**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,044
* Tuesday, December 12th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,061
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
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* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
* In cooperation with ISIL:   htp://www.isil.org
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In The News:

0)  Opening notes
1)  US has most prisoners due to "tough" laws
2)  Kucinich to launch 2008 bid
3)  Iraq: Two bombs kill 57
4)  In farewell, Annan scolds Bush administration
5)  Israel: Nuclear slip brings fallout for Olmert
6)  NC: Student shot by police in PS3 theft case
7)  NY: Nets get key approval for land theft
8)  FDA may ease access to new drugs
9)  USA more pessimistic on Iraq war
10) TX: Legislator introduces blind hunting bill
11) Clerics urge Muslims to back Iraq Sunnis
12) Bush reviews options on Iraq policy
13) DC to China: Open markets or face sanctions
14) Discovery docks with space station
15) TX: Buy a house, get free gun
16) VA: League to boycott gun shop
17) AZ: Car burglar shot at outside bar
18) Sheehan among four convicted for trespassing
19) Firefly reborn as online universe
20) TX: Young tax protestor holds up store
21) SCOTUS: No button bias in trial
22) Seeking Iran intelligence, US tries Google
23) Frist says he would have focused more on health care
24) What's driving Obama-mania?
25) Iraqi exodus could test Bush policy

Everybody Has An Opinion:

26) A well-meaning end to discrimination
27) The other war we can't win
28) The strategic libertarian
29) Is any war civil?
30) America's injustice system is criminal
31) Another virtue of liberty
32) A Christmas gift of love
33) Counternarratives and the grunt
34) Corruption in tapping the oil rent
35) 42 months of gains and losses
36) Who makes foreign policy?
37) A grand anti-worker bargain
38) Farewell to a torturer in chief
39) A healthy dose of anarchy
40) Transatlantic economics
41) Barack star
42) More cheer for the holiday travel season
43) Opposing view: Thank foreign investors
44) Hate crime to hate speech: Road to perdition
45) Government spying goes global
46) How the global boom might end
47) Why governments can't handle risk
48) Love global warming
49) Blood on Doyle's hands
50) Ninth, 10th don't cite specific rights
51) My pet scapegoat
52) Never give up your rights!
53) Three years too late
54) The disappeared of Oaxaca
55) Worst. Meeting. Ever!
56) What we leave behind
57) The corporate occupation of Iraq
58) Bush still in denial about Iraq
59) Reforms help Africa's diamonds sparkle again
60) 9/11: The roots of paranoia

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

61) Libertarian Party turns 35
62) Free Talk Live, 12/11/06
63) FMNN eRadio: Commodities update
64) Interview: Aaron Russo
65) America: Freedom To Fascism

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

66) Today's events

WaYbAcK:

67) The Supreme Court appoints a president

***************
* In The News
***************

0)  Opening notes

Fundraiser Update, 12/12/06: Still not much action, ladies and
gentlemen. As of December 23rd, we'll have published non-stop for four
years ... and with the financial support of less than 300 of our 7,500
subscribers. Another 300 of you contributing a mere $10 each would
make our goal.

Is RRND/FND worth $2.50 a year? If you think so, show it at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21914

Don't forget this week's symposium on "documenting the libertarian
social order," at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21996

-----

1)  US has most prisoners due to "tough" laws
Reuters

"Tough sentencing laws, record numbers of drug offenders and high
crime rates have contributed to the United States having the largest
prison population and the highest rate of incarceration in the world,
according to criminal justice experts. A U.S. Justice Department
report released on November 30 showed that a record 7 million people
-- or one in every 32 American adults -- were behind bars, on
probation or on parole at the end of last year. Of the total, 2.2
million were in prison or jail. According to the International Center
for Prison Studies at King's College in London, more people are behind
bars in the United States than in any other country. China ranks
second with 1.5 million prisoners, followed by Russia with 870,000. "
(12/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vqgye

-----

2)  Kucinich to launch 2008 bid
Forbes

"Fed up with what he says is his party's failure to end the war in
Iraq, Democratic U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is entering the race for
president -- again. It's the second bid for the nation's top office
for Kucinich, a six-term, liberal congressman from Cleveland whose
long-shot presidential candidacy in 2004 made headlines more for
Kucinich's bachelorhood than his policies. This time around Kucinich
has a wife." [editor's note: I don't recall Kucinich's "bachelorhood"
being an issue in 2004. Matter of fact, I don't recall Kucinich
himself being an issue in 2004. Maybe his party's continued hemming
and hawing on the war will change that this time around - TLK] (12/12/06)

http://tinyurl.com/wocwk

-----

3)  Iraq: Two bombs kill 57
Pensacola News Journal

"Suspected insurgents set off two bombs in a main square of central
Baghdad where scores of Iraqis were waiting for jobs as day laborers
on Tuesday, killing at least 57 people and wounding 151, police said.
The carefully coordinated attack in Tayaran Square at 7 a.m. involved
a parked car bomb and a suicide attacker who drove up in a minibus,
pretended to hire day laborers, then set off his explosive as they got
into his vehicle, said police Lt. Bilal Ali." (12/12/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yay9d6

-----

4)  In farewell, Annan scolds Bush administration
MSNBC

"U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in his farewell address, urged the
United States not to abandon its democratic ideals while waging war
against terrorism. In remarks Monday at the Truman Presidential Museum
and Library, Annan also said the Security Council should be expanded.
'Human rights and the rule of law are vital to global security and
prosperity,' Annan told a packed crowd that included international
media." (12/11/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16153753/

-----

5)  Israel: Nuclear slip brings fallout for Olmert
International Herald Tribune [France]

"A slip of the tongue by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about Israel's
nuclear policy ballooned into a domestic crisis Tuesday for the
already embattled Israeli leader. In an interview with a German
television station broadcast Monday, Olmert appeared to list Israel
among the world's nuclear powers, violating the country's
long-standing policy of not officially acknowledging that it has
atomic weapons. ... Mordechai Vanunu, the whistleblower who gave
Israeli nuclear secrets to the British paper The Sunday Times and
served an 18-year sentence for his disclosures, said he hoped Olmert's
comment wasn't a mistake, but rather 'the beginning of a policy
change' that would see Israel openly acknowledge its nuclear weapons."
[editor's note: Kind of ridiculous, isn't it? Israel wants nukes, but
wants to be treated as if it doesn't have nukes - TLK] (12/12/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ufkk3

-----

6)  NC: Student shot by police in PS3 theft case
Pierce County Herald

"Deputies shot and killed an alleged PlayStation 3 thief, after his
roommate said he went to the door holding a PS3 controller. Peyton
Strickland, 18, was killed Friday at a house he shared with three
roommates, Sheriff Sid Causey said. Roommate Mike Rhoton said
Strickland was unarmed when he got up from playing a Tiger Woods golf
game but may have been holding a controller when he went to the door
as officers bashed it in. Strickland's dog, a German shepherd, also
was shot to death." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y4kyff

-----

7)  NY: Nets get key approval for land theft
New York Daily News

"The Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn got a key approval yesterday
from the Empire State Development Corp., authorizing the use of
eminent domain to build an arena for the Nets, a hotel and 16
residential and office towers. Now the ball bounces to Assembly
Speaker Sheldon Silver's court. The three-member Public Authorities
Control Board gets the project next. In recent years, Silver
(D-Manhattan) has used his influence on the panel to kill the proposed
West Side Stadium and delay the Moynihan Penn Station proposal."
(12/12/06)

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/478546p-402639c.html

-----

8)  FDA may ease access to new drugs
Chicago Tribune

"The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that it is proposing to
expand access to experimental drugs for seriously sick patients, and
would allow drug companies to charge for as yet unapproved therapies.
For decades the FDA has allowed some patients to take drugs that are
still under investigation and awaiting government approval. But the
guidelines for when those drugs could be used were not explicit or
broad enough, the FDA said, nor was there enough awareness among
doctors and patients of what options were available. The new rules are
intended to give physicians clear directives on when to grant access
to medications, even perhaps at the very earliest stage of
development, in cases in which the potential benefit is deemed to
outweigh the risks." [editor's note: Only in bureaucratese can "new
directives" be described as "expanding access" - TLK] (12/12/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y5bg8f

-----

9)  USA more pessimistic on Iraq war
USA Today

"As President Bush weighs changing course in Iraq, Americans are
increasingly pessimistic about the war and want most U.S. troops
withdrawn within a year, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through
Sunday says. Three of four support the major recommendations unveiled
by the Iraq Study Group last week. Most predict the administration
won't implement the bipartisan commission's proposals, however. And
fewer than 1 in 5 have 'a great deal' of trust in Bush to 'recommend
the right thing' for the United States to do in Iraq." (12/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/t66a5

-----

10) TX: Legislator introduces blind hunting bill
MSNBC

"The blind would be able to go hunting if a Texas bill becomes law.
The bill would allow legally blind hunters to use a laser sight, or
lighted pointing instrument, which is forbidden for sighted hunters,
according to State Rep. Edmund Kuempel, who introduced it. 'This opens
up the fun of hunting to additional people, and I think that's great,'
Kuempel said." (12/11/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16157202/

-----

11) Clerics urge Muslims to back Iraq Sunnis
Wichita Eagle

"More than 30 prominent Islamic clerics from Saudi Arabia on Monday
called on Sunni Muslims around the Middle East to support their
brethren in Iraq against Shiites and praised the insurgency. The
clerics said jihad, or holy war, 'is one of the most important tenets
of religion, and what has been taken by force can only be regained by
force.'" (12/12/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yac5ws

-----

12) Bush reviews options on Iraq policy
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"President Bush, eager to show he can take advice on Iraq, embarked on
a round of public outreach Monday and promised Americans the unpopular
war eventually would make their lives safer. Preparing for a major
speech on the war's future, Bush took the short trip to the State
Department to review options with advisers there, then hosted a
handful of experts on Iraq policy in the Oval Office." (12/12/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykj385

-----

13) DC to China: Open markets or face sanctions
CNN

"The Bush administration Monday criticized China's record on opening
its markets and said the U.S. would not hesitate to seek economic
sanctions if that record does not improve. Calling China's record
'decidedly mixed,' U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab released a
100-page report that accused the Chinese of failing to live up to
commitments it made five years ago when it joined the World Trade
Organization." (12/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygtr96

-----

14) Discovery docks with space station
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"Astronauts used the international space station's robotic arm to
examine a spot on the shuttle Discovery's left wing Monday where
sensors detected a 'very low' impact, NASA officials said. The shuttle
crew traveled two days to reach the space station, where, during a
weeklong stay, they will continue construction on the orbiting lab and
replace one station crew member with another." (12/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y48722

-----

15) TX: Buy a house, get free gun
WorldNetDaily

"While other real estate agents are responding to the current buyers'
market by offering extras like free appliances, televisions, or a
weekend in a luxury hotel, one Texas agent is drumming up business by
offering a free Glock pistol with any home purchase of at least
$150,000 -- if you're a police officer. And Julie Upton, a
Houston-area real estate agent, says her idea is working well. With
the median single-family home in Houston selling for $146,000, Upton
is targeting the center of the market." (12/10/06)

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53308

-----

16) VA: League to boycott gun shop
Roanoke Times

"At a time of unprecedented scrutiny, Virginia gun dealers look to at
least one group for support: gun buyers. But now that a South Boston
dealer has signed a settlement agreement in a New York City lawsuit,
he might find his customers in the parking lot instead of at the
counter. The Virginia Citizens Defense League is gearing up to boycott
and perhaps picket Cole's Gun Shop, saying owner Mark Cole put their
privacy in jeopardy when he agreed to let a court-appointed officer
scrutinize his gun sales for the next three years." (12/10/06)

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/95177

-----

17) AZ: Car burglar shot at outside bar
AZ Central

"Police are searching for a burglary suspect who prompted a shooting
outside a Scottsdale bar. A security guard at the Club Tropicana, 7043
E. McDowell Road, fired at least one round at the man after spotting
him breaking into a black Chevy Suburban at 2:20 a.m. Sunday, police
said.It was unclear if the man or the stolen vehicle were struck by
the guard's gunshot. The vehicle has not been located." (12/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y5obkr

-----

18) Sheehan among four convicted for trespassing
My Way News

"Peace activist Cindy Sheehan and three other women were convicted of
trespassing Monday for trying to delivery an anti-Iraq war petition to
the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and refusing to leave. A
Manhattan Criminal Court judge sentenced them immediately to
conditional discharge, which means they could face some form of
penalty if they are arrested in the next six months, and ordered them
to pay $95 in court surcharges. Sheehan and about 100 other members of
a group called Global Exchange were rebuffed last March when they
attempted to take a petition with some 72,000 signatures to the U.S.
Mission's headquarters across a street from the United Nations.
Prosecutors said they were arrested after ignoring police orders to
disperse." (12/11/06)

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061211/D8LUOV081.html

-----

19) Firefly reborn as online universe
Wired News

"Like Capt. Mal Reynolds stumbling in after a bar fight, the
short-lived but much beloved sci-fi series Firefly will soon make an
unexpected return, not as a TV show, but as a massively multiplayer
online game.Now that's shiny." (12/07/06)

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72263-0.html?tw=rss.index

-----

20) TX: Young tax protestor holds up store
Dallas News

"A boy believed to be about 12 held up a Pleasant Grove convenience
store at gunpoint before school Wednesday after a girl he was with got
mad at the clerk for charging her tax for candy. At 7:40 a.m., six
youths entered the Heba Mini-Mart in the 9500 block of Scyene Road
near St. Augustine Drive. A girl, whose age was not reported, tried to
buy $1 worth of candy but did not 'want to pay the tax on the item,'
according to a police report. The clerk insisted that she would be
charged the tax. 'What is your problem?' asked the boy, pulling a
chrome, semiautomatic pistol on the clerk. As the boy and girl left
the store, one of them took the dollar's worth of candy. The other
four kids followed them out." (12/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ydnln7

-----

21) SCOTUS: No button bias in trial
Los Angeles Times

"The Supreme Court reversed the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
today and restored a California murder conviction that had been thrown
out because a small photo of the victim had been worn by his family
during the trial. In a 9-0 decision, the justices said the appeals
court had overstepped its bounds when it held that this display
violated the defendant's right to a fair trial. But the court's
opinion dealt more with the powers of federal judges than with what
spectators can say and do in the courtroom. Under a 10-year-old law
adopted by Congress, U.S. judges are authorized to reverse state
criminal convictions only if they spot a violation of 'clearly
established federal law' as set by the high court." (12/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ukbwr

-----

22) Seeking Iran intelligence, US tries Google
Washington Post

"When the State Department recently asked the CIA for names of
Iranians who could be sanctioned for their involvement in a
clandestine nuclear weapons program, the agency refused, citing a
large workload and a desire to protect its sources and tradecraft.
Frustrated, the State Department assigned a junior Foreign Service
officer to find the names another way -- by using Google. Those with
the most hits under search terms such as 'Iran and nuclear,' three
officials said, became targets for international rebuke Friday when a
sanctions resolution circulated at the United Nations." (12/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yf6kom

-----

23) Frist says he would have focused more on health care
Tennessean

"Fixing the coming crisis in funding government health care programs
would have been pursued more aggressively by Sen. Bill Frist had he
not been majority leader, the Tennessee Republican said today. 'We
have a demographic tsunami that is going to hit us,' Frist said of the
growing number of elderly people in the country and the financial
strain that will create. Frist often has said that he has subjugated
some of his own priorities to run the Senate but not provided
specifics. Frist, in his final Capitol Hill briefing with Tennessee
reporters, touted his accomplishments for Tennesseans in his 12 years
in the Senate, four as majority leader." [editor's note: So does this
mean Bush managed to sabotage the one thing that might have been
positive about having a doctor in the Senate? - SAT] (12/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ybqsk2

-----

24) What's driving Obama-mania?
Christian Science Monitor

"With standing room crowds chanting for the star to show, Sunday's
Democratic fundraiser could have been a rock concert. But it was only
Sen. Barack Obama's first visit to the nation's first primary state.
If Senator Obama should jump into the Democratic presidential primary,
where he is now ranked just behind Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New
York in recent polls, Democrats in the land of retail politics wonder
if there's a living room big enough to hold the throngs who'd come to
hear him. 'Right now, he's a rock star. Getting 1,500 people out on a
Sunday afternoon ... says something different is going on here,' says
Jim Craig, former Democratic leader in the New Hampshire House. So
what's driving Obama-mania? It isn't a single set of issues such as
the war or the economy. Rather, the attraction seems to be a mix of
Obama's own compelling personal narrative and many voters' desire for
a less caustic brand of politics." (12/11/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1212/p01s01-uspo.html

-----

25) Iraqi exodus could test Bush policy
Boston Globe

"Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have fled their homeland are
likely to seek refugee status in the United States, humanitarian
groups said, putting intense pressure on the Bush administration to
reexamine a policy that authorizes only 500 Iraqis to be resettled
here next year. The official US policy has been that the refugee
situation is temporary and that most of the estimated 1.5 million who
have fled to Jordan, Syria, and elsewhere will eventually return to
Iraq. But US and international officials now acknowledge that the
instability in Iraq has made it too dangerous for many refugees,
especially Iraqi Christians, to return any time soon. Ellen Sauerbrey,
assistant secretary of state for refugees and migration, said that
while the Bush administration does not think resettlement is needed
for most refugees, its policy could rapidly change." (12/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yam3um

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 12/12/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 50,291 ... Max - 55,774
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,931
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

26) A well-meaning end to discrimination
Boston Globe
by Cathy Young

"Depending on who you talk to, the passage of Proposal 2 in Michigan
last month was either a great victory for freedom and equal rights or
a disastrous setback for minorities and women. The ballot measure,
known as the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, attracted little
national attention after 58 percent of voters approved it Nov. 7. Its
language is simple: 'The state shall not discriminate against, or
grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis
of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of
public employment, public education, or public contracting.' The
initiative grew out of two Supreme Court cases challenging affirmative
action programs at the University of Michigan." (12/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y25wgx

-----

27) The other war we can't win
Seattle Times
by Neil Peirce

"Pick your week or month, the evidence keeps rolling in to show this
country's vaunted 'war on drugs' is as destructively misguided as our
cataclysmic error in invading Iraq. There are 2.2 million Americans
behind bars, another 5 million on probation or parole, the Justice
Department reported on Nov. 30. We exceed Russia and Cuba in
incarcerations per 100,000 people; in fact, no other nation comes
close. The biggest single reason for the expanding numbers? Our war on
drugs -- a quarter of all sentences are for drug offenses, mostly
nonviolent." (12/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y3hde8

-----

28) The strategic libertarian
America's Future Foundation
by James N. Markels

"Former colleague Brink Lindsey stirred up something of a tempest
among libertarians last week with his article in The New Republic
suggesting that libertarians might be better off leaving the
Republicans and looking to the political left for an alliance.
Certainly he has a point -- the libertarian-friendly Reagan-style GOP
is now long gone, replaced by a more religion-based party that is
addicted to big-government spending and intrusion. Aside from tax cuts
and a flirtation with Social Security privatization, libertarians have
seen next to nothing to cheer for in the last six years." (12/11/06)

http://www.affbrainwash.com/archives/021695.php

-----

29) Is any war civil?
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Sheldon Richman

