammed a car into a line of applicants at a police academy in the town of Les Issers, some 27 miles to the north, killing at least 43 people and injuring 45.” (08/20/08) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121921885066656237.html | | Report Bad Link |
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“The death toll from a suicide blast in northwest Pakistan has risen to 30 following the deaths of seven more people in hospital overnight, police said Wednesday. The suicide attack happened at a hospital in the troubled town of Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday as Shiite Muslims gathered to protest over the death of a man in a suspected sectarian attack. … The suicide attack was the first since US-backed president Pervez Musharraf resigned on Monday.” (08/20/08) http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hTAxg65iSKl8PY6XwZGBFLeTrCxA | | Report Bad Link |
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“A federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out a Bush administration policy that allowed only the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to monitor polluting industries, giving states broader authority over emissions control. The ruling could affect more than 16,000 industrial polluters such as oil refineries, power plants and factories across the country and was hailed by environmentalists as a victory for those seeking tougher restrictions for soot, smog, mercury and other pollutants.” (08/20/08) http://tinyurl.com/6rdw9v | | Report Bad Link |
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“Melting ice uncovered a hoax this week, as the ‘Bigfoot’ found in a Georgia woods turned out to be … a rubber Halloween costume. Bigfoot hunters Matt Whitton and Rick Dyer had tossed their find in a freezer and frozen it in a solid chunk of ice — to preserve it, they said. The two men finally turned over the freezer and on Sunday, Bigfoot enthusiasts waited with bated breath as the apparent 7-foot-7 inch ‘body’ slowly defrosted at an undisclosed location. After hours of waiting, a dark patch of hair emerged. Steve Kulls, executive director of Squatchdetective.com, told Fox that he extracted a hair sample and burned it. It was apparently made of synthetic fibers …. the group’s fears were confirmed when further melting revealed a rubber foot. … As of Tuesday, the two Georgia men who perpetrated the hoax were nowhere to be found. According to the Searching for Bigfoot’s Web site, the organization plans to pursue legal action against the men.” (08/20/08) http://www.mercurynews.com/valley/ci_10252645 | | Report Bad Link |
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“More than 200,000 children were hit as punishment in U.S. schools last year and in the South more blacks than whites are struck, two human rights groups said in a report released on Wednesday. Texas accounted for a quarter of the instances of corporal punishment in the 2006-2007 school year, according to the study compiled by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union. … Twenty-one U.S. states still permit the use of corporal punishment in schools. In Texas and Mississippi children as young as 3 are struck for transgressions as minor as gum chewing, the report says.” (08/20/08)Re http://tinyurl.com/5gk238 | | Report Bad Link |
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“While the FBI and federal prosecutors are confident the case against the sole suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks would have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, Bruce Ivins’ attorney says the government is not providing enough information to allow the public to judge for itself. Attorney Paul Kemp tells WTOP the FBI and prosecutors are tweaking the case against Ivins in a way that wouldn’t be allowed in court. … Top FBI officials and a handful of prominent scientists who aided the investigation presented more — but not all — of the scientific case against Ivins in a two-hour briefing Monday to try to quell suspicions of outside scientists, some of whom were friends of the suspect. At times, the officials and scientists contradicted themselves, even down to the number of flasks containing the anthrax Ivins had.” (08/19/08) http://www.wtop.com/?sid=1462645&nid=25 | | Report Bad Link |
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“James Hetfield co-founded the influential heavy metal band Metallica and, as its chief songwriter, helped pen and perform strident songs such as Don’t Tread on Me. It might as well be his anthem for property rights in Marin County. The Marin County resident has erected a barbed-wire fence on his property near San Rafael, cutting off a fire trail that locals say has been used for at least a half-century to access treasured hiking trails along scenic ridgelines. Hetfield’s representatives have told county officials that the metal and barbed-wire fence is a response to vandalism on the property. Nonetheless, the decision has infuriated the bikers, hikers and equestrians who use the trail.” [editor’s note: Now we find out if Metallica fans actually listen to the lyrics! - SAT] (08/19/08) http://tinyurl.com/6xkxm6 | | Report Bad Link |