"Whether Iraq is embroiled in a civil war is a matter of some
controversy. News organizations such as NBC have dramatically
announced that, indeed, it is. Pundits solemnly the debate the
question on cable news talk shows. Former Secretary of State Colin
Powell says yes. Present Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says no.
Of course, the president of the United States agrees with Rice."
(12/04/06)

http://www.fff.org/comment/com0612c.asp

-----

30) America's injustice system is criminal
LewRockwell.Com
by Paul Craig Roberts

"According to the International Center for Prison Studies at King's
College in London, the US has 700,000 more of its citizens
incarcerated than China, a country with a population four to five
times larger than that of the US, and 1,330,000 more people in prison
than crime-ridden Russia. The US has 5% of the world's population and
25% of the world's prisoners. The American incarceration rate is seven
times higher than that of European countries. Either America is the
land of criminals, or something is seriously wrong with the criminal
justice (sic) system in 'the land of the free.'" (12/12/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts187.html

-----

31) Another virtue of liberty
Free Market News Network
by Tibor R. Machan

"When men and women are free to make mistakes or act from ignorance,
they are also free to correct themselves promptly. This is one reason
why involving government in such policies as banning trans fats or
mandating the use of helmets by bicycle riders is a bad idea. The
trans fats policy was just cast into stone in New York City -- as of
the summer of 2008, no eating establishment may cook with the stuff.
And the ban on going without a helmet while riding bikes on public
roads is nearly ubiquitous now in America and quite a few other
countries." (12/11/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/117/6545/tibor.asp?nid=6545&wid=117

-----

32) A Christmas gift of love
The Price of Liberty
by Nathan A. Barton

"Although Mike Adams is not really a libertarian (but he gets closer
with each month), his recent column is worth sharing with Libertarians
and those you want to see move in the direction of liberty, as we near
Bill of Rights Day and Christmas. He does indeed point out one of the
best ways to convert someone from liberalism (that is, the modern poor
excuse for liberalism that is really authoritarian but claims to be
politically correct) to at least middle-of-the-road (Nolan Chart) if
not much closer to the top: give them a gift of love and life -- a
gift that may indeed save their life or that of a friend or loved one,
and that will show them that the hoploclasts and hoplophobes are wrong
in every way. And your gift will be a gift that produces not just a
better person, but a better society, one person at a time." (12/06)

http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/06/12/11/nathan.htm

-----

33) Counternarratives and the grunt
TCS Daily
by Josh Manchester

"The Standard Narrative goes something like this: There is a massive
deployment of US forces to the far side of the world. This action is
more or less just and warranted. The troops charge into battle,
sometimes many battles. All the while, there's an understanding
everywhere of an end-state -- a point at which the war's goals will
have been accomplished and then, most importantly, everyone can come
home. Throughout all of this there is a standard typecast character:
the American enlisted infantryman." (12/12/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=121006A

-----

34) Corruption in tapping the oil rent
The Free Liberal
by Fred E. Foldvary

"Land rent is recognized by enlightened economists as the supremely
equitable and efficient source of public revenue. Rent is a social
surplus, and tapping it involves no excess burden, unlike taxing
productive activity. One type of land commonly tapped for government
revenue is the economic rent of material natural resources such as
minerals and oil. Oil royalties from extraction, referred to as
severance taxes, are important in petroleum-producing economies,
including some states such as Alaska in the USA. There are also
federal royalty revenues on oil via leasing rents in federal
territory. Some 2600 companies paid federal royalties of $12.8 billion
on 27,800 leases in 2005." (12/12/06)

http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002477.html

-----

35) 42 months of gains and losses
No Force, No Fraud
by Bob Smith

"When I started No Force, I decided that there were already enough
people writing and reporting on the War in Iraq, and I didn't want the
war to obliterate attention to other relevant issues. An update is,
however, appropriate in looking back. As of today, 2,931 Americans
have lost their lives in Iraq, another 21,778 are wounded, and the
conflict is still escalating. The latest surveys now show that less
than 30% of Americans approve of the way Bush is handling the war.
Nearly 2/3 of us do not think Iraq will end up with a stable,
democratic government, and only 9% think we will exit with a clear-cut
victory." (12/12/06)

http://tinyurl.com/wceyt

-----

36) Who makes foreign policy?
AntiWar.Com
by US Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

"The media, Congress, and the American public all seem to have
accepted something that is patently untrue: namely, that foreign
policy is the domain of the president and not Congress. This is
absolutely not the case and directly contrary to what our Founding
Fathers wanted. The role of the president as commander in chief is to
direct our armed forces in carrying out policies established by the
American people through their representatives in Congress. He is not
authorized to make those policies. He is an administrator, not a
policy maker. Foreign policy, like all federal policy, must be made by
Congress. To allow otherwise is to act in contravention of the
Constitution." (12/12/06)

http://www.antiwar.com/paul/?articleid=10147

-----

37) A grand anti-worker bargain
National Review
by Phil Kerpen

"President Bush's commitment to establish a Social Security legacy may
be on a collision course with the Democratic Congress. The contours of
a deal are starting to appear around a payroll-tax increase and cuts
in promised future benefits for higher income workers -- both of which
spell major collateral damage for American workers. Meanwhile,
personal accounts may not be included in any compromise deal. Taken
together, these measures are entirely about what's best for
government: They are about finding a way to make the books balance on
paper so that the feds can keep spending our Social Security dollars
on unrelated, wasteful programs." (12/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vq95h

-----

38) Farewell to a torturer in chief
Salon
by Marc Cooper

"His very name, his surname alone, has entered our common lexicon as a
stand-alone synonym for all the brutal inhumanity that comes with
arbitrary and repressive military dictatorship. In some ways, it has
been an unusually quick historical transition for Pinochet. Just a few
decades ago, in the Reagan-Thatcher era, he was celebrated as the
sometimes excessively tough but equally determined prophet of the free
market. With economic populists, leftists and even socialists now in
power in virtually every Latin American capital, who even remembers
those days? What is remembered, however, is the sheer horror. The
soulless barbarity imposed by the Pinochet regime traumatized the
Chilean nation in a way that it is still struggling to assimilate.
There's an old political slogan in Spanish: 'The Color of Blood Is
Never Forgotten.'" (12/12/06)

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/12/11/pinochet/

-----

39) A healthy dose of anarchy
Reason
by Neille Ilel

"Two giant spray-painted signs point to the Common Ground Collective's
headquarters in a church parking lot in the now infamous Ninth Ward,
where the group houses its volunteers, takes names for house gutting,
and gives away bleach, buckets, respirators, canned food, and other
supplies. The collective was founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
by a former Black Panther and some street medics trained at mass
protests. Like most residents I talked to, the Singletarys had seen
little of the Red Cross aside from an occasional food truck, and they
evinced nothing but frustration when I mentioned the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA). It was a major coup that seven men from the
city had actually arrived to pick up debris from their house on the
day I visited. Of the seven, four were dedicated solely to detouring
nonexistent traffic." (12/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116789.html

-----

40) Transatlantic economics
The Weekly Standard
by Irwin M. Stelzer

"Ben Bernanke thinks the economy is strong and that inflation remains
a danger. The equities market believes the Federal Reserve Board
chairman, so share prices hover around record levels. The bond market
doesn't, and expects that he will soon have to recognize the economy's
underlying weakness by lowering interest rates -- not this week when
the monetary policy committee meets, but almost certainly by the
spring. The currency market is siding with the bond market, its
players guessing that the Fed will indeed have to lower interest
rates, making the dollar less attractive, relative to the euro and
sterling. So the dollar is weak, which should add to inflationary
pressures by making imported goods more expensive and giving domestic
manufacturers room to raise prices, thereby forcing Bernanke to raise
interest rates even if the economy is slowing. We used to call that
stagflation. Confused? With good reason. So is the Fed and so are the
markets. But be kind -- the economic situation is characterized by
cross currents that are difficult for even the most experienced
economist to navigate." (12/12/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vdysf

-----

41) Barack star
Slate
by John Dickerson

"It's easy to see why New Hampshire Democrats were in a frenzy over
Obama. He is a winning presence in a room. He is stylish in his
uniform of white shirt, no tie, and dark blazer. He carries himself
with the weightless self-possession men's magazines achieve only by
employing a team of stylists and wardrobe artists. Even his
left-handed signature is elegant -- a B and an O connected by
confident slashes. If he really were a rock star, he'd have it etched
into the side of his private plane. 'I didn't know about the charisma
factor,' said Jessica Hayes leaving Portsmouth. 'Now I know. I'm in
love.' (In Portsmouth, people waited in line for over an hour to have
him sign a copy of his latest book.) But coolness doesn't get you
elected, and coolness wasn't what had the New Hampshire audiences even
more excited after they heard Obama speak. " (12/11/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2155121

-----

42) More cheer for the holiday travel season
Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland

"This holiday travel season, Santa Claus is not the only one who is
checking to see whether you've been naughty or nice. For the last four
years, the U.S. government has been snooping by computer into people's
travel records and assigning them a risk score for being terrorists or
criminals. Of all the government's violations of civil liberties since
9/11, the Department of Homeland Security's Automated Targeting System
(ATS) is probably one of the worst in terms of numbers of people
affected." (12/11/06)

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1867

-----

43) Opposing view: Thank foreign investors
Cato Institute
by William A. Niskanen

"Foreign ownership of long-term U.S. Treasury securities increased
from 19% in December 1994 to 52% of the larger total outstanding in
June 2005. The large continued purchase of treasury securities abroad
has had broadly beneficial effects on the U.S. economy, so we should
clearly welcome the willingness of foreign central banks to invest in
U.S. debt. Without this increase in foreign ownership of U.S. debt,
interest rates and inflation would have been higher; real private
investment, and the growth of real GDP and employment, would have been
lower." (12/12/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6836

-----

44) Hate crime to hate speech: Road to perdition
Intellectual Conservative
by Selwyn Duke

"The effect of hate crime law is that it empowers the authorities to
administer harsher punishment when hateful motives are discerned. For
example, let's say that two identical violent acts are committed. The
first act is deemed a regular (I suppose, politically correct) crime,
and the perpetrator is sent to prison for ten years. The second crime,
however, is labeled a hate crime, so the perpetrator receives twenty
years. Now, this begs the question: What are the extra ten years
imposed for in the second crime? Well, we know that ten years were all
the act itself warranted because that's what was handed down when only
the act was considered. Thus, I would assert the following: The
additional punishment is for the ideas or thoughts expressed through
the act." (12/12/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y8hxak

-----

45) Government spying goes global
AlterNet
by Maureen Webb

"The story which broke last week about a traveler risk scoring system
called the Automated Targeting System, or "ATS," evokes an image of an
Orwellian world in which the State compiles a secret dossier on every
individual and sorts the population according to secret criteria,
assigning each person a "risk score." The individual has no recourse
to challenge his risk rating, and he has no way of correcting any
false or incomplete information about him. In fact, he will never know
what information is being used against him, or even the criteria on
which he has been judged a risk to the State. It is a disturbing
image, and the fact that the government has been conducting the ATS
program in secret for four years has shocked many people. However, the
ATS is hardly a surprise to those who have been keeping track of
similar programs." (12/12/06)

http://www.alternet.org/rights/45285/

-----

46) How the global boom might end
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Sean Corrigan

"Currently, the wider world is undergoing an upswing of a kind perhaps
unprecedented, but certainly not enjoyed since the golden age of hard
money and classical liberal politics at the end of the nineteenth
century. Not only are teeming millions heading for the expanding
cities of Asia, but industrial renovation is taking place all across
the vast, former wasteland that lies to the east of the rubble that
was the Berlin Wall." (12/11/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2411

-----

47) Why governments can't handle risk
Foundation for Economic Education
by Randy T. Simmons

"Public opinion surveys indicate that mainstream America is worried
about environmental risks. In 1990, for the first time since pollsters
began asking the questions, a plurality (46 percent) of American
voters believed that the quality of life where they live was worse
than it was five years previous, and the number who were pessimistic
about the future of the environment (46 percent) exceeded the number
who were optimistic (32 percent)." (written 03/95; posted 12/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ylrsoj

-----

48) Love global warming
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Myron Ebell

"What's wrong with mild winters, anyway? When talk turns to global
warming, there are only three socially acceptable opinions that may be
expressed. It's going to be bad, terrible or catastrophic. As our
leading alarmist, former Vice President Al Gore, makes clear in his
book and movie, An Inconvenient Truth, 'the negative impact of climate
change vastly outweighs any local benefits.'" (12/08/06)

http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,05650.cfm

-----

49) Blood on Doyle's hands
Liberty For All
by CCRKBA staff

"This week's report in TIME magazine offering reasons for the sharp
rise in violent crime in Milwaukee, Wisconsin overlooks one
significant factor, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and
Bear Arms said today. 'Twice in the past three years,' said CCRKBA
Executive Director Joe Waldron, 'anti-gun Democrat Gov. Jim Doyle has
vetoed the single piece of legislation that would put victims on equal
footing with criminals, and instead he has left citizens at their
mercy.'" (12/11/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=418

-----

50) Ninth, 10th don't cite specific rights
Arizona Daily Star
by Martin Rosales

"The Ninth and 10th amendments to the U.S. Constitution don't receive
as much attention as their siblings in the Bill of Rights, but they
are no less important in the day-to-day lives of citizens in our
community. The two amendments are similar in that they don't
specifically spell out rights available to Americans. Rather they
address rights and powers that had not been previously addressed by
the Constitution or the earlier amendments. ... Another example of how
the Ninth Amendment affects daily life is in the right to bear arms.
Peter Goudinoff, a former UA political-science professor and former
state legislator, said most people cite the Second Amendment, which
specifically grants the right to bear arms, as the reason gun
ownership is legal. But Goudinoff said the right of self-defense,
which is protected by the Ninth Amendment, is what actually gives
[sic] people the right to have a means of self-defense, meaning they
can possess a gun." (12/10/06)

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/159556

-----

51) My pet scapegoat
Unknown News
by Kevin Good

"We may have come full circle. Bush is reading My Pet Scapegoat (The
Iraq Study Group Report) as the Tower of Babble burns. The text of the
seventy-nine recommendations was delivered to the White House with a
carry out order of 'Burrito Supreme Grumblers' from Taco Hell. The
entire White House staff was up all night trying to digest it." (12/11/06)

http://www.unknownnews.org/061211a-KevinGood.html

-----

52) Never give up your rights!
The Libertarian Enterprise
by Doug Newman

"What will you do when your government assumes unlimited power? (Isn't
this the kind of government we are supposedly fighting against in this
War on Terror?) What rights will you have then? The prospect of an
out-of-control, all-powerful FEDGOV is far more frightening than
terrorists. The enemy within can do far more damage than the enemy
without. And this is why you must never give up your rights!" (12/10/06)

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle397-20061210-06.html

-----

53) Three years too late
Truthout
by William Fisher

"While the Washington press corps chased the nine wise men (and one
wise woman) of the Iraq Study Group as they scampered from the White
House to Capitol Hill to press conferences to a multitude of talk show
appearances in their efforts to pull Dubya's chestnuts from the Iraq
fire, some journalists seem to have missed some of its most important
findings. One of the more alarming was that, of the 1,000 employees of
the massive new US Embassy inside the Green Zone bubble in Baghdad,
there are -- wait for it -- SIX who are fluent in Arabic." [editor's
note: Nothing surprises me about the US 'foreign policy' anymore -
MLS] (12/11/06)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121106A.shtml

-----

54) The disappeared of Oaxaca
CounterPunch
by Bernard Diaz

"My name is Bernardo Ruiz and in this movie, Apocalypto, I play the
part of Drunkards Four. My Oaxaca friends Emiliana and Hilaria, who
now live in Austin, agreed to pass on to you my message. Apocalypto is
about some of the amazing ancient history of our country and its
indigenous people. But as you probably know, our struggles continue
even to this day. In recent weeks, our beautiful city, Oaxaca, has
been occupied by federal troops. It came at a time when many of our
people were beginning to stand up for our civil rights with sit-ins
and other kinds of non-violent protest. Now the troops have started
tracking down and arresting not only our leaders, but also many people
from our artistic community here. One of them is my good friend the
painter Gerardo Bonilla. Another is the artist Dionisio Martinez."
(12/11/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/diaz12112006.html

-----

55) Worst. Meeting. Ever!
Strike the Root
by Stefan Molyneux

"'Well,' I asked, 'do you have something against democracy then?' Of
course not, they all cried, but what does any of that have to do with
this presentation? 'Well,' I said, 'that's the beauty of it! If you're
a Republican or a Democrat, you already agree that this 'six step'
solution is the perfect answer to incredibly complex problems like
educating children, providing health care, alleviating poverty and
eliminating drug use -- and tons of other problems far more complex
than the one you want me to solve! So -- given that you already
approve of this 'six step' program for the most complicated and
challenging social problems, surely it should be perfectly applicable
to your much less complicated business issue! Heck, it might even be
overkill!'" (12/11/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/molyneux/molyneux3.html

-----

56) What we leave behind
In These Times
by Frida Berrigan

"In just one week in October, a series of bomb scares swept across
Germany. Outside of Hannover, 22,000 people were evacuated when three
bombs were discovered. A few days later in the same city, a weapons
removal squad defused a 500-pound bomb found near the highway.
Finally, a highway worker was killed when his cutting machine hit a
buried bomb on the main highway into Frankfurt. The bombs hadn't been
planted by terrorists, and they weren't the opening salvos of the next
war. The culprit was unexploded ordnance left over from a war fought
more than 60 years ago. 'We'll have enough work to keep us busy for
the next 100 to 120 years,' the owner of a bomb-defusing company told
the New York Times." (12/11/06)

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2934/

-----

57) The corporate occupation of Iraq
Tom Paine
by Antonia Juhasz

"The Iraq Study Group Report offers a few important recommendations
that will help address problems with the U.S. reconstruction debacle
in Iraq. However, the Report thoroughly misses the mark on identifying
the sources of failure -- U.S. corporations and the Bush
administration, and therefore the best way to solve the situation,
which is to end the U.S. corporate invasion of Iraq. The Report
correctly notes that basic services in Iraq are still provided below
or just hovering around prewar levels and that in Baghdad and other
particularly war-ravaged areas, the situation is far worse. ...
However, the Report attributes the bulk of the blame to Iraqi
government corruption and sectarian bias in the distribution of
services and a failed Iraqi judiciary. While each of these critiques
may be accurate, they are beyond the purview of the United States to
correct. Well within our purview, however, are the past and future
actions of our corporations and our government." (12/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yao5ks

-----

58) Bush still in denial about Iraq
Fox News
by Susan Estrich

"'Hold the melon, please!' my daughter always asks when she orders
fruit salad. The problem, as only some waiters and waitresses bother
to explain, is that most fruit salads are pre-made, and melon is
usually the primary ingredient. Take out the melon and what's left?
The White House should not treat the Study Group Report 'like a fruit
salad,' James Baker told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Wishful
thinking. Until the president accepts the basic premise of the report,
its recommendations are almost beside the point. The basic premise is
that we're failing. The president doesn't see it that way. The
president is in denial. He has posed for the pictures, accepted the
report, thanked the co-chairs. There might even be a few
recommendations in there somewhere with which he agrees. But he
refuses to face reality. He rejects the fundamental diagnosis. He
still wants to win." (12/10/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,235767,00.html