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“A site once home to a Cold War-era uranium-processing plant and the focus of a contentious struggle to clean up toxic waste has re-emerged as a haven for wildlife and a memorial to those who worked to make the area safe. The Fernald Preserve and its visitors center will make their public debut Wednesday at the former site of the government center that processed uranium metal for nuclear weapons from 1952 to 1989. Shrouded in secrecy for years, the site gained national notoriety in the 1980s, with media reports on site emissions and residents’ concerns over radioactive contamination of air, soil and groundwater.” (08/19/08) http://tinyurl.com/55bn82 | | Report Bad Link |
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“When John Rich recently took a Florida stage to support the presidential campaign of John McCain, he said, ‘Somebody’s got to walk the line in the country. They’ve got to walk it unapologetically,’ before singing Johnny’s song, Walk the Line. ‘And I’m sure Johnny Cash would have been a John McCain supporter if he was still around,’ John said. Not necessarily: Johnny supported Democrat Jimmy Carter. Now, Johnny’s daughter, singer/songwriter/author Rosanne Cash, has made her thoughts known on the matter with a statement posted on her Website. ‘I knew my father pretty well, at least better than some of those who entitle themselves to his legacy and his supposed ideals, and even I would not presume to say publicly what I ‘know’ he thought or felt.’” (08/19/08) http://tinyurl.com/69jrz7 | | Report Bad Link |
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“He calls himself ‘Robin Hood 702.’ He’s a high stakes blackjack player well known in certain Las Vegas casinos for wagering thousands of dollars a hand, sometimes winning (or losing) hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single day. Now he’s offering to use his gambling skills — and his own money — to help a family in financial need, like a modern-day Robin Hood, taking from the rich and giving to the poor. He wants to remain anonymous to keep the focus on the good deed he’s ready to do. … He’s created a website, Robinhood702.com, where he’ll collect submissions now through Sept. 15 before choosing a winner. He says anyone can nominate anyone in need, like a friend, relative, neighbor or themselves, by sending a 1- to 3-minute video explaining their hardships, contributions or other reasons they should be selected.” [editor’s note: The difference is, this “Robin Hood” is not stealing from anyone - SAT] (08/19/08) http://onthescene.blogs.foxnews.com/author/rickleventhal/ | | Report Bad Link |
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“In yet another fragile peace accord in Somalia, the government and opposition parties yesterday announced an agreement designed to halt months of escalating fighting. But the war-torn country, an Al Qaeda front in Africa, braced for fresh violence as Islamist insurgents vowed to continue fighting and executed a United Nations aid worker. According to the official Chinese news service Xinhua, government and opposition representatives met on Monday to discuss a peace agreement. … The peace accord, like many others, was not expected to hold.” (08/20/08) http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0819/p99s01-duts.html | | Report Bad Link |
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“The gun-control activist whose provocative billboards have been turning heads along the Massachusetts Turnpike for 13 years today will unveil one of his most eye-popping messages yet — a fake neon advertisement for American gun shows where people can buy weapons, no questions asked. ‘We Sell Guns! No ID required. No background checks. Criminals and terrorists welcome!’ the billboard peals. ‘Gun shows are the equivalent of Al Qaeda terrorists walking directly onto the airplane while you and I wait in the TSA line,’ John Rosenthal, founder and chairman of Stop Handgun Violence, said in a recent interview. ‘They don’t want us to go on airplanes but they let Al Qaeda buy guns unprotected.’” [editor’s note: So this fascist punk would use false advertising (FTC alert?) to disarm every law-abiding citizen, while leaving “Al Qaeda” armed with the illegal weapons they already have? - SAT] (08/19/08) http://tinyurl.com/6q5uzy | | Report Bad Link |
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“A New Zealand court has allowed a parade of topless porn stars on motor bikes to proceed on the main street of the country’s biggest city, local media said Tuesday. Auckland City Council had sought a court injunction to stop the ‘Boobs on Bikes’ parade, scheduled for Wednesday, saying it breached a bylaw banning offensive public events. But Judge Nicola Mathers said while opponents may find the parade offensive or tasteless, the fact that 80,000 people had gathered for a similar event last year meant a significant number of people did not agree with the critics, New Zealand Press Association said.” (08/19/08) http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080819/od_nm/parade_porn_odd_dc | | Report Bad Link |
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“A modern-day slave trade is in operation across Scotland, new research has suggested. Human rights charity Amnesty International said Scotland had 13.5% of the UK’s trade in people. This was despite Scotland having less than 10% of the population. Amnesty said it used figures from police, councils, voluntary groups and other services to present the most comprehensive picture to date of the problem of human trafficking.The report, Human Trafficking — Scotland’s 21st Century Slaves, said Scottish police raided more than 50 premises, resulting in 35 arrests and 59 people being dealt with as victims of trafficking during its specialist Operation Pentameter 2.” (08/19/08) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7570634.stm | | Report Bad Link |