-----

59) Reforms help Africa's diamonds sparkle again
Christian Science Monitor
by Marcus Noland & J. Brooks Spector

"The depiction of diamonds and disaster in the new film 'Blood
Diamond,' is the latest horrific tale about Africa. The cinematic
history lesson about the now-ended civil war in Sierra Leone may be
compelling -- but don't start boycotting diamonds. Today's mundane
reality is that a worldwide coalition of governments, businesses and
NGOs has built a self-policing regimen that is cutting off the
'conflict-diamond' pipeline. How diamonds are mined matters. Primary,
'deep-shaft' diamonds are expensive to mine. Multinational firms,
employing highly unionized workforces dominate production. African
nations tax these mines for society's benefit. Southern Africa
accounts for more than 40 percent of world output by value, virtually
all produced under these conditions." (12/11/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1211/p09s02-coop.html

-----

60) 9/11: The roots of paranoia
The Nation
by Christopher Hayes

"According to a July poll conducted by Scripps News Service, one-third
of Americans think the government either carried out the 9/11 attacks
or intentionally allowed them to happen in order to provide a pretext
for war in the Middle East. This is at once alarming and unsurprising.
Alarming, because if tens of millions of Americans really believe
their government was complicit in the murder of 3,000 of their fellow
citizens, they seem remarkably sanguine about this fact. By and large,
life continues as before, even though tens of millions of people
apparently believe they are being governed by mass murderers.
Unsurprising, because the government these Americans suspect of
complicity in 9/11 has acquired a justified reputation for deception:
weapons of mass destruction, secret prisons, illegal wiretapping. What
else are they hiding?" (10/08/06)

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061225/hayes

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61) Libertarian Party turns 35
Libertarian Party

Historical montage video of the Libertarian Party's history since its
founding on December 11th, 1971. [Flash video] (12/11/06)

http://www.lp.org/35th.shtml

-----

62) Free Talk Live, 12/11/06
Free Talk Live

"Update on woman brutalized by police / Drunk Drivers: Should they be
punished more than other irresponsible drivers? / Borat Lawsuit
Decided / Number One Date Rape Drug / Parents are at fault for
clueless college kids / Legalize prostitution to reduce rape / Death
of the Dollar? / Knife Ban Challenge / The Gun in the Room." [MP3]
(12/11/06)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/ftl/FTL2006-12-11.mp3

-----

63) FMNN eRadio: Commodities update
Free Market News Network

"Rising oil prices, housing slowdown, falling dollar and the latest
Ethanol news. Commodities Analyst David Hightower gives his analysis
for the coming week." [MP3 or stream] (12/11/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/eRadioLaunch.asp?rid=825

-----

64) Interview: Aaron Russo
Google Video

"WE MUST SHUT DOWN THE FEDERAL RESERVE to prevent global dictatorship!
Director Aaron Russo discusses his documentary America: Freedom to
Fascism 9/27/06 in Denver. Federal Reserve was never ratified; income
tax is constitutionally illegal. Jekyll Island, IRS, New World Order,
secret government, FEMA camps, RFID spy chips, communist manifesto.
Russo's previous films: Trading Places, The Rose." Interview conducted
by Peter Boyles. [Google Video]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1123506780042777258

-----

65) America: Freedom To Fascism
Google Video

"[T]he 'Director's Final Cut' authorized version of Aaron Russo's
documentary, America: Freedom To Fascism (AFTF). ... Aaron has
listened to everyone's feedback -- volunteers, students, lovers of
freedom & liberty, young and old alike -- and, true to his word, he is
putting this up 'for free' on Google Video knowing that the hour has
come for Americans to either be awakened to restore the Republic or be
swept aside by the dark global forces of fascism that seeks to enslave
mankind." [Google Video]

http://tinyurl.com/ykoclz

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
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66) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for this week's freedom movement events.
Don't see your event? Drop us a line at info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

67) The Supreme Court appoints a president

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

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Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,043
* Monday, December 11th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,063
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
* In cooperation with ISIL:   htp://www.isil.org
**************************************************

Dear readers,

It's "web-only Monday" at RRND -- 30 news stories and 40 commentaries,
including articles from David Kirby and David Boaz, Steve Trinward, J.
Michael Bragg, L. Neil Smith, Donna Mancini, Ilana Mercer, Patrick J.
Michaels, Justin Raimondo, Linda Schrock Taylor, Nick Gillespie,
Jagadeesh Gokhale, Vin Suprynowicz, Luke Setzer, Pat Buchanan, "CLS,"
Richard A. Cheatham, Austin Post, Jeff Taylor, Murray N. Rothbard,
Christopher Coleman, Sheldon Richman, Kevin Tull and others await your
pleasure at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/news


Other notes:

- So far, response to our year-end fundraiser has been in the low
double digits ... and we need to average about $150 a day between now
and December 31st to reach our very modest goal. No "Tom needs an
operation and if you don't mortgage your house the newsletter goes
away" hype here -- just a request that those of you who find "the
libertarian movement's daily newspaper" worthwhile return value for
value. For more information, and to see the atrocious "candy cane"
graphic, point your browser at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21914

- This week's symposium is on "documentation" -- the written
instantiation of libertarian ideas in contracts, constitutions or
other systems for real-world practice. I've been saving this topic up
for Bill of Rights Day, but that's obviously not the only document
worth examining. See some of the others, and weigh in with your
opinion, at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21996

Back tomorrow with the regular email edition!

Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review

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*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 50,195 ... Max - 55,678
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,931
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
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Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,042
* Friday, December 8th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,062
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
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Dear readers,

It's a "web-only Friday" -- and a fundraiser kickoff day -- at RRND.
25 news stories and 40 commentaries, including pieces from George
Squyres, Jonathan Rauch, Sheldon Richman, Garry Reed, Angelo Mike,
Melana Zyla Vickers, Chuck Muth, Antal E. Fekete, Justin Raimond,
Philip Martin, Michael Young, Dominick T. Armentano, Benjamin Powell,
Jim Harper, Lady Liberty, Jay Lehr, Lew Rockwell, James Bovard, Clark
Walter, Wendy McElroy and others, await your pleasure at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/news

Now, about that year-end fundraiser:

We've beat the fundraising drum lightly over the last month -- and the
response has matched that beat. As you may recall, I threatened to
drag out "the thermometer" if necessary. It's necessary ... but not
sufficient. No, dear readers, in the RRND/FND tradition of truly
atrocious fundraising graphics, I give you -- the Rational Review
Candy Cane! You'll see it at the top of the web edition, or you can
visit it directly at

http://www.rationalreview.com/images/rrcandycane.png.

The original goal was lofty $10,000 in two months. Since we've been
low-key until now, I'm reducing that goal to $3,000 between now and
the end of the year. That's less than 50 cents per reader ... and the
more quickly we reach it, the more quickly the "candy cane" goes away!

Supporting "the libertarian movement's daily newspaper" is easy -- not
to mention necessary, if you want us to be able to continue providing
it -- and we've got loads of ways to do it:

- See the sidebar of any page at rationalreview.com to make a one-time
contribution using PayPal, credit card or e-gold.

- If you'd like to become one of our continuing supporters, we have
four monthly plans at the $2.50, $5.00, $10 or $20 level. Here's the
signup URL:

http://www.rationalreview.com/rrnd-subscribing-contributor-options/

- If you prefer tax deductibility, ISIL has a special contribution
category for support of Freedom News Daily. Drop me a line at
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* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 12/08/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 49,642 ... Max - 55,048
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,921
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
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**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,041
* Thursday, December 7th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,061
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
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*
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* Get fit FAST!
* http://shannonstyle.com/warriors_way_guide.html
*
**************************************************

In The News:

1)  Iraq: Ten US troops killed as ISG report released
2)  Gates confirmed as Secretary of Defense
3)  UNSC approves regional force for Somalia
4)  France: Iran facing UN sanctions
5)  Life on Mars? New findings say "maybe"
6)  House to vote on "fetal pain" bill
7)  Investigators: Katrina aid still being abused
8)  White House withdraws airline proposal
9)  UN OKs weapons trade treaty resolution
10) 12 million suburbanites live in poverty
11) Panel: Bush's Iraq policies have failed
12) Vanderbilt team's discovery could replace the light bulb
13) Somalia: Muslims pray or lose their heads
14) AK: Anticorruption whistle-blower takes top job
15) CA: Two top execs leave Yahoo in reorg
16) Harvard narrows hunt for a leader
17) New spam sneaking past filters
18) UK: Asbos failing to rein in persistent offenders
19) UK: Calls to pardon "UK's last witch"
20) UK: You just couldn't rake it up
21) Australia: Navy can fire on fishing boats
22) PA: Philly victim disarmers will ask to search
23) NJ: Judge -- man isn't violating gun laws
24) TX: Store clerk shoots robbery suspect
25) A newspaper chain sees its future

Everybody Has An Opinion:

26) The peasant who stood up to Hitler
27) In defense of desk rage
28) Phillies 2008: Repeal the Military Commissions Act
29) America: A police state
30) Sovereign immunity needs to go
31) Our genocidal narcissism
32) Passing of a giant
33) Goldilocks 2.0
34) Those big bad corporations
35) We've been here before
36) Divided we reform
37) And they're not off
38) Botched raids not rare
39) Missing the obvious
40) The message
41) Venezuela's Stockholm Syndrome
42) Retirement trendsetter
43) Conservatism from A to Z
44) US out (sort of) by 2008!
45) The barbarians have taken The Hill
46) The AMT reckoning
47) Imperialism and the logic of war making
48) Benefit consumers: End cable monopolies
49) An influx of immigrants 2: America
50) The economics of spam
51) Let the airline mergers begin
52) Voting for peace in 2008
53) In power, powerless
54) What's next after Castro?
55) Romney, the consumer
56) Outing is in again
57) E-pay not so free-pay anymore
58) Roman Empire is falling -- so it turns to Iran and Syria
59) Support the GI movement
60) Becoming what we despise
61) The surreal politics of premeditated war
62) Post Rapture Post
63) Blind obedience or clear conscience
64) Surrendering to Big Brother is now cool
65) Strategic estimate: First step on the path to freedom

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

66) Freedom Rings, 12/11/06
67) FMNN eRadio: Fed quotes
68) The Iraq Study Group's recommendations
69) Free Talk Live, 12/06/06
70) Freedomain Radio #545

Weekly Symposium:

71) Private parts

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

72) Today's events
73) Support GI Resistance

WaYbAcK:

74) Remember the Arizona

***************
* In The News
***************

1)  Iraq: Ten US troops killed as ISG report released
Hampton Roads Daily Press

"Ten U.S. troops were killed in Iraq on Wednesday, a major blow on the
same day a high-level panel in Washington recommended gradually
shifting U.S. forces from a combat to a training role. The bipartisan
Iraq Study Group released recommendations for changing course in the
country, saying President Bush's policy in Iraq 'is not working.' The
Iraqi government said the U.S. report did 'not come as a surprise,'
and it agreed that Iraq must take the lead in its own security."
(12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y9rotu

-----

2)  Gates confirmed as Secretary of Defense
LA Daily News

"The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to confirm Robert Gates as
defense secretary, with Democrats and Republicans portraying him as
the man who will help overhaul President Bush's Iraq policies. The
95-2 vote was a victory of sorts for Bush, who named Gates to replace
Donald H. Rumsfeld at the Pentagon on Nov. 8, a day after voters gave
Democrats control of Congress for next year." (12/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yjxurb

-----

3)  UNSC approves regional force for Somalia
MSNBC

"The U.N. Security Council authorized an African force to protect
Somalia's weak government against an increasingly powerful Islamic
militia, hoping to restore peace and avert a broader conflict in the
region. The U.S. resolution, co-sponsored by the council's African
members, partially lifts an arms embargo on Somalia so the regional
force can be supplied with weapons and military equipment and train
the government's security forces." [editor's note: Talk about
Orwellianism! If Somalia has a "government," the "Islamic militia" is
it. The UN-recognized "government" was created out of whole cloth by
US and UN busybodies next door in Djibouti and has barely even existed
in, let alone "governed," Somalia - TLK] (12/06/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16081544/

-----

4)  France: Iran facing UN sanctions
CNN

"Iran will face U.N. Security Council sanctions for refusing to halt
its nuclear program, France's foreign minister said Wednesday, but
major powers are still divided on exactly how far punishment should
go. 'The question is about the scope of sanctions but there will be
sanctions,' Philippe Douste-Blazy said on RTL radio. The measures
would fall under Article 41 of Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter,
Douste-Blazy added." (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yj6sdl

-----

5)  Life on Mars? New findings say "maybe"
Houston Chronicle

"Photographs from an unmanned NASA craft suggest that underground
water occasionally rises and flows across Mars' frigid terrain,
further raising the prospect that the Red Planet hosts conditions
suitable for life, scientists announced Wednesday. Bright streaks,
appearing within the past seven years in two gullylike areas in the
southern hemisphere of the planet, triggered the scientific
excitement. Previous photos suggested water flow that had taken place
hundreds of millions of years ago rather than anything that scientists
could conceive of happening during their lives." (12/07/06)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4384842.html

-----

6)  House to vote on "fetal pain" bill
USA Today

"The last days of Republican congressional rule are shaping up to be
symbolic and brief, with GOP leaders hawking an abortion restriction
with no chance of becoming law, loading up tax breaks with unrelated
matters and dumping an unfinished budget on Democrats. 'It's
appropriate that the do-nothing Congress is ending by doing nothing,'
said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the next House majority leader. That's
not exactly true." (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yhtz4j

-----

7)  Investigators: Katrina aid still being abused
USA Today

"The government continues to waste tens of millions of dollars in its
Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, including giving rent checks to
evacuees already living in free housing and student aid to ineligible
foreigners, U.S. investigators said Wednesday. The Government
Accountability Office also found that the Federal Emergency Management
Agency has been able to recoup only $7 million of the more than $1
billion in improper payments identified by investigators months ago."
(12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ydrguy

-----

8)  White House withdraws airline proposal
Wilkes-Barre Times Leader

"Already rebuffed by a Republican-controlled Congress, the Bush
administration withdrew its plan to give foreign investors more
management control of U.S. airlines. The decision was announced
Tuesday by Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters after the
department reviewed public comments about the proposal, including
votes by the Senate and House this year to prevent the plan from going
forward." (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y5jq32

-----

9)  UN OKs weapons trade treaty resolution
Waco Tribune-Herald

"Over U.S. objections, the U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution
Wednesday that could lead to the first international treaty on
controlling the trade in assault rifles, machine guns and other small
arms. The nonbinding resolution asks the secretary-general to seek the
views of the 192-member General Assembly on the feasibility of a
comprehensive treaty 'establishing common international standards for
the import, export and transfer of conventional arms.'" (12/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y4evbr

-----

10) 12 million suburbanites live in poverty
Marion Star

"As Americans flee the cities for the suburbs, many are failing to
leave poverty behind. The suburban poor outnumbered their inner-city
counterparts for the first time last year, with more than 12 million
suburban residents living in poverty, according to a study of the
nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas released Thursday." (12/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y9qrqv

-----

11) Panel: Bush's Iraq policies have failed
Allentown Morning Call

"President Bush's war policies have failed in almost every regard, the
bipartisan Iraq Study Group concluded Wednesday, and it warned of
dwindling chances to change course before crisis turns to chaos.
Nearly four years, $400 billion and more than 2,900 U.S. deaths into a
deeply unpopular war, violence is bad and getting worse, there is no
guarantee of success and the consequences of failure are great, the
panel of five Republicans and five Democrats said in a bleak
accounting of U.S. and Iraqi shortcomings. The implications, they
warned, are dire for terrorism, war in the Middle East and higher oil
prices around the world." (12/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/tfebj

-----

12) Vanderbilt team's discovery could replace the light bulb
Tennessean

"Their 'Holy cow!' moment came and went quickly. Almost at the speed
of light, you might say. Michael Bowers chooses to refer to those few
seconds of unexpected scientific discovery in a Vanderbilt University
chemistry lab as the 'James, get the camera!' episode. Either way,
it's been more than a year since a team led by Vanderbilt associate
professor Sandra Rosenthal discovered a new way to make solid-state
lights that produce white light. Put simply: The finding could someday
replace the common light bulb and, the researchers say, cut the
world's electricity consumption in half. For this, Rosenthal, Bowers
and research associate James McBride continue to haul in accolades and
awards. The latest comes in the form of a 2006 'Breakthrough Award for
Innovation' from Popular Mechanics magazine." (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ybfbku

-----

13) Somalia: Muslims pray or lose their heads
Fox News

"Residents of a southern Somalia town who do not pray five times a day
will be beheaded, an official said Wednesday, adding the edict will be
implemented in three days. Shops, tea houses and other public places
in Bulo Burto, about 124 miles northeast of the capital, Mogadishu,
should be closed during prayer time and no one should be on the
streets, said Sheik Hussein Barre Rage, the chairman of the town's
Islamic court. His court is part of a network backed by armed
militiamen that has taken control of much of southern Somalia in
recent months, bringing a strict interpretation of Islam that is alien
to many Somalis. Those who do not follow the prayer edict after three
days have elapsed, 'will definitely be beheaded according to Islamic
law,' Rage told The Associated Press by phone. 'As Muslims we should
practice Islam fully, not in part, and that is what our religion
enjoins us to do.' He said the edict, which covered only Bulo Burto,
was being announced over loudspeakers throughout the town." (12/06/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234817,00.html

-----

14) AK: Anticorruption whistle-blower takes top job
Christian Science Monitor

"Sarah Palin has toppled two giants. The former mayor of Wasilla, a
rapidly growing bedroom burg north of Anchorage, crushed Gov. Frank
Murkowski in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Then in the general
election she defeated former Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles, a political
veteran who was seeking a return to the office he held for two terms.
Monday at her swearing-in in Fairbanks, she simultaneously became
Alaska's first female governor, Alaska's youngest governor, and the
state's only beauty-queen-turned-chief-executive. Not bad for a
suburban mother of four with a relatively thin resume that critics
claimed marked her as a lightweight. Not only that, she won during an
election in which Republicans in general lost big, including at
governors' mansions. The party dropped six states, leaving Republicans
in control of just 22 governor's seats. Governor Palin is one of three
female Republicans to be running a state." (12/06/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1206/p02s01-uspo.html

-----

15) CA: Two top execs leave Yahoo in reorg
San Francisco Chronicle

"Hoping to regain momentum lost to rivals big and small, Web portal
Yahoo Inc. disclosed plans Tuesday for a reorganization that includes
the resignation of its chief operating officer and the head of its
media operations in Santa Monica. Dan Rosensweig, the Sunnyvale
company's chief operating officer, plans to leave in March. Lloyd
Braun, the former ABC studio chief who led Yahoo's video, news and
music businesses, has already left. 'The Internet is continuing to
grow and evolve at a rapid pace, and we're reshaping Yahoo to be a
leader in this transformation,' Terry Semel, Yahoo's chief executive,
said in a statement." (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y6o44h