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“Police in Germany have confiscated what’s thought to be the world’s fastest office chair. Two 17-year-olds had pimped up the offending seat by adding a lawnmower engine, bicycle brakes and a metal frame.The teenagers claimed they had only tested their contraption by riding it a few metres, but witnesses had reported seeing it whizzing about all over the streets of Gross-Zimmern. The pair were arrested. Officers are considering charging them with a variety of offences — including riding a vehicle without insurance, licences or registration.” (08/19/08) http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2972634.html | | Report Bad Link |
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“Classes are still a week away, but some students at the University of Colorado-Boulder are already making themselves heard.Students for ‘Concealed Carry on Campus’ planned to make their case for allowing concealed weapons on campus to the CU Board of Regents Wednesday. The group was formed after the Virginia Tech shootings and said had those students been armed, the outcome may have been different. ‘They cowered under desks, the braver ones barricaded doors but that’s all they could do,’ argued Jim Manley, a member of the group. He said those with concealed weapons permits are trained and have earned the right to arm themselves.” (08/18/08) http://cw2.trb.com/news/kwgn-cu-concealed-weapons,0,5811021.story | | Report Bad Link |
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“They came, they saw, they carried — and they didn’t cause any problems. Members of OpenCarry.org peacefully set up shop Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park in Warren to prove a point about the Second Amendment and Michigan’s gun laws. About 75 gun enthusiasts strolled through the park throughout the afternoon with sidearms strapped to their belts in plain view. The goal was to underscore that Michigan is among 44 states where it’s legal to carry a gun in public without a permit, as long as it was legally purchased and registered.” (08/17/08) http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/081708/loc_local03.shtml | | Report Bad Link |
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“An 85-year-old great-grandmother from Lake Lynn, Fayette County kept an alleged burglar at bay using a .22-caliber pistol. According to police, a 17-year-old suspect was attempting to burglarize Leda Smith overnight. That’s when Smith grabbed her gun and told the teen that she would shoot him if he moved, police said. ‘I had the gun on him before he turned around and said, ‘you’ve had it,” Smith told Channel 11-News. According to police, Smith ordered the boy to dial 911 and then gave him some advice. ‘Dial 911 and don’t attempt to throw the phone at me, or do anything bad or I’ll just shoot you,’ Smith said.” (08/18/08) http://www.wpxi.com/news/17223812/detail.html | | Report Bad Link |
Commentary
News | Audio and Video | Events and Movement News
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“Missouri’s Democratic senator and Republican governor both recently tried, unsuccessfully, to use their influence to stop the sale of St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch to Belgian-based booze giant InBev. Anyone who has ever tasted the flavorless pale-yellow concoctions sold by the company known for its Clydesdale horses would be shocked that anyone would want to buy the firm responsible for them, rather than tar-and-feather those who ran it. I’m interested in beer, but passionate about automobiles. Yet even when it comes to cars, I would in no way want the government to interfere in the market process. Instead of worrying about the ongoing plight of the Big Three American automobile manufacturers, I celebrate it. Companies that have operated more like regulated utilities than entrepreneurial organizations deserve to have tough times. Companies that prefer bean-counters to creative managers and that mortgage their future to give in to absurd union demands deserve to lose market share and to face sinking stock values. Companies that care about other things more than they care about the consumer deserve to fail. Good riddance to them. Better companies will rise up to fill the void, even if they are based in India or China.” (08/20/08) http://www.lewrockwell.com/greenhut/greenhut56.html | | Report Bad Link |
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“The degeneration of journalism into ‘infotainment’ has been bemoaned by the mandarins of the profession ever since the cable news revolution knocked the networks off their pedestal. Now the Internet is overtaking the cable channels as the place news consumers go to get their infotainment fix — or, alternatively, where they go to find out what the mainstream media isn’t telling us. In any case, the perception of a rapid degeneration of the news-gathering business into something other than journalism is not exactly a new complaint. What is new is that this long-standing complaint has a fresh angle on it. With the entire concept of reporting the ‘news’ already endangered, the hysterical warmongering that followed in the wake of 9/11 completed the process of degeneration begun long ago. In the post-9/11 world, the news, as such, no longer exists: what we have now is a ‘narrative.’” (08/20/08) http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=13329 | | Report Bad Link |
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“A month ago, Fannie Mae had plummeted from $70 a share over the past year to roughly $8 a share. Today, it’s opening at just over $6 a share. Freddie Mac was also down from roughly $60 a share a year ago to about $4.40 last month. Today, it’s opening at $4.16, and it is likely going to go down even more. Thus, the vaunted bailout plans announced by the government have done nothing to slow the overall downward trend. This is significant because everyone (except for those of us who are opposed to the Federal Reserve’s fiat monetary system) seems to be counting on the government bailout to … well … bail ‘em out, and yet it’s not working. The markets, after initially responding positively, have resumed their negative slide.” (08/19/08) http://www.nolanchart.com/article4535.html | | Report Bad Link |
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“Notice that when people go to the grocery store they don’t fight. I walk up and down the aisles and pick what I want. It may not be what you want but you don’t care. You aren’t paying my bill and I’m not paying your bill. I can respect your selections and you can respect mine. You might shake your head at some items I buy and I might look down on some of your choice. But neither of us is willing to fight over other people’s choices. In politics the opposite is true. Everything is constant conflict. It is constant conflict because the political means of achieving goals means the use of government power to achieve goals. That means we direct the raw power of government against others to secure what we want. We DO take from people the things they own. We DO impose on will on others. If the grocery store worked like politics it would be a hellish experience. We’d have to lobby for the right to buy the doughnut we like.” (08/19/08) http://tinyurl.com/6s793y | | Report Bad Link |
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“In the United States of America and in Great Britain there is civilized debate and disputation on vital issues of the day, the month, the year and the decade are widely circulated, with the contributors largely restrained and polite without being at all dull. This form of exploration of important human topics began back in ancient Greece and was carried on in Rome, more or less consistently, although often surrounded by overt violence and intimidation. And, of course, in many parts around the globe today discussions of such vital topics has a hard time being carried out in a civil tongue–the threat of bayonets and bombs is altogether real, should someone in the minority annoy an opponent too severely. However, the influence of modern classical liberal ideas, especially as regards public affairs, has been to at least compartmentalize the conflicts so that where ideas are discussed, weapons are barred. The progress this exhibits must not be over nor underestimated. A few steps forward can easily be obliterated by a few backwards.” (08/19/08) http://tibikem.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!B2FD693F4B9A5746!301.entry | | Report Bad Link |
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“The 2008 Democratic Party’s draft platform confirms that the party still ‘doesn’t get it’ about Second Amendment gun rights versus the Utopian fantasy that gun control laws will somehow make neighborhoods safer, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.” (08/19/08) http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=1401 | | Report Bad Link |
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“John McCain and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham have logged so many miles together, in nearly a decade of buddy-movie-style campaign road trips, that the conservative blogs call Graham ‘McCain’s Mini Me.’ (And ‘Grahamnesty,’ in a swipe at McCain’s immigration plan, and — because seventh grade is forever — ‘Senator Dramatic Chipmunk.’) Their policy differences are imperceptible, and when they switch positions, they tend to do that in tandem also, as when they simultaneously dropped their opposition to offshore drilling. On a personal level, they share a sense of humor based on insult — think George W. Bush, only funny — an interest in military history, and a history in the military. Yet in other ways, Graham is not only an unexpected BFF for McCain but his opposite, as fluent in the emotional realm as the presidential candidate is flummoxed.” (08/14/08) http://www.slate.com/id/2197499/ | | Report Bad Link |