-----

16) Harvard narrows hunt for a leader
Boston Globe

"Harvard has whittled down hundreds of nominees for its next president
to a small list, including internal candidates and presidents of some
of the nation's top universities, according to a source familiar with
the process. The source would not give a specific number, but said the
university is considering a smaller group than the 30 names that the
presidential search committee presented to Harvard's Board of
Overseers on Sunday. Harvard is focusing on an elite group of
academics, many of them with deep ties to Harvard. The university's
last president, Lawrence H. Summers, who had been a Harvard professor,
was atypical because of his political experience in Washington as
Clinton's former treasury secretary." (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y6e5o6

-----

17) New spam sneaking past filters
Arizona Republic

"Hearing from a lot of new friends lately? You know, the ones that
write, 'It's me, Esmeralda,' and tip you off to an obscure stock that
is 'poised to explode' or a great deal on prescription drugs. You're
not the only one. Spam is back, in e-mail in-boxes and on everyone's
minds. In the past six months, the problem has gotten measurably
worse. Worldwide spam volume has doubled from last year, according to
Ironport, a spam-filtering firm, and unsolicited junk mail now
accounts for more than 9 out of every 10 e-mail messages sent over the
Internet. Much of that flood is made up of a nettlesome new breed of
junk e-mail called image spam, in which the words of the advertisement
are part of a picture, often fooling traditional spam detectors that
look for telltale phrases. Image spam increased fourfold from last
year and now represents 25 to 45 percent of all junk e-mail, depending
on the day, Ironport says." (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ybvp8c

-----

18) UK: Asbos failing to rein in persistent offenders
Guardian [UK]

"Antisocial behaviour orders are ineffective with a hard core of
persistent offenders whose behaviour is blighting communities across
Britain, according to a report by the government's official spending
watchdog published today. Over 55% of those given an Asbo did not
comply with its conditions and a hard core of 20% breached them more
than five times, the National Audit Office report said. One youngster
breached his Asbo 25 times. Edward Leigh, the chairman of the Commons
public accounts committee, said the report revealed that, for a hard
core of persistent offenders, the measures were not working." (12/06/06)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1965895,00.html

-----

19) UK: Calls to pardon "UK's last witch"
BBC News [UK]

"The family of the last person in the UK to be prosecuted under the
Witchcraft Act will mark the 50th anniversary of her death by calling
for her pardon. Medium Helen Duncan, who was born in Callander,
Perthshire, was imprisoned using the law during World War II. She was
targeted by the government after revealing to a seance audience that a
warship had sunk before the news had been released to the public. ...
She was arrested in 1944 and sentenced to nine months in prison at the
Old Bailey for crimes under the Witchcraft Act of 1735." (12/06/06)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/6212880.stm

-----

20) UK: You just couldn't rake it up
The Sun [UK]

"A tearful woman was accused of littering -- for sweeping leaves from
a council tree into a pile. Streetsweepers refused to remove the heap
at the end of Sandra Pote's drive because some had fallen into her
garden. Sandra, 61 -- who for years has brushed leaves into a pile in
the gutter -- thought she was doing the cleaning truck crew a favour
as they drove down the road in Torquay, Devon. But she was accused of
fly-tipping. Furious husband Malcolm, 61, said yesterday: 'She was in
tears.' Torbay council insisted the couple should have taken the
leaves to a tip. A spokesman said: 'Householders have a responsibility
to deal with leaves on their property.'" (12/06/06)

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006560416,00.html

-----

21) Australia: Navy can fire on fishing boats
The Age [Australia]

"The navy has been given permission to fire at illegal fishing boats
that refuse to be apprehended in Australian waters. Under new rules of
engagement approved by Defence Minister Brendan Nelson, the navy will
also be given tear gas, capsicum spray and abrasive acoustic devices.
'The foreign fishing vessels that are coming to our country are
increasingly sophisticated,' Dr Nelson told Parliament yesterday.
'They are engaging in activities which are very dangerous to our
personnel and indeed to our patrol boats, including using very large
sharpened poles (and) the throwing of missiles. It is extremely
important that anybody who comes to this country seeking to steal our
fish and breach our sovereignty knows that they will be met with a
very strong, disciplined Royal Australian Navy.'" (12/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yyme2g

-----

22) PA: Philly victim disarmers will ask to search
Centre Daily

"After an uptick in city homicides this year, the vast majority of
them involving guns, law-enforcement officials have created a task
force to try to rid the city of illegal guns. The unit, funded with $5
million from the state, will hire retired Philadelphia homicide
detectives and others to target neighborhoods where gun violence is
most pervasive. Police also plan to ask home owners at times for
consent to search their homes without a probable-cause warrant,
District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham said Monday. 'If we go to a house,
we're going to ask the owner of the house if they will consent to a
search for illegal weapons,' Abraham said at a news conference. 'Any
gun that we can find that way is one more gun we can get off the
street.'" [editor's note: Oh, of course, officer, DO come in and
search to see if I have any illegal guns - MLS] (12/04/06)

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/politics/16163063.htm

-----

23) NJ: Judge -- man isn't violating gun laws
Express Times

"District Judge Diane Repyneck threw out 17 citations Monday against a
62-year-old township man accused of violating local gun laws. The
judge ruled Richard Seruga of the 3800 block of Bee Line Drive was
guilty of one count of disorderly conduct but was not in violation of
any other township laws when he repeatedly fired his gun at a target
behind his home..... 'chiding the township for continuing to cite
Seruga even after Repyneck threw out Seruga's previous citations based
on the argument that the law allows an exception for property owners
to fire on their own land.' ... Repyneck wasn't persuaded by the
prosecution's arguments. She also dismissed another charge against
Seruga of using an illegal backstop in his backyard firing range. The
only charge that stuck was the disorderly conduct charge stemming from
Seruga's interaction with [Township police officer] Jones. " (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y2apjv

-----

24) TX: Store clerk shoots robbery suspect
Ft. Worth Star Telegram

"An employee of Bennett's Grocery Store shot and wounded a Cleburne
man as he attempted a robbery Tuesday night, Burleson police said. ...
According to police reports, Baxter, who carried a large hunting
knife, walked around the counter and demanded money from the clerk.
The store owner yelled from the office, but Baxter refused to leave
and was shot twice, police said. The suspect fled in a Ford F-150
pickup along with another suspect, Justin Wade Germain, also of
Cleburne. The two men then stopped at the Wal-Mart on S.W. Wilshire
Blvd. to buy bandages, Aaron said. They made an illegal left turn, and
were pulled over by state troopers until police arrived." (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/tfcxx

-----

25) A newspaper chain sees its future
Washington Post

"Myron, 27, is a reporter for the Fort Myers News-Press and one of its
fleet of mobile journalists, or 'mojos.' The mojos have high-tech
tools -- ThinkPads, digital audio recorders, digital still and video
cameras -- but no desk, no chair, no nameplate, no land line, no
office. They spend their time on the road looking for stories, filing
several a day for the newspaper's Web site, and often for the print
edition, too. Their guiding principle: A constantly updated stream of
intensely local, fresh Web content -- regardless of its traditional
news value -- is key to building online and newspaper readership."
(12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ycx9cm

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 12/07/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 49,642 ... Max - 55,048
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,918
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

26) The peasant who stood up to Hitler
LewRockwell.Com
by Justine Nicholas

"He was not an artist, scholar, statesman or even a Ghandian activist
who devoted his life to ending violence and injustice. Nor was he a
member of a pacifistic religious group like the Jehovah's Witness or
Society of Friends. Rather, he was an Austrian peasant who was the
sexton in his local Catholic church. Like most people of his time,
place and social class, he didn't continue his formal education beyond
grammar school. He lived far removed from the creative energy and
political ferment of Vienna, Berlin and Paris. His contact with that
world came but once a week, when he visited the library of a nearby
village. La Bibliotheque Nationale it wasn't. But it provided him with
intellectual and spiritual sustenance that would fortify him when the
S.S. officers came calling." (12/07/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/nicholas/nicholas21.html

-----

27) In defense of desk rage
The Free Liberal
by Jonathan David Morris

"My local news station recently did a piece on something called 'desk
rage,' which is apparently supposed to be like road rage, only at work
instead of on the roads. According to the reporter, desk rage can
manifest in several ways: aggression; poor productivity; abuse of sick
days; stealing supplies; and irritability or depression. My problem
with this report isn't that it's untrue. It's that they say it like
it's a bad thing." (12/07/06)

http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002469.html

-----

28) Phillies 2008: Repeal the Military Commissions Act
Rational Review
by George Phillies

"American law and tradition make clear: The accused are entitled to
speedy trials before a jury. The accused may not be tortured until
they confess. Evidence obtained through torture is not admissible. The
accused has the right to cross-examination of the witnesses against
him. Older readers will recall the days before Miranda, when prisoners
in American jails were likely to be abused until they confessed,
especially if they were dark of skin or spoke with an accent.
Fortunately, the Supreme Court brought those days to an end. The
Military Commissions Act turns all American law and tradition on its
head. The Military Commissions Act is un-American to its core. It
should be repealed immediately." (12/07/06)

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21776

-----

29) America: A police state
Liberty For All
by Ed Lewis

"The writer knows that many people believe America is developing into
a police state in which human rights, justice, truth, liberty, and
overall righteousness are going by the wayside along with security,
such as that provided by our shores being defended against invasion.
The writer maintains, though, that America is already a police state
and that security of the people has nothing whatsoever to do with its
development." (12/06/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=410

-----

30) Sovereign immunity needs to go
American Daily
by Larry Pratt

"Most people in the 21st century look back on earlier times and wonder
how folks could ever have believed in the divine right of kings (other
than the king himself). Well, we better wipe that condescending smile
off our faces, because we are no better today right here in the U.S.
of A. ... Bob Arwady runs the Ammo Dump, a gun store in Houston,
Texas. His first exposure to the abuses of sovereign immunity came
from a knock on the door from the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality. After operating his new shooting range for police and public
shooters for four months, the Commission shut him down with the threat
of fining shooters $5,000 for each bullet they put in the dirt berms
used as bullet traps. They claimed that they had a water sample that
proved that those bullets were leaching lead in dangerous quantities
into the stream behind his range and polluting water downstream. It
turns out that the signed affidavit by the Environmental Quality
officer stating that he had taken the water sample was a lie." (12/05/06)

http://www.americandaily.com/article/16659

-----

31) Our genocidal narcissism
The Power of Narrative
by Arthur Silber

"In fact, all the ISG recommends is that we 'stay the course' -- and
the newly-empowered Washington Democrats have already made it clear
they will do absolutely nothing to change our direction in any manner
that actually might affect events. In the near future, I will offer
further thoughts on that as well. The most critical element of the
status quo that remains unchallenged is our alleged 'idealism,' the
notion that we act out of the best of motives and that we 'meant
well.' Most Americans refuse to seriously consider the idea that Iraq
represented no serious threat to us whatsoever, and that our leaders
knew it." (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ylfo2p

-----

32) Passing of a giant
Free Market News Network
by Walter E. Williams

"Professor Friedman, above all, was an economist's economist. During
his professional life, his research on statistical techniques,
consumption behavior and monetary theory became part and parcel of
today's accepted wisdom among economists. His research on monetary
theory and the role of money in an economy has provided central banks
worldwide with the knowledge, whether they use it or not, for monetary
stability. Professor Friedman will surely be remembered for these
intellectual contributions, but what he'll be remembered for the most
is his steadfast support for personal liberty." (12/06/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/120/6526/walter.asp?nid=6526&wid=120

-----

33) Goldilocks 2.0
TCS Daily
by Ken Yarmosh

"Unless you have been hanging out in the back alleys of Internet
geek-dom chances are you have never heard the term 'Web 2.0.' It's a
phrase that has caused much confusion outside geek circles and
significant debate within them. And it plays a critical part in the
growing digital economy. When someone uses the term Web 2.0, he
generally is referring to a growing number of new websites and tools
including things like blogs, podcasts, wikis, social networks (e.g.,
MySpace), and video sharing (e.g., YouTube). These tools are making it
easier to create and publish content." (12/07/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=112006A

-----

34) Those big bad corporations
No Force, No Fraud
by Bob Smith

"Corporations are not the source of our problems ... when they take
advantage of corrupt politics; they're just the paid henchmen. They're
also often the scapegoats if the collusion becomes too prominent in
the public eye. Government officials can, with self-righteous
indignation and practiced use of media, use their power to turn on
their own co-conspirators, at the same time whitewashing their own
involvement. Obviously, they're very good at that, because many
Americans, like those I keep running into, believe that corporations
are the enemy and government is their friend. I've come to believe
this may be the most dangerous and foolish myth in the nation." (12/05/06)

http://libertyed.org/noforce/2006/12/those-big-bad-corporations.html

-----

35) We've been here before
AntiWar.Com
by Leon Hadar

"I'm not a financial speculator, and I don't play one on television.
So please don't base your decision on whether or not to bet against
the U.S. dollar on my thoughts about the fate of the greenback, which
has fallen to a 20-month low against the euro recently. But for
someone like myself who is interested in the relationship between
economics and politics, especially as they affect global affairs, the
current weakness that the U.S. currency seems to be experiencing
hasn't come as a total shock. Hence while economic analysts have been
examining the volatility of the dollar and searching for explanations
by focusing mainly on U.S. economic indicators, including the restless
housing market and the weakening confidence of consumers, or the
structural differences between the U.S. and European economies, it
seems to me there is a need to integrate the discussion into the
larger domestic and global political context. The problems of
America's mighty currency need to be viewed from the perspective of
the U.S. capital." (12/07/06)

http://www.antiwar.com/hadar/?articleid=10120

-----

36) Divided we reform
National Review
by the editors

"In recent weeks administration officials and a few Democrats have
talked about the possibility of reaching a deal on Social Security. It
seems pretty clear that Democrats will not accept any deal that
involves letting workers invest some of their Social Security taxes in
personal accounts. Some conservatives have concluded that any deal
without such accounts is not worth making. As much as we favor
personal accounts, we disagree. A deal would have to be carefully
negotiated, but conservatives ought to be willing to contemplate one."
(12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y9zo9r

-----

37) And they're not off
AlterNet
by Will Durst

"I startled some guy in the next lane at a red light when I shouted at
my radio today. A semi famous network newscaster had come on opining
how former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack could easily take the 2008 Iowa
caucuses as a favorite son, resulting in a subsequent focus on South
Carolina, which is John Edwards territory and this might all work out
to upset the Hillary Clinton Applecart Express. AAIIIIEEEE! The guy
next to me barely missed a covey of walkers as he peeled out. I mean,
okay, I know, political projection is as predictable as a spilt glass
of milk before nap time at a day care center for hyperactive four year
olds. But for crum's sake, a little common human decency por favor.
We've barely finished showering off the crap flung in the midterms and
need a moment or so to send our clothes and our souls out to the dry
cleaners. Or burn and bury them then buy new ones." (12/06/06)

http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/45197/

-----

38) Botched raids not rare
Reason
by Radley Balko

"The botched Atlanta raid that ended in the shooting death of
88-year-old Kathryn Johnston was sad and tragic, but unfortunately, it
was neither uncommon nor unpredictable. After taking a year to
research and write a paper for the Cato Institute on the proliferation
of forced-entry, paramilitary-style raids, I'm sorry to say Johnston
is just one of at least 40 innocent people killed in botched raids
over the last 20 years in America. Worse, there are dozens more cases
of low-level offenders, bystanders -- and police officers -- killed or
injured." (12/06/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/117095.html

-----

39) Missing the obvious
The Weekly Standard
by Frederick W. Kagan

"After months of work, access to the best experts in the world and
weeks of anticipation from politicians and the American public, the
Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group report landed in our laps yesterday.
And that noise you heard was a resounding thud. The reason: The report
basically punts on the most important issue of the day -- establishing
security in Iraq. All of the pious exhortations to get Iraqis to sit
down with one another, to engage Iran and Syria and to find political
compromises are meaningless if we are unable to stem the tide of
bloodshed that now engulfs much of Baghdad and Anbar province. Yet the
Baker Report devotes scant space (8 pages out of 56 in the proposals
section) to the security problem and its recommendations are
unoriginal: Increase the number of American soldiers embedded in Iraqi
units as trainers by stripping them out of the combat brigades now
working to fight insurgents." (12/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ydnvrp

-----

40) The message
Slate
by John Dickerson

"What a book launch. Wednesday, the entire world focused on the
release of Vintage paperback ISBN: 0-307-38656-2, also known as the
Iraq Study Group Report: The Way Forward-- A New Approach. The 10
primary authors gathered in room 216 of the Hart Senate Office
Building to unveil their plan for stabilizing Iraq as a prelude for a
U.S. troop withdrawal. The nine men wore grays and blues -- official
Wise Men issue. Sandra Day O'Connor dressed in fuchsia, as if
revolting against her years of having to wear a black robe. It was the
kickoff of a weeklong media blitz that will culminate as all
successful Washington book launches do, with appearances on all the
Sunday talk shows. Much of the media coverage is likely to focus on
142 pages detailing 79 specific recommendations about troop levels,
timelines, and Iraqi politics. But what came though most forcefully at
the press conference was a broader critique of the Bush
administration's conduct."

http://www.slate.com/id/2154987

-----

41) Venezuela's Stockholm Syndrome
Independent Institute
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa

"I am often asked why a government as authoritarian and corrupt as
that of Hugo Chavez wins elections. In my five trips to Venezuela
since Chavez took office eight years ago, I have come to a conclusion
that many Venezuelans suffer something akin to Stockholm syndrome,
that state of psychological dependence that the victim develops with a
kidnapper." (12/06/06)

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1864

-----

42) Retirement trendsetter
Cato Institute
by William Shipman

"Germany introduced Social Security in 1889; we followed suit 46 years
later. Germany pays retirees' benefits by taxing its workers. So do
we. Because of increasing lifespans and declining birthrates, the
number of German workers has been shrinking relative to elderly
beneficiaries. The same has happened here. Germany's response has been
to increase workers' taxes and decrease retirees' benefits. We've done
the same. These government responses have not solved the problem in
Germany, nor have they here. And now the German Conservatives and
Social Democrats have agreed to a major, and new, reform of their
Social Security system: Raise taxes further and cut benefits more.
Will America follow once again?" (12/07/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6792

-----

43) Conservatism from A to Z
The American Conservative
by Daniel McCarthy

"This book launch had the feel of a wake -- an Irish wake for some,
not so much for others -- attended by Montagues and Capulets. Yet an
appropriate spirit it was, for the book contains something of Nash's
genteel ambiguity and Lukacs's unsparing honesty, as well as Decter's
herpetological resolve. This is all to the good. American
Conservatism: An Encyclopedia doesn't truck in the witless
triumphalism that characterizes so much of the Right. Nor does it
present any feigned unity. Instead, editors Bruce Frohnen, Jeremy
Beer, and Jeffrey O. Nelson -- professor at Ave Maria law school and
editor in chief and publisher of ISI Books, respectively -- let all
the many schools of thought within American conservatism (and
libertarianism, too) have their own say. Entries on divisive figures
are here given, as a general rule, to sympathetic profilers, which is
the only way a book like this could have been assembled without
becoming a polemic in its own right." (12/04/06)

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_12_04/review.html

-----

44) US out (sort of) by 2008!
Mother Jones
by James Ridgeway

"The bottom line in this morning's release of the much anticipated
Iraq Study Group report is a new emphasis on embedded special
operations and combat teams within the Iraqi military, allowing a
drawdown of troops in the region. Under this model, intelligence and
logistical support would likely continue to come from the United
States; since Iraq has no air force, the U.S. would probably fill that
gap as well. The report, which notes that 'the situation in Iraq is
grave and deteriorating,' says that U.S. military operations in Iraq
'should evolve' so that 'by the first quarter of 2008 ... all combat
brigades not necessary for force protection should be out of Iraq.
...'" (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yfh7mq