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“Pakistan is currently governed by a two-party coalition, which took power in parliament after elections this February. The coalition has been unified around little more than hatred of Musharraf. Its leaders — Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif — detest each other. They cooperated only to force Musharraf from office, and will now vie for power. Zardari is the widower of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in December. Zardari’s party — the Pakistan Peoples party — is center-Left and generally pro-Western. Zardari himself feels no sympathy for the Islamists and favors the continuation of Musharraf’s policies. Sharif, head of the Muslim League-N and a former prime minister of Pakistan (it was he whom Musharraf ousted in 1999), is by comparison more sympathetic to the radicals. He would not likely abandon Musharraf’s pro-U.S. orientation entirely, but could not be counted upon as an ally. There is nothing the U.S. can do to influence the outcome of the contest between Zardari and Sharif, but our hopes should attach to the former. Unfortunately, both are typical Pakistani politicians. What this means is that in practice they are likely to be corrupt and incompetent.” (08/19/08) http://tinyurl.com/6jddcn | | Report Bad Link |
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“On October 21, 2007 Milaus Almore, eight weeks pregnant, sought refuge at the SafeSpace abuse shelter. Ten days later the 26-year-old woman lay dead, stabbed with a pocket knife that left a gaping wound in the side of her neck. The weapon was wielded not by her abuser, but by another woman staying at the Stuart, Fla. facility. The victim’s grieving mother blurted out the obvious irony of her death: ‘She went in there to be safe, and she got killed.’” (08/18/08) http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/08/08/18/roberts.htm | | Report Bad Link |
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“The US government has set itself up as the guarantor of all things bad, the lender of last resort, and the great insurer against all calamities. In the downward side of the business cycle, the government is bailing out homeowners, lenders, and speculators. Taxpayer are gifted with government ‘rebate’ checks. All this is done with borrowed money, while billions are also borrowed to wage war. The US government can spend lavishly with borrowed funds because the USA’s debt has been considered maximally safe. United States treasury bonds are the benchmark of safety; all risks are relative to T-bonds. The US federal government thus enjoys a zero risk premium on its debt, in contrast to corporations that must pay extra to get buyers to hold corporate bonds rather than federal debt.” (08/19/08) http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/003476.html | | Report Bad Link |
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“Futures markets exist to permit commercial interests to hedge their business risks. For a fee, a farmer (or oil producer) can put a floor under the price at which his product will sell. The forward price is normally a bit lower than the current price, but the contract protects the farmer from a catastrophic price slump — such as may occur in (for instance) bumper years. Speculators buy the futures on the chance that the market price will be substantially higher. They make a respectable profit on what is in effect an insurance function, and a killing in years of drought, flood, and war. This system works reasonably well so long as speculators do not actually control or manipulate prices. For if they can drive prices way up, they can obviously cash in while the farmer (who has presold his crop) cannot.” (for publication 09/08) http://tinyurl.com/583r83 | | Report Bad Link |
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“Whereas Chavez has championed radical anti-capitalist policies and sought to move Venezuela backward, Lula has proved to be a pragmatic, market-friendly modernizer. It is the Lula model that has far greater appeal throughout the region. After all, what has Chavez really done for Venezuela? Although the full extent of his mismanagement has been camouflaged by high energy prices (which have been a boon to the oil-rich country), he is wrecking the Venezuelan economy. The healthcare system has deteriorated alarmingly, and food shortages remain a persistent problem. Corruption is widespread, and rampant crime has earned Caracas its reputation as the most dangerous city in the Western Hemisphere. Meanwhile, Chávez has eroded Venezuelan democracy and sought to create an authoritarian governing structure.” (08/19/08) http://tinyurl.com/5vowpy | | Report Bad Link |
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“The Associated Press made the startling announcement on May 9 that the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is actively recruiting pastors to challenge the so-called, ‘Johnson Law’ on September 28 and preach a sermon from the pulpit in which they will advocate the support of particular candidates in the fall election. If the action triggers an IRS investigation, the Arizona-based legal group will sue to overturn the federal rules, which were enacted in 1954. Under the IRS code, churches can distribute voter guides, run voter registration drives, hold forums on public policy and invite politicians to speak to their congregations. However, they cannot endorse a candidate, and their political activity cannot be biased for or against a candidate, directly or indirectly; neither can a church support specific legislation.” (08/18/08) http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Editorial-Page.htm?InfoNo=037171 | | Report Bad Link |