-----

45) The barbarians have taken The Hill
Liberty For All
by GOA staff

"The Brady Bunch is already licking their collective lips in
anticipation of the new Congress being seated. Visit the Brady
Campaign's website and you will see talk of a 'momentum shift' in our
nation's capital that will 'make it hard for the gun lobby to weaken
gun laws and creates opportunities for passage of common sense [sic]
gun proposals.' Indeed, the attack has already begun." [editor's note:
The attack began a long time ago -- and GOA, with its tacit
endorsements -- via specious "grading" -- of anti-gun Republicans like
Missouri's Jim Talent, has chosen to be part of the problem rather
than part of the solution - TLK] (12/06/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=411

-----

46) The AMT reckoning
National Center for Policy Analysis
by staff

"The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) became law in 1969 after President
Lyndon Baines Johnson's last Treasury Secretary, Joseph Barr, created
a liberal uproar by disclosing that 21 millionaires had managed to pay
little or no income tax in 1967. Thus the 'alternative' tax was
designed to capture high earners who claimed a lot of deductions. But
this year it will strike four million Americans, and next year without
a change in law it will snare 23 million -- one in four tax filers."
(12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxjh9a

-----

47) Imperialism and the logic of war making
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joseph T. Salerno

"Commentaries on war stretching back more than two millennia to the
Peloponnesian Wars have enshrouded the fundamental causes of war in an
almost impenetrable fog of myths, fallacies, and outright lies. In
most studies, war is generally portrayed as the inevitable outcome of
either complex historical forces or accidental circumstances generally
beyond the understanding or control of the human combatants." (12/06/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2405

-----

48) Benefit consumers: End cable monopolies
Heartland Institute
by Diane S. Katz

"From the time cable lines began replacing TV antennas four decades
ago, municipalities have required cable firms to obtain franchises
under the assumption that cable service was a 'natural monopoly' in
need of taming. This local regulation, which was never justified, has
become destructive now that there are assorted technologies and
service providers that consumers could choose from if given the
chance." (12/06)

http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=20220

-----

49) An influx of immigrants 2: America
Frontiers of Freedom
by Joe Mariani

"How is America doing in terms of demographics? Our fertility rate is
hovering at just below replacement level, averaging 2.09 children over
the lifetime of each American woman. Of all industrialised nations,
including Russia, Japan and Australia, we are the only country in
which the current population has a future. Even China's fertility rate
is down to 1.73, indicating a shrinking and aging populace. Why are we
so different from the rest of the advanced world, which is spiraling
down to non-existence?" (12/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y7pjme

-----

50) The economics of spam
Foundation for Economic Education
by Christopher Westley

"What's the matter with the Internet? I used to love it, at least the
part of it that brought e-mail. One of the highlights of my day used
to be Outlook Express's friendly tone announcing that another e-mail
had arrived in my inbox. Then I would stop what I was doing to see
which friend or colleague was checking in, or what requested
information had arrived. Those were my glory days of e-mail. I miss
them." (written 11/03; posted 12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/tb3dw

-----

51) Let the airline mergers begin
Acton Institute
by Anthony B. Bradley

"As U.S. Airways proceeds with its hostile $8 billion bid for bankrupt
Delta Airlines Inc., some worry that the move will mean fewer options,
less competition, and higher prices. The more probable result is the
contrary. A more extensive consolidation of the airline industry
should be welcomed. If not thwarted by the government and labor
unions, consolidation will make the 130 carriers now flying more
efficient and competitive, delivering multiple benefits, including
more options and lower prices, to consumers." (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y9dcwl

-----

52) Voting for peace in 2008
Tom Paine
by David Corn

"What's the best way to judge a potential president? It might be to
look at the hard decisions a candidate has made in the past. And for
several of the probable and possible 2008 contenders, the October 2002
vote in the Senate on the resolution granting George W. Bush the
authority to attack Iraq whenever he deemed fit was the most difficult
call they had to make. It certainly was the most consequential. All of
the current senatorial presidential wannabes who were in office then
-- Democrats Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Christopher Dodd,
Evan Bayh, and Republicans John McCain, Chuck Hagel and Sam Brownback
-- voted for the bill. So, too, did former Sen. John Edwards. (Sen.
Barack Obama, who opposed the war, was not yet in the Senate.) But
there were differences in how each approached and explained his or her
vote." [editor's note: This is a pretty good summary of how little
there is to choose among, of the so-far-declared wanna-bes - SAT]
(12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygbkqe

-----

53) In power, powerless
The American Prospect
by Robert B. Reich

"Democrats won control of Congress on two big issues -- the war in
Iraq and the economy. Yet both issues will remain almost completely
out of their control, at least for the next two years. The president
remains commander-in-chief until January 2009. And in that role,
according to the Constitution, he has the authority to decide defense
policy and military strategy. Unlike Lyndon Johnson, who felt the
pressure in 1967 when public opinion turned against the Vietnam War,
President Bush is not up for reelection, so public opinion won't sway
him. The president said recently he'll stay the course in Iraq -- even
though the administration's own intelligence review says our presence
there is causing more terrorism, not less." (12/06/06)

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12278

-----

54) What's next after Castro?
Christian Science Monitor
by John Hughes

"While President Bush is understandably preoccupied with the far-off
Middle East, there is uncertainty, and perhaps mischief brewing, in
America's own backyard. This past weekend marked the eclipse of Fidel
Castro, who spent a lifetime trying to convert Latin America to
anti-American socialism. The weekend also saw the consolidation of
power by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Mr. Chavez seeks to assume Mr.
Castro's mantle and inject even more virulent anti- Americanism into a
leftward drift like we are witnessing in such countries as Bolivia,
Ecuador, Nicaragua, and even Mexico, where leftists showed surprising
strength in recent elections. Evidence of Castro's fading in Cuba was
his absence from celebrations of his 80th birthday in Havana this past
weekend. The celebrations had already been postponed from Aug. 13, his
actual birthday, because of ill health." (12/06/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1206/p09s02-cojh.html

-----

55) Romney, the consumer
Boston Globe
by Steven A. Camarota

"The recent news story about apparently illegal immigrants employed by
the landscaping company that tends Mitt Romney's yard seemed to
suggest that he was at least partly to blame for this. But, the
consumer, in this case the governor, is in no way responsible for
business practices that go on behind the scenes. In fact, if the
governor had asked the workers in question if they were illegal, he
could have actually been sued under federal law for discrimination.
Think about it in a practical way. If consumers really are responsible
in some way for businesses that hire illegals, why single out the
landscaping company? What about the fast-food restaurants or video
stores frequented by Massachusetts politicians and their employment of
illegals? Given how many illegals work in poultry processing, there's
also a good chance that the turkey most of us ate for Thanksgiving was
processed by an illegal." [editor's note: Despite this writer's
insistence on dismissively terming these people as simply "illegals,"
the piece has some merit - SAT] (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/th9fz

-----

56) Outing is in again
In These Times
by John Ireland

"Over the past year, gay sex scandals have rocked right-wing political
and religious circles in the United States. Jim West (mayor of
Spokane, Wash.), Mark Foley (congressman from Florida), and the Rev.
Ted Haggard (president of the National Association of Evangelicals)
all learned the sting of a public flogging. The first two men were
'outed' when their homosexual orientation was involuntarily exposed
publicly by investigative journalists, while Haggard was outed by a
gay male escort who claimed to have had sex with him. Historically,
the press has been hesitant to give a voice to allegations of
hypocrisy if they relate to hidden homosexuality, but the tide is
beginning to turn, if only slightly. On Nov. 8, comedian Bill Maher
appeared on CNN's 'Larry King Live' and told the world that Ken
Mehlman, head of the Republican National Committee, is gay." [editor's
note: But make one thing clear -- in the Foley case, the issue was not
his "orientation," but his abuse of power over subordinates pages. In
all cases noted here, though, the hypocrisy of the subjects is notable
- SAT] (12/06/06)

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2931/

-----

57) E-pay not so free-pay anymore
San Francisco Chronicle
by David Lazarus

"Don't virtually all banks want you at the ATM instead of bothering a
teller? Don't their automated phone systems bend over backward to keep
you from getting anywhere close to a human being? The reason, or so
we've been led to understand, is that electronic transactions are
cheaper (read: more profitable) for banks. ... So how come these same
banks attach all sorts of fees to electronic credit card payments?
Isn't that counterproductive? Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat,
gave a speech last week on anti-consumer trends in the credit card
business. He specifically mentioned fees for electronic payments. ...
'By getting payments earlier, a company can earn interest on that
money,' he observed. 'Charging families a fee to pay their bill on
time is outrageous, however, and there ought to be a law against it.'
Levin is, by the way, a lawmaker. And his party is about to take
control of Congress." (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y72rc7

-----

58) Roman Empire is falling -- so it turns to Iran and Syria
Independent [UK]
by Robert Fisk

"The Roman Empire is falling. That, in a phrase, is what the Baker
report says. The legions cannot impose their rule on Mesopotamia. Just
as Crassus lost his legions' banners in the deserts of Syria-Iraq, so
has George W Bush. There is no Mark Antony to retrieve the honour of
the empire. The policy 'is not working.' 'Collapse' and 'catastrophe'
-- words heard in the Roman senate many a time -- were embedded in the
text of the Baker report. Et tu, James?" (12/07/06)

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article2054595.ece

-----

59) Support the GI movement
Common Dreams
by David Zeigler

"Today there is a growing GI movement against the War in Iraq. It has
the potential to tremendously impact the War in Iraq and end US
foreign policies of empire. But it needs our help. On December 8-10,
there will be three days of action across the US to show widespread
public support for the courageous troops that resist. Educational
events, rallies, marches and vigils will take place around the US. In
the 1960's an anti-war movement emerged that altered the course of
history. This movement didn't take place on college campuses, but in
barracks and on aircraft carriers. It flourished in Army stockades,
Navy brigs and in the dingy towns that surround military bases. It
penetrated elite military colleges like West Point. And it spread
throughout the battlefields of Vietnam. It was a movement no one
expected, least of all those in it. Hundreds went to prison and
thousands into exile. And by 1971 it had, in the words of one colonel,
infested the entire armed services." [editor's note: For local events,
see www.couragetoresist.org/x/ - MLS](12/06/06)

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1206-22.htm

-----

60) Becoming what we despise
Truthdig
by Robert Scheer

"The excuse for this heinous treatment of a U.S. citizen is the same
as that given for an entire orgy of despicable treatment of prisoners
held in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo and a gulag archipelago of
secret military facilities around the world: Our enemies, all linked
through sophistry to the 9/11 terror attacks, are so vile and
dangerous that the limitations on government power enshrined in our
guiding documents and political culture no longer apply. Once the Twin
Towers were knocked down, supposedly, we could no longer afford to be
'nice guys' -- as if the rule of law is an indulgence of only the most
secure nations. By that standard, any tyrant can justify the cruelest
of actions by citing enemies, real or imagined, be it King George III
blockading Boston Harbor to teach the rebellious colonists a lesson or
Saddam Hussein killing Kurdish villagers after an assassination
attempt on his life. The very uniqueness of our national experiment
was the checks and balances put upon the government to prevent such
convenient rationalizations for abuse of the individual. The Founding
Fathers won a war, but their true contribution to human history was to
tackle head-on the reality that humans and their institutions can so
easily become that which they despise." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y7ew5t

-----

61) The surreal politics of premeditated war
CounterPunch
by Richard Behan

"George W. Bush, who proudly claimed the mantle of 'war president,'
was keenly rebuked in the recent mid-term election. The event was
notable, but it merely continued the surreal politics of premeditated
war -- a politics that has dominated the last six bizarre, hideous
years of our nation's history." (12/06/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/behan12062006.html

-----

62) Post Rapture Post
Post Rapture Post
by staff

"Do you know someone who is in danger of being 'left behind' because
of a sinful life? Imagine if you could write a letter to a friend or
loved one after the Great Day of Reckoning. Maybe a message to your
family telling them to trust in God, and that everything will be okay.
Perhaps you would leave instructions to care for your pets after your
departure. It could be that your message is the light that opens a
sinner's eyes to the Glory of God and allows them entrance to Heaven
during the trials before the Second Coming. This is where the
Post-Rapture Post comes in. Just write your letter and it will be
hand-delivered immediately following the exodus of the pure from the
Earth. But you must be thinking to yourself, 'How can the letters be
delivered after the Rapture?' The answer is simple. The creators of
this site are Atheists. That's right, we don't believe in God. How
else would we be able to deliver your correspondence after the
Rapture?" (publication date unknown, circa 2005)

http://postrapturepost.com/index.html

-----

63) Blind obedience or clear conscience
News With Views
by Nancy Levant

"We the people realize our dilemma. We realize that renegade
politicians and causes have overtaken our government. We the people
have allowed the contamination of our rights and our freedom, and we
the people have allowed aristocrats to implant their government of
choice. We the people have allowed the 2-Party system to destroy and
overtake the United States of America. I repeat: We have allowed the
2-Party System to destroy and overtake the United States of America.
The Greatest Generation, the Baby Boomers, and Generation X are all
guilty as sin, and each and every one of us holds full and total
responsibility for the decay of rights and freedoms. ... Today's
American follows well over 1,000,000 known rules for the rabble, and
99.9% of the American people are 100% clueless about what, when, how,
or where the rules and regulations of our new government exist."
(12/05/06)

http://www.newswithviews.com/Levant/nancy70.htm

-----

64) Surrendering to Big Brother is now cool
Another Day in the Empire
by Kurt Nimmo

"Surrendering to Big Brother is now cool, as even James Bond, in the
remake of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale, has himself a microchip -- for
the sake of safety, of course. ... Increasingly, it would seem that if
you want to eat, you will be forced to surrender your biometric data.
Acceptance begins at the grade school lunch line." (12/02/06)

http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=685

-----

65) Strategic estimate: First step on the path to freedom
Strike the Root
by Kevin Van Horn

"I just didn't see anything I could do towards achieving that goal
that had any reasonable chance of making a worthwhile difference ...
until I ran across the extensive and detailed literature on nonviolent
struggle. Over the last 25 years an impressive parade of dictators and
authoritarians have been forced to relinquish power via this
technique." (12/06/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/horn/horn3.html

*******************************************************************
* RRND MEDIA SHELF -- Tchotchkes from today's edition
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* Iraq Study Group Report
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307386562/rationalrev08-20
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* American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia
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*
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* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JPCA/rationalrev08-20
*
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* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00067L6TQ/rationalrev08-20
*
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* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************

66) Freedom Rings, 12/11/06
Freedom Rings

Open line libertarian talk radio with Kenneth John. 9AM CST on WRMN
1410 AM, Elgin, Illinois, or via webcast. [Live radio or stream]
(12/11/06)

http://www.freedomrings.net/

-----

67) FMNN eRadio: Fed quotes
Free Market News Network

"The Mogambo Guru [Richard Daughty] gently critiques the latest
monetary statements made by our current financial leaders." [MP3 or
stream] (12/06/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/eRadioLaunch.asp?rid=823

-----

68) The Iraq Study Group's recommendations
Cato Institute

Cato daily podcast, featuring Ted Galen Carpenter. [MP3] (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ybmnn8

-----

69) Free Talk Live, 12/06/06
Free Talk Live

"Homosexual Couples Having Children / Persuading Liberals on
Extinction / Feds busy protecting 150 yr old dead birds! / 13 and 12
yr old prosecuted for having sex! / North American Union / Labeling
Paranoia / Ginger Beer / Drug Addiction / Child Porn, Incest, Teen
Sex, and Imposing Morality / Mismanaged LP campaign now begging for
more cash!" [MP3] (12/06/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-12-06.mp3

-----

70) Freedomain Radio #545
Freedomain Radio

"Give 'em GUNS! The ultimate statist answer to every complex problem."
With host Stefan Molyneux. [MP3] (12/06/06)

http://www.freedomainradio.com/Traffic_Jams/FDR_545_Give_Em_Guns.mp3

********************
* Weekly Symposium
********************

71) Private parts

This last weekend, I had an interesting conversation with a
(state-oriented) leftist friend. We disagree about a lot of things.
The thing we agreed on this weekend, oddly enough, was why we were
talking with the lights off. The lights were off at my home (for the
second multi-day stretch in about five months) because of ...
"privatization."

As a libertarian, I believe that electricity (and all other
commodities, services, utilities, etc.) should be provided by and
purchased through the free market. As a (state-oriented) leftist, my
friend believes that electricity (and at least some other commodities,
services, utilities, etc.) should be provided by, and purchased
through, government.

We agree that trying to split it down the middle brings out the worst
of both worlds. In the case of the "privatized" situation with in my
area -- in which a privately owned, for-profit enterprise enjoys a
government-enforced monopoly on the provision of electricity -- this
has twice in 2006 expressed itself in multi-day dangerous (for some,
fatal) blackouts.

This week, I'd like symposium participants to discuss that phenomenon
... why and how it occurs ... and also to propose better ways to move
currently "publicly administered" functions into the private sector
without such side effects. I'll describe my own situation in more
detail in comments.

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21621

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

72) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for this week's Thomas Szasz Awards
ceremony and other upcoming freedom movement events. Don't see your
event? Drop us a line at info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

-----

73) Support GI Resistance
Courage to Resist

Join military resisters their families, veterans and concerned
community members taking public action Dec. 8-10th! Events currently
planned in SF, NY, Portland, and more! Plan or attend an event in your
community.

http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/blogcategory/31/45/

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

74) Remember the Arizona

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

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**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,040
* Wednesday, December 6th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,062s
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
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In The News:

0) Opening notes
1)  Iraq: Mortar attack kills 8, wounds 40
2)  MO, IL enter sixth day of blackout
3)  Bomber targets contractors in Afghanistan
4)  NY: Idiot pols ban trans fats at restaurants
5)  House GOP scraps Gulf drilling vote
6)  NV: Convention project faces land theft hearing
7)  Justices rule against automatic deportation
8)  Senate Panel OKs Gates for defense post
9)  Family sues US Mint over rare coins
10) Nouri to call for regional meeting
11) World powers fail to reach Iran accord
12) GA: Deportation order lifted for pol's wife
13) Peace Mom goes on trial in Manhattan
14) UK: School or training plan for all under-18s
15) Fiji's military faces sanctions after seizing power
16) PA: Calling citizens to arms
17) Thailand: Schools reopen with armed teachers
18) Gingrich wants to "revise" free speech rights
19) Some US cities grapple with ... too many churches
20) CA: Paying parking ticket now quick as getting one
21) AZ: Pima gets tough about turf
22) Flatulence, not turbulence, forces plane to land
23) TN: State told to "steer cautiously" on toll roads
24) Latin American voters go left, but not that far left
25) SAF lawsuit defends rights of citizens living abroad

Everybody Has An Opinion:

26) Liberaltarians
27) Better to be roadblocks than doormats
28) Authority is the problem
29) Fight terrorism: Legalize heroin
30) Americans vote NO on Bush; impeachment off table
31) Boris Berezovsky and the Bizarro Effect
32) Rifrickindiculous
33) Every knee shall b -- buh ...
34) Another call for libertarian/liberal fusion
35) Roots of Iraq debacle are in neocon ideology
36) The libertarian big tent
37) Live richly or go for the yardage?
38) Last stop for detainee cases
39) Four hopeful signs
40) Somewhere a banker smiles
41) Peekaboo, I'm spying on you
42) Bridge to Nowhere
43) Bush's strategy of wishful thinking
44) Blue Dogs no longer runts of Dems' litter
45) Confronting Britain's teenage wasteland
46) Ask for little, get nothing
47) Perils of soft state paternalism
48) Rating the presidents
49) Two parts hubris, one part paranoia
50) Why Newt is right
51) A right to earn a living?
52) Cold fusion
53) Affirmative inaction
54) Their bodies, our selves
55) The Rumsfeld-Murtha option
56) Techsploitation: This is not progress
57) South Park libertarians
58) Baker-Hamilton can't save us
59) Are more "thumpings" needed?
60) CIA veteran: How Gates cooked the intel
61) The trouble with "just compensation"
62) Time to revisit FCC set-top box rules
63) Will Democrats control Congressional spending?
64) The tradition of American philanthropy
65) Eco-censorship

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

66) Freedom Rings, 12/11/06
67) Liberaltarianism
68) FMNN eRadio: Smart stocking stuffer
69) Free Talk Live, 12/05/06
70) Freedomain Radio #542

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

71) Today's events

WaYbAcK:

72) America outlaws slavery (and the draft)

***************
* In The News
***************

0) Opening notes

This week's symposium is on "privatization" and the problems with
trying to have it both ways. Weigh in at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21621

The auction for Rational Review's top banner ad space (for all of
2007) is over -- TheBumperSticker.Com's new ad won't go up until
January 1st, but if you're looking for campaign or other bulk sticker
services, pay them a visit on the web. And if you prefer your stickers
one at a time with pointed political messages, see LibertyStickers.Com!