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“I have been having an interesting Usenet conversation on the subject of economic relations between Finland and Russia in the postwar period. The facts almost everyone agrees on are: Finland started by paying Russia a large sum in ‘reparations.’ Thereafter trade was conducted as barter, with an accounting system to keep track of which country owed how much to which. Russians provided Finns with raw materials, especially oil, at a price said to be somewhat below the current world price. Finns provided Russians with a variety of manufactured items — it isn’t clear how the prices were determined. No money was actually supposed to change hands. At the end of the period, when the Soviet Union collapsed, it turned out that the Soviets owed quite a lot to the Finns; Russia has now paid off the debt.” (08/17/08) http://tinyurl.com/5axrwc | | Report Bad Link |
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“They are neither our enemy nor our friend. These were the stern words of Barack Obama when asked about his attitude towards China. His view reflects wider opinion in the West; namely that the economic rise of China can only spell decline for America, Western Europe and the like. However, China’s new economic status, symbolised recently by the splendour of the opening ceremony of the Olympics, isn’t something to be dreaded.” http://tinyurl.com/5vdjku | | Report Bad Link |
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“The Coal River Wind project is ambitious. Coal River Mountain Watch proposes to put 220 wind turbines, each 292 feet high, that combined could generate 440 megawatts, across miles of the mountain at a cost of upward of $1 billion. A study by WindLogics, Appalachian Voices and wind farm campaign coordinator Rory McIlmoil, 28, who has studied and analyzed wind energy for the past 16 months, found that a wind farm could produce enough power for 150,000 homes — more than the entire surrounding county has — and create at least 200 jobs for the two-year construction period and 40 to 50 permanent jobs to keep the turbines running. Underground mining, according to the study, would create at least another 200 direct mining jobs and potentially more if mountaintop removal were prevented, given the current demand for coal from central Appalachia. The study acknowledges that while the four proposed mountain removal operation sites would generate far fewer jobs — only an estimated 65 to 225 per year, depending on how long the four permit areas were mined — they would generate much more power. However, the study notes an important difference: The mountain will yield only 14 years’ worth of coal from strip-mining, while a wind farm could operate indefinitely.” (08/19/08) http://tinyurl.com/6yu7td | | Report Bad Link |
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“Campaigning in the Democratic primary, Conley performed strongly in the same areas that favored Edwards. His victories were close in each upstate county, but these wins proved decisive. Economic populism resonates with local Republicans as well. Conley says that ‘from York to Anderson counties, they’ve still got Duncan Hunter signs up,’ referring to the congressman who was arguably the most protectionist candidate in this year’s GOP presidential primary. The alleged benefits of the managed, corporate trade deals touted by Graham are a hard sell in these counties, and the senator’s constant absence from the state gives many voters the perception that he simply doesn’t care about them.” (07/28/08) http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/jul/28/00010/ | | Report Bad Link |
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“It may seem obvious that easier divorce laws make for more divorce and more insecurity. But what is obvious is not necessarily true. What two scholars have found is that when you make divorce easier to get, you may actually produce better marriages. In the old days, anyone who wanted to escape from the trials of wedlock had to get his or her spouse to agree to a split, or else go to court to prove the partner had done something terribly wrong (such as committing adultery). The 1960s and ’70s brought ‘no-fault’ divorce, which is also known as ‘unilateral divorce,’ since either party can bring it about without the consent of the other. The first surprise is that looser divorce laws have actually had little effect on the number of marriages that fall apart.” (08/18/08) http://www.reason.com/news/show/128136.html | | Report Bad Link |
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“When Barack Obama receives the Democratic presidential nomination before 75,000 people in Denver’s Mile High Stadium on the forty-fifth anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, new possibilities will be born. … No one should be blinded by the lights. It will take hard work to turn the nomination into victory in a campaign that has already turned ugly. Moreover, even if victorious, Obama will inherit the calamitous conditions wrought by conservative failures — a sinking economy, unsustainable occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, accelerating climate change, Gilded Age inequality, a broken healthcare system and much more.” [editor’s note: It’s this “agenda” that scares most of us; instead of beginning by restoring personal liberty (the Bill of Rights so savagely trashed by the Bushite neocons), these “progresssives” wish merely to institute even more Big Government interventions (at home & abroad) … just with new faces on the thrones! - SAT] (08/19/08) http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080901/borosage_kvh | | Report Bad Link |
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“Just tell me, my friend Kath wants to know, what would have happened if their roles were reversed. If Hillary had won the nomination and Obama had come in a close second, would he have gotten a prime-time speech one night, and Michelle another? Would his name have been placed in nomination right after Michelle’s speech, followed by a roll call vote that will be on Wisconsin before the inevitable winner goes over the top? Would Oprah’s production company be doing his video introduction, without any input from the Clinton crowd that would be controlling every second of the convention? Let me give you the short answer: No. Let me give you the longer version: No way. No chance.” (08/18/08) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,405463,00.html | | Report Bad Link |
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“Barack Obama’s tax plan is the opposite of supply-side economics. He proposes to raise marginal rates for just about every federal tax. He also proposes a raft of tax credits that taxpayers can receive if they engage in various government-specified activities. Moreover, the tax credits would mostly go to those who pay little or nothing in federal income taxes. His trick is to make the tax credits ‘refundable.’ Thus, if the tax credit is for $1,000, but the taxpayer would otherwise only pay $200 in taxes, the government would write a check to the taxpayer for $800. If the taxpayer pays nothing in federal income taxes, the government would pay him the whole $1,000. Such credits are not tax cuts. Indeed, they should be called The New Tax Welfare.” (08/19/08) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121910303529751345.html | | Report Bad Link |
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“In years to come, the short, sharp Russo-Georgian war may be remembered as the nadir of American post-Cold War power and influence — the moment in the closing months of George W. Bush’s hapless administration when all the damage that he has done to America’s position in the world came into focus. The United States encouraged Georgia into thinking it was under American protection, built up and trained its armed forces with a little help from the Israelis, established one of the biggest embassies in the region to make it a center of American influence in the Caucasus, and, despite private warnings, issued public statements of undying support. And now America’s client is wiping blood from its nose. The wreckage of Georgia’s towns and countryside, however, is not as complete as the ruin of Bush’s policies.” (08/19/08) http://tinyurl.com/5t9qqn | | Report Bad Link |
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“This February, Michelle Obama caused a spasm of faux outrage on the right when, in attempting to argue that her husband’s campaign had brought something new to a political climate that had been so ugly for so long, she said that for the first time in her adult life, she was proud of her country. Though she obviously meant her country’s politics and not her country per se, the reaction was predictable. One voice joining the chorus of condemnation was that of Cindy McCain, who made sure to say that she has always been proud of her country. … Now that the quadrennial exercise in skill, endurance, and jingoistic chest-thumping we call a presidential campaign has been interrupted by the Olympics, there is a lot of patriotic feeling around. … But does it really make us feel any different about America than we did two weeks ago?” (08/19/08) http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=its_not_about_the_medals | | Report Bad Link |
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“In 1992, when Bill Clinton won the Democratic nomination, Washington progressives — the leaders of unions, think tanks and advocacy groups — fell over themselves to rally around the man from Hope. Part of this support was, no doubt, to make sure that he got elected — after 12 dark years of Presidents Reagan and Bush. Washington’s notable liberals also decided to act as FOBs (Friends of Bill) so as to ingratiate themselves to the future administration. Once at the left hand of power, the reasoning went, they could use their influence for good. So the progressive community closed ranks around their ‘friend’ — or the man who was a friend of their friends.” (08/19/08) http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3854/keep_the_heat_on_obama/ | | Report Bad Link |
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“In the seven years since Sept. 11, President Bush has relied heavily on dictators in Muslim nations to keep a lid on Al Qaeda. … But with Monday’s resignation of Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf, Bush must now deal with an angry democracy in a land that still harbors Al Qaeda. Musharraf, a former Army chief of staff, tried not to be too dictatorial after overthrowing an elected leader in 1999 and arranging for himself to be president. … His mistakes created a backlash leading to parliamentary elections in February, then a threat of impeachment from a new anti-Musharaff government, and finally his forced resignation. It was the best way for this US ally to go. He was forced out by civilians using a constitution.” [editor’s note: Hmmm … living by the rules of a constitution! Nice idea, maybe the USA should give it a try! - SAT] (08/19/08) http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0819/p08s01-comv.html | | Report Bad Link |