-----

1)  Iraq: Mortar attack kills 8, wounds 40
CTV [Canada]

"A mortar attack killed at least eight people and wounded dozens in a
secondhand goods market Wednesday .... About 25 minutes later, a
suicide bomber with explosives hidden beneath his clothing set them
off aboard a bus in Sadr City, killing two people and wounding 15,
police 1st Lt. Thaer Mahmoud said. It appeared to be the first attack
by suspected Sunni Arab insurgents on the large Shiite slum since Nov.
23, when a bombing and mortar attack killed 215 people in the
deadliest single attack since the Iraq war started more than three
years ago. The latest eruptions of Iraq's unrelenting sectarian
violence came hours before the anticipated release of a long-awaited
study by the Iraq Study Group, a blue-ribbon panel headed by former
Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Rep. Lee Hamilton,
D-Ind." (12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y7px5z

-----

2)  MO, IL enter sixth day of blackout
Fox News

"Temperatures rose to above-freezing in Missouri and Illinois Tuesday
as thousands of residents remained without power after a major
blackout caused by the first snowstorm of the winter season. The
number of deaths blamed on the storm that hit Thursday rose Monday to
at least 23, with three more deaths reported in Missouri and one more
in Illinois. The causes included weather-related traffic accidents,
fires, carbon monoxide poisoning and exposure, officials said. The St.
Louis-based utility Ameren Corp. reported almost 190,000 homes and
businesses still without power Tuesday in Illinois and Missouri. The
utility said it would be several more days before power is fully
restored to the region." (12/06/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234438,00.html

-----

3)  Bomber targets contractors in Afghanistan
MSNBC

"A suicide bomber on foot walked up to a group of security contractors
in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, blowing himself up and leaving
one American and two Afghans dead, an official and witnesses said. The
bomber hit the men as they came out of the Kandahar compound of the
USPI security company, said Capt. Howard Chafe, a spokesman for the
Canadian troops in the area." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ybroeb

-----

4)  NY: Idiot pols ban trans fats at restaurants
Bridgerland Herald Journal

"New York on Tuesday became the first city in the nation to ban
artery-clogging artificial trans fats at restaurants, leading the
charge to limit consumption of an ingredient linked to heart disease
and used in everything from french fries to pizza dough to pancake
mix. In a city where eating out is a major form of activity -- either
for fun or out of hectic necessity -- many New Yorkers were all for
the ban, saying health concerns were more important than fears of Big
Brother supervising their stomachs." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y85ugs

-----

5)  House GOP scraps Gulf drilling vote
Houston Chronicle

"House Republican leaders dropped plans today to vote on a Senate
proposal to open up more of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas
exploration. Faced with the daunting prospect of getting two-thirds of
the House to agree to open 8.3 million acres in federal waters west of
Florida to drilling, GOP leaders opted to pull the bill and shop
around for another vehicle. Drilling supporters may try to attach the
provision to a bill to extend some popular tax breaks. But whether the
lame-duck Congress can, in its final days, still pass the
controversial drilling bill remains unclear." (12/05/06)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4380670.html

-----

6)  NV: Convention project faces land theft hearing
Nevada Appeal

"Eminent domain proceedings on South Lake Tahoe's proposed $410
million convention center project are expected to get into full swing
in the courtroom Friday. Businesses that have not negotiated to sell
to Lake Tahoe Development Co. are trying to sell off the inventory and
find alternative space to relocate. But the South Tahoe Redevelopment
Agency -- which approved the legal taking of property for public [sic]
use in September -- wants [to steal] the space to roll out its plans
by the groundbreaking on the 12-acre project area due next May."
(12/06/06)

http://tinyurl.com/v2sm5

-----

7)  Justices rule against automatic deportation
USA Today

"The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a foreign national living here
legally should not be automatically deported if he is convicted of a
low-level drug offense that would be a misdemeanor under federal law.
The 8-1 decision could affect thousands of permanent legal immigrants,
often known as green-card holders, who, because of certain state
convictions, face deportation without a chance to plead their case
before a judge." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yjz4ht

-----

8)  Senate Panel OKs Gates for defense post
Vail Daily News

"Robert Gates, seemingly clinching confirmation as the new secretary
of defense, said Tuesday the United States is not winning in Iraq and
he's confident President Bush will listen to his ideas about forging a
new war strategy. He won speedy and unanimous approval from the Senate
Armed Services Committee after five hours of testimony, a bipartisan
show of support that suggested how eager many lawmakers are to replace
Donald H. Rumsfeld at the Pentagon. The full Senate could seal Gates'
confirmation as early as Wednesday." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ydmrfa

-----

9)  Family sues US Mint over rare coins
Plattsburgh Press Republican

"A family is suing the U.S. Mint, saying it illegally seized 10 gold
coins that are among the rarest and most valuable in the world that
the family found among a dead relative's possessions. The lawsuit,
filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, accuses the Mint
of violating the Constitution and breaking federal forfeiture laws by
refusing to return the 1933 'double eagle' coins to the family after
it handed the coins over to have their authenticity confirmed." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykxl2c

-----

10) Nouri to call for regional meeting
Nevada Appeal

"Iraq's prime minister reversed course Tuesday and said his envoys
will talk with Iraq's neighbors about the possibility of a regional
conference on quelling the violence here, despite opposition to the
plan by some key political allies. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made
the announcement as more than 100 people were killed or found dead in
and around Baghdad, underscoring the urgency of finding a solution to
the bloodshed." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yy5pny

-----

11) World powers fail to reach Iran accord
Lincoln Courier

"Six world powers made 'substantive progress' but failed to reach an
accord Tuesday on a U.N. resolution to punish Iran for defying demands
to halt its nuclear program, the French Foreign Ministry said after
talks in Paris. Tehran made a new threat of retaliation if the powers
opted for sanctions. 'We made substantive progress on the scope of the
sanctions targeting proliferation-sensitive activities. There remain
several outstanding issues, upon which we will reflect over the coming
days,' the French ministry said in a statement." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/snmuh

-----

12) GA: Deportation order lifted for pol's wife
CNN

"The Colombia-born wife of a Georgia state senator emerged from hiding
and turned herself in Tuesday to face a deportation order, but an
immigration judge lifted the order and she was expected to be freed.
Sascha Herrera, 28, who had gone into hiding after the order was
issued, arrived at the Martin Luther King Federal Building shortly
before 8 a.m. and met with the judge and attorneys for the Immigration
and Customs Enforcement field office." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yldmkb

-----

13) Peace Mom goes on trial in Manhattan
Anchorage Daily News

"Peace activist Cindy Sheehan, who protested the Iraq war by camping
outside President Bush's Texas ranch, went on trial with three other
women Tuesday on charges of trespassing at the U.S. Mission to the
United Nations. The women tried to deliver an anti-war petition with
70,000-plus signatures to mission officials on March 6. Prosecutors
said they were arrested after they sat down in front of the mission
building, ignored police orders to leave and locked arms and legs to
make it hard for police to move them." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ye3ypc

-----

14) UK: School or training plan for all under-18s
Guardian [UK]

"Moves to compel teenagers to stay on in school or training until 18
have been set in train by the government, the Guardian has learned.
Alan Johnson, the education and skills secretary, a strong supporter
of raising the minimum school leaving age from 16, is understood to
have asked officials to begin work on a green paper examining ways to
implement the change, for publication next year.The paper will not
propose forcing pupils to stay in the classroom behind a desk after
16, but is likely to seek to ensure that if they leave school they
move into training, study for a new diploma or take a job with
training and a qualification attached.Mr Johnson has been inspired by
reforms in Ontario, Canada, where children now face a legal
requirement to stay on full-time at school or college or enter formal
training until 18." (12/05/06)

http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,1964960,00.html

-----

15) Fiji's military faces sanctions after seizing power
Independent [UK]

"Fiji's armed forces have staged the country's fourth coup in 20 years
after a long-running political crisis. The bloodless seizure of power
-- ending weeks of tension between the military commander and the
Prime Minister -- was played out in a typically leisurely Melanesian
fashion, and resulted in immediate international sanctions. Commodore
Frank Bainimarama said yesterday he had temporarily assumed the
country's presidency and sacked Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and his
ministers, who he accused of bribery and corruption." (12/05/06)

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/australasia/article2042965.ece

-----

16) PA: Calling citizens to arms
Triubune Democrat

"Statkowski is a councilman in Cherry Tree Borough in Indiana County.
He is proposing -- and borough council is considering -- an ordinance
recommending that households in Cherry Tree have at least one firearm
with ammunition for self-defense purposes. But, Statkowski said, this
is not only a message for residents urging them to take precautions.
This is as much a message to would-be criminals who think Cherry Tree
might be a good place to break into someone's home." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y4vgu6

-----

17) Thailand: Schools reopen with armed teachers
People's Daily

"Schools in parts of Thailand's violence-plagued southern province
Pattani reopened Monday. Teachers were allowed to take weapons to
protect their own safety. ... Education Minister Wijit Srisaarn said
he believed self-defense measures, including allowing teachers to
carry guns, will be effective in protecting the teachers. The
educators themselves will also help security officials look after
their colleagues, according to Wijit." (12/04/06)

http://english.people.com.cn/200612/04/eng20061204_328262.html

-----

18) Gingrich wants to "revise" free speech rights
Manchester Union Leader

"Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich yesterday in Manchester
said the country will be forced to reexamine freedom of speech to meet
the threat of terrorism. Gingrich, speaking at a Manchester awards
banquet, said a 'different set of rules' may be needed to reduce
terrorists' ability to use the Internet and free speech to recruit and
get out their message. ... Gingrich spoke to about 400 state and local
power brokers last night at the annual Nackey S. Loeb First Amendment
award dinner, which fetes people and organizations that stand up for
freedom of speech." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/w8rqb

-----

19) Some US cities grapple with ... too many churches
Christian Science Monitor

"It's rush hour in southeast Orlando -- Sunday rush hour, that is.
About a dozen churches are within a few miles of one another, and more
are under construction. Neighbors venturing out for bagels and other
errands find themselves stuck in traffic, heads bowed not in faith but
frustration. Some complain that the traffic persists all week, as
religious, youth, sports, and other activities draw crowds after work
and school. ... While communities traditionally zone against houses of
ill-repute, not houses of worship, frustrations have grown since 2000,
when then-President Clinton signed the Religious Land Use and
Institutionalized Persons Act. The law doesn't exempt churches from
zoning regulations, per se. But when religious groups say the rules
would create 'a substantial burden,' officials must show a compelling
reason for the limits." (12/05/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1205/p02s02-ussc.htm

-----

20) CA: Paying parking ticket now quick as getting one
San Francisco Chronicle

"Something strange is happening at 1380 Howard St. in San Francisco,
home to the Department of Parking and Traffic's customer service
center. There's less fist-pounding, hair-pulling, grumbling and
anxiousness. The department -- responsible for issuing more than 2
million parking tickets a year -- has figured out a way to make paying
and protesting tickets in person more customer-friendly. They hired
more staff to handle walk-in traffic and answer the phones, hired a
new supervisor to run the operation and installed a
take-a-number-and-wait system. There's even a soothing female voice --
albeit an electronic one -- that calls out the numbers and directs
people to the appropriate windows." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y5pocl

-----

21) AZ: Pima gets tough about turf
Arizona Republic

"Forget the old 'Keep off the grass' signs: In Pima County, if you
can't walk on it, you can't plant it. The county has banned ornamental
turf in new commercial developments, taking the stance that lawns add
value as parks or playgrounds, but as decoration they waste water. The
say-no-to-grass rule, tougher than almost anything on the books in
Phoenix, reflects Pima County's tighter water supply and underscores
the differences in how the state's two largest metropolitan areas
manage resources. The new rules try to build conservation into new
development. Most of the measures do not specifically limit the amount
of water a property owner can use. Instead they hard-wire limited use
into zoning laws, restricting grass to small usable areas, shrinking
the size of allowable water features and requiring rain sensors on
irrigation timers. In a dry state struggling through an 11-year
drought, officials liken the aggressive approach to preventive
medicine." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykex2j

-----

22) Flatulence, not turbulence, forces plane to land
Tennessean

"Flatulence brought 99 passengers on an American Airlines flight to an
unscheduled visit to Nashville early Monday morning. American Flight
1053, from Washington Reagan National Airport and bound for
Dallas/Fort Worth, made an emergency landing here after passengers
reported smelling struck matches, said Lynne Lowrance, a spokeswoman
for the Nashville International Airport Authority. The plane landed
safely. The FBI, Transportation Safety Administration and airport
authority responded to the emergency, Lowrance said. The passengers
and five crew members were brought off the plane, together with all
the luggage, to go through security checks again. Bomb-sniffing dogs
found spent matches. The FBI questioned a passenger who admitted she
struck the matches in an attempt to conceal body odor, Lowrance said.
The woman lives near Dallas and has a medical condition." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y2tlcn

-----

23) TN: State told to "steer cautiously" on toll roads
Nashville City Paper

"Tennessee needs to proceed 'cautiously' with the possibility of
building toll roads, particularly ones that use public/private
partnerships, state Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald
Nicely said Monday. The possibility of building toll roads has been a
topic of discussion for years. But recently, state Rep. Phillip Pinion
(D-Union City), the chairman of the House Transportation Committee,
said he will propose legislation next year that would enable the state
to construct them. ... One option that other states have chosen is
toll roads that use public/private partnerships. Those deals can work
through a private company developing and building a toll road, at no
cost to the taxpayers. The company would get to operate it and collect
a portion of the tolls." (12/05/06)

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?news_id=53522

-----

24) Latin American voters go left, but not that far left
Christian Science Monitor

"The landslide victory of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela's presidential
election Sunday caps off 12 elections across Latin America since
November 2005 that, taken together, reveal a broad electoral shift to
the left. The triumph of President Chavez, who rails against the
'imperialist' US and calls President Bush 'the devil,' comes on the
heels of victories by former US foe Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and
Ecuador's Rafael Correa, who called for a 'citizen's revolution.' But
in many ways Venezuela stands alone. 'There is no Chavismo across
Latin America,' says Adrian Bonilla, a political analyst at the Latin
American Faculty of Social Sciences in Quito, Ecuador. 'What we have
is a lot of new governments with different ideological trends. You
don't have a continental leader,' he says." (12/05/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1205/p01s03-woam.html

-----

25) SAF lawsuit defends rights of citizens living abroad
Liberty For All

"The Second Amendment Foundation today filed a lawsuit in federal
court in Ohio, challenging the 'sporting purpose' limitation for
firearms sales in this country, and supporting the constitutional
right of American citizens living abroad to legally purchase firearms
while in this country. SAF and co-plaintiff Stephen Dearth of
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, a native citizen of the United States, are
represented by the law firms of Gura & Possessky (Virginia) and
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey (Ohio)." (12/05/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=408

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 12/06/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 49,642 ... Max - 55,048
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,906
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

26) Liberaltarians
Cato Institute
by Brink Lindsey

"[I]f Democrats hope to continue appealing to libertarian-leaning
voters, they are going to have to up their game. They need to ask
themselves: Are we content with being a brief rebound fling for jilted
libertarians, or do we want to form a lasting relationship? Let me
make a case for the second option. Since the late '60s, and especially
the mid-'80s, torrents of words have been spilled urging Democrats to
move toward the center of the political spectrum. Most such efforts,
however, have advanced one compromise or another between
progressivism-as-usual and conservatism-as-usual -- a few more items
from Menu A here, a few more from Menu B there. But the real problem
with our politics today is that the prevailing ideological categories
are intellectually exhausted." (12/04/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6800

-----

27) Better to be roadblocks than doormats
Orange County Register
by Steven Greenhut

"The following column is based on comments I made Nov. 29 to the
Eighth Annual Republican Senate and Assembly Members Caucus, at the
IslandHotel in Newport Beach. My goal was to encourage the delegation
to stick firmly to principles -- and not be too afraid to stick it to
a governor who has abandoned his embrace of freedom-friendly policies.
It's a kinder, gentler Republican era, even though our kinder, gentler
Republican president got the tar whacked out of him during the midterm
congressional elections. But California's Republican Lite governor,
Arnold Schwarzenegger, has handily won re-election, and the
Conventional Wisdom is that Republicans -- including those in the
Legislature -- need to follow his pattern to 'win.'" (12/03/06)

http://tinyurl.com/u7u9c

-----

28) Authority is the problem
Strike the Root
by Alex R. Knight III

"I have a problem with authority?!?! Actually, okay, you're damned
right I do. But that's only because I rather think it's those who
place themselves in that very position who have a really big problem
with it. To the extent, in fact, that none of them should or ever can
be entrusted with it, period." (12/05/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/knight/knight10.html

-----

29) Fight terrorism: Legalize heroin
Liberty Unbound
by Scott McPherson

"For years, Republicans have been talking up the need to reduce opium
production in Afghanistan. House Speaker Dennis Hastert said in 2001
that 'the illegal drug trade is the financial engine that fuels many
terrorist organizations around the world, including Osama Bin Laden,'
and in October 2003, the Washington Times reported that 'the Bush
administration has talked publicly of ridding Afghanistan of its
lucrative poppy crop that provides 70 percent of the world's heroin.'
'Ridding' is an unequivocal term -- like 'largest ever.' Obviously
things haven't turned out quite the way those in charge planned." (for
publication 01/07)

http://libertyunbound.com/archive/2007_01/mcpherson-heroin.html

-----

30) Americans vote NO on Bush; impeachment off table
Liberty For All
by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