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“Cornered by politicians baying for his blood and out of favor with the George W Bush administration, Pervez Musharraf had little option but to serve the ’supreme national interest’ and vacate the presidential palace. Washington believes it already has the Pakistani military and political leaders in Islamabad on side. Now it needs to ensure that the third asset needed in this crucial ‘war on terror’ arena — the presidency — is filled by ‘their’ man.” (08/19/08) http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JH20Df01.html | | Report Bad Link |
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“My annual pilgrimage to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival stimulated the thought once again about what it’s like to be in a community that devotes itself to beauty. That beauty matters in a town of Stratford’s size and geography is not only unusual, but it summons a reflection about what beauty entails and why it is important for our lives. For example, beauty is about having a sense of place.” (08/19/08) http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/08/19/11073/ | | Report Bad Link |
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“Pervez Musharraf, the puppet installed by the US to rule Pakistan in the interest of US hegemony, resigned August 18 to avoid impeachment. Karl Rove and the Diebold electronic voting machines were unable to control the result of the last election in Pakistan, the result of which gave Pakistanis a bigger voice in their government than America’s. It was obvious to anyone with any sense — which excludes the entire Bush Regime and almost all of the ‘foreign policy community’ — that the illegal and gratuitous US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and Israel’s 2006 bombing of Lebanon civilians with US blessing, would result in the overthrow of America’s Pakistani puppet.” (08/19/08) http://counterpunch.org/roberts08192008.html | | Report Bad Link |
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“The case against Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani MIT graduate and detainee of the US held for over five years under mysterious circumstances, is finally being made public — and looks to fulfill more in a pattern of dubious evidence and maltreatment in the name of the War on Terror. … Their evidence: While in America, Aafia opened a PO box. Also, her bank account displayed suspicious behavior. That is to say, she made automatic withdrawals to a few Muslim charities. However, more puzzling than her disappearance is Aafia’s reemergence. Why would the US concoct a scenario that would bring Aafia out of total oblivion and back into the public eye? To give her a chance at justice?” (08/18/08) http://tinyurl.com/5fv89z | | Report Bad Link |
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‘The following is a partial list of some of the philosophical/ ideological reefs, snags and shoals which interfere with the progress of the good ship Liberty. I offer them that other mariners of the seas of peace may chart their courses accordingly.” (08/16/08) http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2008/tle481-20080817-05.html | | Report Bad Link |
Audio and Video
jump to News | jump to Commentary | jump to Events and Movement News
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Jim Babka, Co-founder of the Downsize DC organization, joins host Kenneth John. 9-10am Central on WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin, IL or live on the web. [live radio or stream] (08/25/08) http://www.freedomrings.net/ | | Report Bad Link |
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Robert Higgs, senior fellow at the Independent Institute, joins host Scott Horton. 12:15pm Eastern on KAOS 92.17 FM, Austin, TX or live on the web. [live radio or stream] (08/20/08) http://www.kaosradioaustin.org/ | | Report Bad Link |
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“Making financial statements clear as mud,” featuring T.J. Rogers. [MP3] (08/20/08) http://www.cato.org/dailypodcast/podcast-archive.php?podcast_id=711 | | Report Bad Link |
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“Customs Airport Nightmare Story / Tourism Down / The Bizarre Mindset of the Government Bureaucrat / Police got your stuff? Won’t give it back? / Consent of the Governed / Tax Sales / The Aftermath of the Tragic Postville Immigration Raid / Contractual Confusion / Child Porn Madness.” [MP3] (08/19/08) http://media.libsyn.com/media/ftl/FTL2008-08-19.mp3 | | Report Bad Link |
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Lew Rockwell interviews Walter Block. [MP3] (08/19/08) http://tinyurl.com/6b4jxe | | Report Bad Link |
Movement News & Events
News | Commentary |Audio and Video
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Check our sidebar calendar for this week’s freedom movement events. Don’t see your event? Drop us a line at info@rationalreview.com … or see: www.rationalreview.com/add-your-event-to-our-calendar … for instructions on adding your events directly! http://upcoming.yahoo.com/group/4042/ | | Report Bad Link |