"Mark your calendar. On December 10th, Human Rights Day, Americans
from across the country will meet to discuss the Impeachment of George
W. Bush and Richard Cheney, President and Vice-President of the United
States. The congruence of Human Rights Day and consideration of
Impeachment is curiously appropriate. What better day to begin the
process that is so needed to mend the lives of Americans? While Nancy
Pelosi considers the color of her drapes and tables discussion of an
impeachment sentiment that propelled her and other Democrats into
office Congresspersons ready themselves for oncoming rounds of
business as usual." (12/05/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=409

-----

31) Boris Berezovsky and the Bizarro Effect
AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo

"When I first put forward my thesis that we are suffering from what I
call the Bizarro Effect -- the inversion of moral laws as well as the
rules of logic -- it was just a hypothetical, a tentative assessment
of the consequences of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I wasn't absolutely
sure that the sheer force of those planes hitting the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon had torn a hole in the space-time continuum
and plunged us into a Bizarro World alternate universe, where up is
down, right is wrong, and Satan sits on the throne of heaven. But the
evidence kept piling up, as the Bizarro Effect spread outward from its
starting points in lower Manhattan and Washington, D.C. It is now a
worldwide phenomenon and spreading fast. Let's take a tour, then, of
the world's hot spots, where the Effect is accelerating beyond
anything yet seen ... First stop -- London, site of the world's first
nuclear terrorist attack, where one Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB
agent turned whacked-out conspiracy theorist, was poisoned with
radioactive polonium." [editor's note: Interesting, but I'm beginning
to wonder if Justin is ever going to drop his Litvinenko chew-toy,
take a break from shilling for Putin, and get back to real issues -
TLK] (12/06/06)

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=10116

-----

32) Rifrickindiculous
Inactivist
by "Alex"

"OK, everybody knows that NYC just banned transfats from restaurants.
Now, I could say all of the things that libertarians always say when a
government bans something, and I would agree with those things, but
let's just stipulate all the usual libertarian stuff and move on.
Here's what I don't get: If there's any city in the US where
exercising and eating well should be easy, it would seem to be NYC. No
other city is more conducive to walking, and no other city has more
stores, restaurants, street vendors, etc. So it's not like New Yorkers
really 'need' any help with eating better and exercising more. So, of
all the places where a government decides to intervene for the alleged
benefit of consumers, it's NYC? WTF?" (12/05/06)

http://inactivist.org/rifrickindiculous

-----

33) Every knee shall b -- buh ...
Unqualified Offerings
by Jim Henley

"Is there really someone in official Washington dumb enough to think
that if we only 'make a deal' with Hakim at the expense of his various
rivals that the Administration will finally have found the guy who can
make it all work out for us? 'The guy' does not exist. Hakim is the
latest in a long line of backup quarterbacks in a town with a losing
football tradition. Nobody knows much about him, but they figure he
can't be worse than the shlump who's starting." (12/04/06)

http://highclearing.com/index.php/archives/2006/12/04/5682

-----

34) Another call for libertarian/liberal fusion
QandO
by McQ

"In reality, depending on the particulars, [Brink Lindsey's] game plan
isn't a particularly bad one, and, I'm certain, there are those
libertarians among us who would be open to a fusion with
'progressives' if indeed the liberalism talked about were the
traditional liberalism of Hayek and von Mises, and not that of Chomsky
and Pelosi. Of course that's what Lindsey is calling for, but I cannot
imagine the modern Democratic party jettisoning its 'preexisting
left-wing commitments' in favor of a more traditionally liberal
agenda. Because a more traditionally liberal agenda would be more
focused on liberty than egalitarianism, and egalitarianism is the core
of today's progressive agenda. What would be necessary to attract real
libertarians to the Democrats? They would have to do at least two
things. Embrace capitalism and reject populism." (12/05/06)

http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?Entry=5028

-----

35) Roots of Iraq debacle are in neocon ideology
Philadelphia Inquirer
by Justin Logan

"Early reports indicate that the Baker-Hamilton commission will
recommend that U.S. troops 'pull back' from the fighting in Iraq,
perhaps cutting the U.S. presence in half. But James Baker and Lee
Hamilton aren't in charge of U.S. foreign policy, and the report
itself can do little more than provide political cover for the
president to change course -- if he wants to. However, as President
Bush said on Thursday: 'This business about a graceful exit just
simply has no realism to it at all.' Part of the problem is rooted in
the neoconservative ideology by which the president is inspired. The
track record of neoconservative thought is not good." (12/05/06)

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/16164905.htm

-----

36) The libertarian big tent
LewRockwell.Com
by Walter Block and Tennyson McCalla

"[W]e are not Randians here. We tolerate disagreement; heck, even
encourage it. In the Objectivist movement, if you disagree with the
higher ups on even the slightest detail, you are summarily booted out
of their movement. The Austro-libertarian movement, at least as
organized through the Mises Institute, is very different. I have had
sharp disagreements in the literature with people such as Murray
Rothbard, Hans Hoppe, Stephan Kinsella and Roderick Long, very sharp
disagreements, and not only is no one purging anyone else, I count
myself lucky to be and to continue to be good friends with all of
them. Heck, I have even published several articles critical of Mises
himself, and the ground has not opened up and swallowed me." (12/06/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block67.html

-----

37) Live richly or go for the yardage?
Daytona Beach News Journal
by Pierre Tristam

"The soldiery duty of old age brooks no dodgers, either. Late-age
suicide, which seems to me a perfectly reasonable way to call it a day
on one's own terms, and probably the single-most courageous act in a
life lived to the fullest, is still barely on the fringe of the
acceptable -- even when dignified assistance is available. (Oregon
legalized physician-assisted suicide in 1997 but has averaged just
31cases a year since). It's not the young and virile whom armies
should send into battle, but the old. Give them a last crack at a more
meaningful exit. If it was a choice between assisted living and a war
theater, there's no question which I'd rather be condemned to. Nothing
approaches the conscious vegetative state of assisted living. That, I
think, is what Steinbeck meant when he said that he 'did not want to
surrender fierceness for a small gain in yardage.' His willingness to
live with abandon and take his hangovers 'as a consequence, not as a
punishment' even in his late age would be an affront to the way we're
required to plod toward our inalienable expectancy now." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y72gak

-----

38) Last stop for detainee cases
Legal Times
by Jason McClure

"With Democrats running Congress, and cases in the courts, detainees'
rights remain in limbo. When the U.S. military began shipping
prisoners from the war on terror to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, one goal was
clear: to keep them outside the reach of the U.S. court system. But
nearly five years later, those cases remain stuck exactly where the
Bush administration didn't want them to be." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxx29c

-----

39) Four hopeful signs
Truthout
by William Fisher

"Amidst the anger, dismay and depression felt by millions of Americans
who see their country's civil liberties being unnecessarily
surrendered in the name of 'The Global War on Terror,' there are
occasional signs that our justice system is still alive and well.
Recent weeks have brought four such signs. Sign One: Khaled El-Masri,
a German citizen, stood up in a US Federal courtroom to challenge the
Bush administration's use of 'extraordinary rendition,' abduction,
detention and interrogation in secret overseas prisons." (12/05/06)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120506K.shtml

-----

40) Somewhere a banker smiles
CounterPunch
by Joe Bageant

"Consider this: The war in Iraq has been immensely profitable for the
people who make weapons and for the contractors who supposedly rebuild
what the weapons destroy. They profit in either case. And the longer
war goes on the more they will make. Meanwhile, the money for both is
obtained through extraction practiced upon the world's laboring poor.
But the big money, the 'juice' as street people used to say, comes
from squeezing the orange of American society for more work, more
production and tax money. Some of us older oranges are feeling pretty
wrung out these days and are getting hard as hell to get along with.
Yet, the squeeze doesn't seem to bother most Americans at all." (12/05/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/bageant12052006.html

-----

41) Peekaboo, I'm spying on you
Wired
by Mr. Know it All

"Is getting a nannycam normal, or is it kind of creepy? First off,
recognize that if you install the camera without your nanny's
knowledge, you've entered a gray area. Legal scholars are divided as
to whether your nanny has a right to privacy in your home. Of course,
plenty of parents have used them secretly, and according to Rhyder
McClure of The New York NannyCam Company, surveillance yields results:
'For 20 percent of all the cameras we install,' he says, 'the nannies
are fired the next day.' Yikes. Before you proceed, though, ask
yourself: Why do you want a nannycam? Perhaps you harbor serious
suspicions that your nanny is running a meth lab in the kitchen while
your 1-year-old watches reruns of The A-Team. If you're truly that
uncomfortable with your child's caregiver, forget the camera -- just
fire the nanny." (12/06)

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/start.html?pg=7

-----

42) Bridge to Nowhere
The American Prospect
by Matthew Yglesias

"Reading major American newspapers is a bit like trying to decipher an
archeological text written in a dead language. Well-informed reporters
bring you the facts you need to know, but hemmed in by the canons of
objective journalism, they can't quite express what they're trying to
say. Thus the puzzling phenomenon of Peter Baker and Thomas Ricks'
latest analysis of the Baker Hamilton Commission's thinking on Iraq.
'The emerging plan by the Iraq Study group,' they write, 'tries to
find a middle road between President Bush's adamant refusal to leave
Iraq until the job is done and Democratic demands to pull out U.S.
troops.' ... Best of all, 'some military experts say the commission's
plan to pull out combat units by early 2008 and shift remaining troops
into a supporting role may be a logical response to the sectarian
violence.' Good news! But wait. Some experts? Say the ISG's proposals
may be a logical response to the sectarian violence? What kind of
consensus is this that they're reaching?" (12/05/06)

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12275

-----

43) Bush's strategy of wishful thinking
Boston Globe
by H.D.S. Greenway

"America has been consumed by semantic silliness over whether the
catastrophe in Iraq is a civil war. It has been clear for almost a
year that a civil war between Shia and Sunni factions is in progress,
but the White House remains in denial, just as it previously refused
to admit there was an insurgency. There are good reasons for not
admitting to a civil war. During our own internal conflict,
Southerners spoke of 'The War of Northern Aggression.' In the
graveyards of New England, you find monuments honoring those who died
putting down 'The Great Rebellion.' Neither side wanted to admit to
any moral equivalence that the neutral term civil war might imply.
Both sides wanted grander terminologies to justify their losses. In
contrast, the Bush administration wants to minimize Iraq's struggles
because insurgency and civil war spell failure." [editor's note:His
side-comments about "America's French Revolution" aside, this is a
fairly good analysis of the present fiasco -SAT] (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/umxy3

-----

44) Blue Dogs no longer runts of Dems' litter
Fox News
by Greg Simmons

"Now that the results of the midterm election have demonstrated the
strength of moderate to conservative Democrats in swing districts, the
clout of the independently minded Blue Dog Coalition is on the rise,
say political observers, and its bite could match its bark. 'They can
cause fits for the majority leadership,' said Brookings Institution
scholar Ron Haskins. Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi 'is going to have a
lot of trouble holding that coalition together.' Democrats will hold
232 seats in Congress come January; Republicans will have 200, and
three races are still undecided but looking to go to the GOP. With 218
votes needed to pass legislation, and 44 incoming Blue Dogs next
Congress, according to the group, a strong voting bloc could make or
break Democratic-sponsored legislation." (12/05/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234317,00.html

-----

45) Confronting Britain's teenage wasteland
Christian Science Monitor
by Peter C. Glover

"I doubt that self-destruction was quite what Pete Townshend had in
mind when his 'teenage wasteland' lyric hit the airwaves in 1971. If
he were writing today, the lead guitarist for British rock band The
Who could easily have focused on 'teenage waistlines' or any number of
burgeoning youth-culture issues. However Mr. Townshend meant his
words, young people in the West -- and especially in Britain -- are
most definitely not all right. 'On every indicator of bad behavior --
drugs, drink, violence, promiscuity -- the UK was at or near the top,'
BBC news reported Nov. 2, citing the results of a study by the
Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a British think tank.
Whatever cultural tensions led to this unsavory behavior, the demand
for the death of 'Victorian' values plainly ushered in more than the
freedom-loving 1960s generation bargained for." (12/04/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1204/p09s01-coop.html

-----

46) Ask for little, get nothing
Tom Paine
by Jonathan Tasini

"Mind-boggling. Cowardly. Tone deaf. When I read what passes for the
economic agenda for 'liberal' Democrats and even progressives, I can't
help but think that they have lost their minds, their imagination or
their spines. And I have judiciously left out the expletives that come
to mind so my editor will let this piece run. Let me remind the
quivering political leaders and think-tank, inside-the-Beltway experts
about the economic insecurity most people face in their daily lives.
... As for the government, it's a fiscal disaster mainly because this
administration, aided and abetted by some Democrats, has blessed a
wholesale raid on the public till by those for whom avarice knows no
limits. Yes, Iraq was central to the election but it's clear that
people voted for Democrats because of a general unease about their
economic futures." [editor's note: The "progressive" pundits claiming
this repeatedly, is reminiscent of Libertarian candidates for partisan
office, proclaiming how they're going to "win this time." It's also
equally delusional: the election was about the war, blatant abuse of
power ... and perhaps restoring a few civil liberties! - SAT] (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ycum5z

-----

47) Perils of soft state paternalism
Free Market News Network
by Tibor R. Machan

"Jim Holt discusses the recent debate about soft paternalism, in his
essay in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine. His 'The New, Soft
Paternalism' is a fair and pretty thorough account of the debate about
whether people have multiple selves of which some may be wiser than
others and it does a decent job of considering whether the wiser
selves we have ought to get government support, as when states limit
gambling or other easily abused activities by their citizens. Holt
comes out in favor of the government's lending a hand to our wiser
selves in the end." (12/05/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/117/6514/tibor.asp?nid=6514&wid=117

-----

48) Rating the presidents
Human Events
by Bruce Bartlett

"In Sunday's Washington Post, a group of historians tried to predict
what history will ultimately say about George W. Bush's presidency.
One said that he is the worst president, ever; a second agreed that he
was pretty bad, but still might redeem himself in his last two years;
and another said that only time will tell, noting that our views of
presidents often change with the perspective of time. Historians have
been playing this game for many years. It makes them feel relevant.
However, the methodology of such efforts never gets above that of a
simple popularity poll." (12/05/06)

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18319

-----

49) Two parts hubris, one part paranoia
Salon
by Cintra Wilson

"There is at least one nice thing one can say about former New York
mayor and current Republican presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani --
besides, of course, his penchant for dressing in drag, his love for
opera, and the fact that he used to share an apartment with a gay man.
On 9/11, all Americans were frightened children, and in a moment of
mythic personal heroism, Mayor Giuliani filled the gaping leadership
void. The president looked like a petrified chimp; Cheney was spirited
to an underground bunker. Only Giuliani could pull himself together
sufficiently to get on TV in the midst of the wreckage and show
America that a grown-up was still breathing. On that terrible day our
reptile brains looked at Rudy Giuliani and said, 'We're OK now.
Daddy's home.' And we forgot, some for a moment, some permanently,
that Daddy was psycho." (12/05/06)

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/12/05/giuliani/

-----

50) Why Newt is right
TCS Daily
by Josh Manchester

"Mr. Gingrich proposes a series of actions against our enemies: using
technology to disrupt their internet use; to disrupt their subversion
of free speech; and to stop their recruitment, presumably via the
internet .... Each of these is an inherently defensive method toward
forestalling catastrophe: disrupting internet use, websites, servers,
and such attacks the physical infrastructure of that which has been
identified to be harmful in some fashion. Disrupting the use of free
speech is also reactive and defensive in nature, however it is
performed. Governments and free speech advocates traditionally
perceive such questions as having an either-or polarity: either the
government allows all speech, or it does not, and begins a road down a
slippery slope toward the freedom of speech being defined by the
capriciousness of bureaucrats, judges, or dictators." [editor's note:
The reason such an either-or polarity is perceived is because it's
THERE; either government controls speech or it doesn't - TLK] (12/05/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=120506B

-----

51) A right to earn a living?
The Free Liberal
by William R. Maurer

"Imagine you own a business that you built from the ground up. You
have satisfied customers, good employees and provide a useful service.
There's just one problem: your competitors don't like that you charge
less while providing better service. Instead of lowering their prices
and working harder, they call their lobbyists and get the government
to make your business illegal. Can they get away with this? According
to the U.S. Supreme Court, the answer is 'yes.'" (12/05/06)

http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002462.html

-----

52) Cold fusion
The American Spectator
by John Tabin

"Is the old conservative-libertarian alliance, what National Review
co-founding editor Frank S. Meyer called fusionism, dead? Need we
replace it with a new fusion of liberalism and libertarianism? Writing
in the current New Republic, Cato Institute scholar Brink Lindsey
answers yes. He makes some specific suggestion on where liberals and
libertarians might find common ground in economic policy .... But
Lindsey goes further than merely calling for a political marriage of
convenience; he calls for 'a real intellectual movement, with
intellectual coherence. A movement that, at the philosophical level,
seeks some kind of reconciliation between Hayek and Rawls.' The
problem with this idea is that classical liberalism (or
libertarianism) and modern liberalism (or progressivism, or
egalitarian liberalism) are fundamentally at odds philosophically."
[editor's note: Maybe so, maybe not ... but the same argument can be
made concerning libertarianism and modern "conservatism" as well -
TLK] (12/05/06)

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10714

-----

53) Affirmative inaction
Slate
by Dahlia Lithwick

"In the decades since Brown, school boards around the country strove
to integrate their schools -- sometimes by court decree and sometimes
voluntarily -- with an eye toward undoing the racial segregation that
follows urban housing patterns. Today's cases involve a school
district in Louisville, Ky., that was under a court order to
desegregate until 2000 and thereafter elected to maintain a program of
'managed choice' that strives for between 15 percent and 50 percent
black enrollment from kindergarten to graduation. A second program in
Seattle allocates high-school students to one of their top three
school choices, using race as one of several 'tiebreakers' for
oversubscribed schools. Parents in each district filed suit when their
kids were denied access to their preferred schools, claiming the
school districts' plans unconstitutionally violate the 14th Amendment
because they base admission on race. ... What is rapidly clear is that
these cases are less about doctrine, or even social science, than
about visceral impressions. These plans are, to the justices, either a
noble continuation of the court's fine work in Brown or a vile means
of reducing small children to the color of their skin." (12/04/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2154853

-----

54) Their bodies, our selves
Reason
by Kerry Howley

"Dr. William Catalona just wants his blood and tissue back.
Internationally recognized for his research on prostate cancer,
Catalona is about as close as one comes to medical celebrity (he's
been called 'urologist to the stars'). Patients and their families
lavish gifts upon him: namely, the use of their blood and tissue,
which he has used to research more effective treatments. 'The Catalona
Collection,' thousands of tissue samples now sitting in freezers in
Washington University in St. Louis, is the sum total of their bodily
donations. It's also at the center of a recent push for Americans to
claim ownership over their bodies and the products derived from them.
Catalona moved to Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
in Chicago in 2003, and he planned to take the Catalona Collection
with him. He sent form letters to his donors, requesting permission to
transport the samples, which he considers theirs, not his. Six
thousand gave the green light. Before he could transfer the
collection, Washington University stepped in, arguing that the donors'
preferences were immaterial." (12/05/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/117046.html

-----

55) The Rumsfeld-Murtha option
National Review
by Rich Lowry

"There is nothing much wrong with Iraq that can't be improved by
having fewer American troops there. So contend outgoing Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the antiwar stalwart Rep. John Murtha, and,
apparently, the James Baker-Lee Hamilton-led Iraq Study Group. The
ISG's report won't be released until Wednesday. At first it seemed it
would recommend a steady drawdown of the American combat role
throughout the next year, to end entirely by 2008. Now, it seems the
recommendation will be vaguer, suggesting that President Bush kinda
maybe, if conditions are right, based on the judgment of U.S.
commanders acting with all due diligence, should reduce the U.S.
combat role sometime." [editor's note: Unsurprisingly, Lowry doesn't
agree that fewer US troops, let alone none, are "needed" in Iraq. Also
unsurprisingly, despite the fact that he's still a couple of years
within the expanded eligibility timeframe, he doesn't seem to be in
any hurry to enlist and help keep the US presence in Iraq up to full
strength - TLK] (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygx9ak

-----

56) Techsploitation: This is not progress
AlterNet
by Annalee Newitz

"Tech historians have two theories about why the Greeks and Romans
didn't get into gear mechanisms full bore and invent some kind of
clock or computer before the Holy Roman Empire smooshed Europe. First
of all, there was no power source for their gear devices other than
the hand crank. Weight-powered clocks weren't invented until the late
Middle Ages in Europe. So devices like the Antikythera Mechanism
weren't particularly practical unless you were an astronomer or a rich
collector. Plus, who needed to know time down to the minute? As long
as you knew the hours and seasons, you could get by just fine in
classical antiquity. More interesting to me is the theory that the
widespread practice of slavery in Greece and Rome would have prevented
people from trying to create machines that could perform human labor.
It's not that having slaves kept people from inventing gear mechanisms
-- it just kept them from imagining possible outcomes and
applications." (12/05/06)

http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/45147/

-----

57) South Park libertarians
Reason
by Nick Gillespie and Jesse Walker

Interview with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone,
conducted at Reason magazine's recent Amsterdam conference. (12/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116787.html

-----

58) Baker-Hamilton can't save us
Cato Institute
by Justin Logan

"Next week, the Baker-Hamilton Commission will make its
recommendations on U.S. Iraq policy, and Congress will begin hearings
on defense secretary nominee and Cold War realist Robert Gates. Both
events will reflect the failings of the Bush administration's policy
in Iraq. But even as a grudging acceptance of reality takes hold in
Washington, the architects of the war are urging that we double down
on the losing bet in Iraq. Amid spiraling sectarian violence, the
leading advocates of invading Iraq seem now to have centered on an
explanation for how their idea has driven that country to blood-soaked
disaster: deposing Saddam Hussein and replacing him with a secure,
stable and democratic government would have required around 400,000
troops -- as well as a willingness to occupy Iraq for many, many
years. But that was never going to happen." (12/05/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6818

-----

59) Are more "thumpings" needed?
The American Conservative
by Pat Buchanan

"While the losses were not large for the sixth year of a sitting
president the significance of Nov. 7 is huge and the consequences will
be historic. But it is crucial to sift out what the nation was saying
and what it was not saying. This election was a referendum on George
W. Bush, the Iraq War, and the Republican Party, and undeniably a
repudiation of all three. Tuesday's rout is what happens to a
hubristic party that leads a nation into an unnecessary and unwise war
and presents that nation with a congressional face of self-indulgence
and corruption. But the nation that rejected Bush and the Republicans
did not reject conservatism. To the contrary, it seemed to want to
punish the prodigal sons for abandoning the faith of their fathers."
(12/04/06)

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_12_04/buchanan.html

-----

60) CIA veteran: How Gates cooked the intel
Mother Jones
by Daniel Schulman

"Intelligence cherry-picked for ideological purposes; the claims of a
single, unreliable source treated as fact and stovepiped straight up
to the White House; a National Intelligence Estimate riddled with
dubious claims; efforts made to connect an enemy regime with
international terrorism. Echoing the prelude to the Iraq War, these
are, in fact, a sampling of the allegations directed at Robert Gates
15 years ago, when the Senate Intelligence Committee considered Gates'
nomination to be the director of Central Intelligence." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ynd6dx

-----

61) The trouble with "just compensation"
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Anthony Gregory

"Ever since the Kelo decision, activists around the country have
pushed for Eminent Domain reform. They've pushed ballot initiatives
and legislative efforts to curb the despotic power of the state to
seize private homes, businesses, land, and other assets. Most of this
legislation restricts or disallows the taking of private property for
another's private use, since this is what the Supreme Court permitted
states and localities to do." (12/05/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2379

-----

62) Time to revisit FCC set-top box rules
Heartland Institute
by Randolph May

"A decade ago, Congress decided cable companies and their competitors
should allow consumer electronics manufacturers to make 'plug and
play' set-top equipment that would work with any cable or direct
broadcast satellite (DBS) service. Rather than leasing it, consumers
could buy such equipment from multichannel video program distributors
as well as retailers unaffiliated with cable or DBS service
operators." (12/06)

http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=20219

-----

63) Will Democrats control Congressional spending?
Frontiers of Freedom
by Greg C. Reeson

"When Democrats take control of the House and Senate in January, they
will have the opportunity to push through Congress the many
legislative promises that they campaigned on in the run-up to the
midterm Congressional elections. Of course, those legislative promises
have to be paid for, and the problem for Democrats is that they also
promised there would be no new deficit spending. So how can
Representative Pelosi and Senator Reid advance their social agenda for
the lower and middle classes without engaging in the deficit spending
that has become a trademark of Washington politicians? Two options:
raise taxes or cut current federal spending programs." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/tm9za

-----

64) The tradition of American philanthropy
Foundation for Economic Education
by Larissa Price

"The holiday season is a time when we are reminded of the importance
of charitable giving, particularly in the United States. It's when
Americans, even more than usual, give generously both of their time
and money to many private institutions, including churches, homeless
shelters, and food banks. This tradition is not new; from colonial
times to the present, Americans have made it possible for hundreds of
thousands of voluntary organizations to exist." (12/05/06)

http://www.fee.org/in_brief/default.asp?id=959

-----

65) Eco-censorship
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Iain Murray

"Eppur si muove -- 'and yet it moves' -- was supposedly Galileo's
final statement after being forced by the Church to retract his
revolutionary cosmological theories. He had run up against the
overwhelming consensus of his time -- that the Earth was the center of
the universe and that saying otherwise was detrimental to the public
good, not to mention Galileo's health. For centuries, the scientific
method has been an antidote to such persecution." (12/04/06)

http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,05642.cfm

*******************************************************************
* RRND MEDIA SHELF -- Tchotchkes from today's edition
*
* South Park -- The Hits, Vol. 1, DVD
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*****************************
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************

66) Freedom Rings, 12/11/06
Freedom Rings

Open line libertarian talk radio with Kenneth John. 9AM CST on WRMN
1410 AM, Elgin, Illinois, or via webcast. [Live radio or stream]
(12/11/06)

http://www.freedomrings.net/

-----

67) Liberaltarianism
Cato Institute

Cato daily podcast, featuring Brink Lindsey. [MP3] (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/uva7a

-----

68) FMNN eRadio: Smart stocking stuffer
Free Market News Network

"How can a person be protected against this 'Grinch' economy? Find out
with Jim Willie." [MP3 or stream] (12/05/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/eRadioLaunch.asp?rid=822

-----

69) Free Talk Live, 12/05/06
Free Talk Live

"NYC passes trans fat ban: screw your propery rights / Docile
Americans / Persuading Liberals / Bong Hits for Jesus / More evidence
against the 'gateway drug' theory / Cops arrest 12yr old who opened
xmas present early! / Freedom of the press under attack / Myspace,
Teens, and Pervs / Gene vs the IRS / Why don't we invade Vietnam
again? / Delegating Authority: Can you get it back? / Minimum Wage."
[MP3] (12/05/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-12-05.mp3

-----

70) Freedomain Radio #542
Freedomain Radio

"Bomb. James Bomb: The criminal media." With host Stefan Molyneux.
[MP3] (12/04/06)

http://www.freedomainradio.com/Traffic_Jams/FDR_542_James_Bomb.mp3

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

71) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for this week's Thomas Szasz Awards
ceremony and other upcoming freedom movement events. Don't see your
event? Drop us a line at info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

72) America outlaws slavery (and the draft)

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

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Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher
Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,039
* Tuesday, December 5th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,061
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
* In cooperation with ISIL:   htp://www.isil.org
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In The News:

1)  GA: Senator's wife in hiding after deportation threat
2)  Iraq: Four Marines killed in chopper crash
3)  Bolton resigns as UN envoy
4)  NASA plans permanent moon base
5)  MD: Court to consider pro-family suit
6)  Gulf drilling expected to win passage
7)  Bush meets with Iraq's Shiite leader
8)  House to vote on abortion anesthesia bill
9)  Pediatricians want ad censorship
10) Danish journalists acquitted on classified pubs
11) NZ: Road-spraying "releases spirits"
12) US distributes "Faces of Global Terrorism" poster
13) Sweden to Trinidad via multiple disasters
14) UT: U redirects victim disarmament fight
15) IN: Woman fears for life after son kills intruder
16) PA: Homeowner opens fire on intruders
17) CA: Bill would expand domestic partner law
18) AZ: DPS deploys weapon to capture tailgaters
19) Universal to challenge MySpace with lawsuit
20) Study: Volunteering at 30-year high
21) Putin's Russia: better and worse
22) Democrats inspect faith-based initiative
23) OH: Bars, patrons prepare for smoking ban
24) Colombia: Drug czar's brother busted
25) OH: Sign case gets rare hearing

Everybody Has An Opinion:

26) The Pavlovian state (you are the dog)
27) Because they can, regional edition
28) The Democrats' war mandate
29) Police state mentality breeds poor judgment
30) Voluntaryism, coercion, and the poor
31) The coming clash over Iraq policy
32) Police agencies need to review raid procedures
33) Civil wars or proxy wars?
34) Woman latest collateral damage in drug war
35) Repression on the menu in Mexico
36) A post election political rant
37) Native American history schools don't want you to know
38) So, when does it get weird?
39) Think twice about fixing the free market
40) Republicans must be more like Ike
41) A message to critics in ex-spy's murder
42) The economic quagmire
43) Countering conservative economics
44) Right runs out of potential Presidents
45) The Democrats' economic wish list
46) At least Saddam kept order
47) Give me vodka or give me death
48) Russian bear sets a trap
49) End the other war too
50) About those drugs for poor nations
51) Privatization: The rediscovery of entrepreneurship
52) Lobster brisk
53) Unleash the media
54) Corrupting mumble
55) Never give up your rights!
56) Abortion law opens door to unfair prosecutions
57) One limit or another
58) Renew Milton Friedman's conservatism
59) How about a commission to end commissions?
60) A conservative case for same-sex marriage?
61) Eschew the taboo
62) Capital flight
63) Social Security reform isn't just about solvency
64) Go Webb go
65) Business is the next big casualty in Iraq

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

66) Freedom Rings, 12/11/06
67) The bottom line on Iran
68) FMNN eRadio: What is free market?
69) Freedomain Radio #540
70) Free Talk Live, 12/04/06

Weekly Symposium:

71) Private parts

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

72) Today's events

WaYbAcK:

73) Happy hour

***************
* In The News
***************

1)  GA: Senator's wife in hiding after deportation threat
CNN

"State Sen. Curt Thompson has been a strong advocate of immigration
rights, once speaking in Spanish from the steps of the Georgia Capitol
against the adoption of some of the nation's strictest immigration
controls. Now Thompson's Colombian-born wife is in hiding as federal
immigration officials try to deport her. Sascha Herrera, 28, has been
in hiding since Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrived
at her home November 28 with an order to remove her from the U.S. She
was not home at the time." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ycur5d

-----

2)  Iraq: Four Marines killed in chopper crash
Evansville Courier & Press

"Four U.S. Marines died when a Sea Knight helicopter plunged into a
lake in volatile Anbar province, the military said Monday, raising to
13 the number of American troops killed during a bloody weekend in
Iraq. It was the second military aircraft to go down in a week in
Anbar, a stronghold of Sunni insurgents, although the military said
mechanical problems rather than gunfire had forced the emergency
landing on Sunday. 'The pilots maintained control of the aircraft the
entire time,' the military said." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yg4jjt

-----

3)  Bolton resigns as UN envoy
Casa Grande Dispatch

"Unable to win Senate confirmation, U.N. Ambassador John Bolton will
step down when his temporary appointment expires within weeks, the
White House said today. Bolton's nomination has languished in the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than a year, blocked by
Democrats and several Republicans. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a moderate
Republican who lost in the midterm elections Nov. 7 that swept
Democrats to power in both houses of Congress, was adamantly opposed
to Bolton." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/sgmtp

-----

4)  NASA plans permanent moon base
Sydney Morning Herald [Australia]

"NASA is to build a permanently occupied base on the moon, most likely
at the lunar north pole. The habitat will serve as a science outpost
as well as a testbed for technologies needed for future travel to
Mars, and construction will follow a series of flights to the moon
scheduled to begin by 2020. 'We're going for a base on the moon,'
Scott 'Doc' Horowitz, NASA's associate administrator for exploration,
told reporters in a teleconference from the Johnson Space Centre in
Houston. Plans for what the base will look like and what astronauts
would do there have yet to be determined. Similarly, NASA has not
projected a date when the base would go into operation." [editor's
note: Aw, for the love of Neil Armstrong ... leave it to government to
make it take TWICE as long to get BACK to the moon as it took the
FIRST time (counting from JFK's 1961 speech announcing the project)? -
TLK] (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y2uzx5

-----

5)  MD: Court to consider pro-family suit
Baltimore Sun

"The divisive national debate over same-sex marriage reached
Maryland's highest court yesterday with pointed arguments confronting
questions of civil rights and who is entitled to the legal rights and
emotional benefits of marriage. Attorneys for 19 gay and lesbian
plaintiffs framed their argument before the Court of Appeals in
classic civil-rights terms, saying Maryland's 33-year-old statute
defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman infringes
upon their clients' constitutional rights." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxvnan

-----

6)  Gulf drilling expected to win passage
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

"Pro-drilling lawmakers were busy Monday corralling votes for offshore
energy legislation that reaches the House floor today, but -- win or
lose -- that will not be the last word on a debate that has lasted
decades. Indeed, if the bill fails to win a two-thirds majority under
expedited rules meant to speed passage, House leaders plan to bring it
back to the floor Thursday and likely would win under a more
cumbersome process that requires only a simple majority. ... House
passage would send the bill to President Bush's desk and open 8.3
million acres in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas drilling,
allowing drilling for the first time on the Florida side of the
Alabama landline." (12/05/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y6g2al

-----

7)  Bush meets with Iraq's Shiite leader
USA Today

"President Bush told an Iraqi power broker on Monday that the United
States was not satisfied with the progress of efforts to stop the
sharp escalation of violence in Iraq. Bush met at the White House with
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the Shiite leader of the largest bloc in Iraq's
parliament. Al-Hakim said that he 'vehemently' opposes any regional or
international effort to solve Iraq's problems that goes around the
unity government in Baghdad." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yks7jd

-----

8)  House to vote on abortion anesthesia bill
MSNBC

"In a parting gesture by social conservatives before Republicans
relinquish control, House leaders plan to bring up a bill tomorrow
that would declare that fetuses feel pain and require abortion
providers to offer pregnant patients anesthesia for their unborn
child. The scheduled vote may be the last on abortion-related
legislation for years. That's because Democratic leaders hope to avoid
confrontations over hot-button social issues that divide their caucus,
and focus instead on military and pocketbook issues." (12/04/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16046435/

-----

9)  Pediatricians want ad censorship
Lawrence Journal-World

"Inappropriate advertising contributes to many kids' ills, from
obesity to anorexia, to drinking booze and having sex too soon, and
Congress should crack down on it, the American Academy of Pediatrics
says. The influential doctors' group issued a new policy statement in
response to what it calls a rising tide of advertising aimed at
children. The policy appears in December's Pediatrics, scheduled for
release today." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y7x7sd

-----

10) Danish journalists acquitted on classified pubs
Grand Island Independent

"Three Danish journalists who published classified intelligence
reports on Iraq's former weapons program were acquitted Monday on
charges of endangering national security. The Copenhagen City Court
ruled that Niels Lunde, chief editor of the Berlingske Tidende
newspaper, and reporters Michael Bjerre and Jesper Larsen acted in the
public interest when they published a series of articles in 2004
citing leaked Danish intelligence reports." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yhhl4s

-----

11) NZ: Road-spraying "releases spirits"
Stuff

"A police-led initiative of spraying water on state highways to
release the trapped spirits of those killed in motor crashes has been
declared a success. Yesterday a special police convoy carrying Maori
elders sprayed 10,000 litres of Waikato River water on SH1 and SH2 in
a bid to free the spirits of crash victims. ... 'It was a first for
the country and we have had some really good feedback.'" (12/04/06)

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3888120a10,00.html

-----

12) US distributes "Faces of Global Terrorism" poster
Yahoo! News

"US authorities unveiled a new 'Wanted' poster featuring 26 'faces of
global terrorism' in hopes of gaining the public's help in tracking
down elusive militants like Osama bin Laden. 'They can be stopped.
We'll pay you for your help,' read the poster, which offers rewards of
up to 25 million dollars for information that prevents a terrorist act
or leads to the arrest of suspects wanted in connection to attacks on
US nationals or interests. The State Department and the Department of
Homeland Security have begun distributing the posters to US airports
to coincide with the holiday travel season and plan to place them in
air, land and sea travel hubs around the world." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vc98s

-----

13) Sweden to Trinidad via multiple disasters
Guardian [UK]

"The adventure would not be out of place in an anthology of ancient
tales of foolhardy mariners. A pensioner who set sail for the
Caribbean in a homemade boat because he liked pictures of the tropical
islands has reached his destination after overcoming violent storms,
shipwrecks, burglary, severe damage to his vessel and eight months
marooned in Norfolk. Yesterday, Erik Ramgren, a 66-year-old papermill
worker from Sweden, was lounging on the deck of his 11.5-metre (38ft)
catamaran in a pair of yellow trunks in Chaguaramas bay, a marina in
Trinidad surrounded by thick forests." (12/04/06)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1963944,00.html

-----

14) UT: U redirects victim disarmament fight
Deseret News

"University of Utah leaders are taking their gun fight to the
Legislature, hoping to keep at least part of the school's
controversial gun ban intact. After losing a lengthy and costly court
battle, U. President Michael Young is working with legislators to find
if the no-guns rule could work in limited circumstances such as in
residence halls and athletic venues." (12/02/06)

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650211871,00.html

-----

15) IN: Woman fears for life after son kills intruder
Post Tribune

"One day after an her son killed one of two intruders who forced his
way into her house, a Gary mother says she fears for her life. 'I'm
fearful because I don't know who that guy was and I don't know who his
people are,' she said. ... The homeowner, a truck driver for the city
of Gary, was eating pizza with her 21-year-old son and his friend
about 5:40 p.m. Friday when someone knocked on the door. When her
son's friend opened the door to see who it was, two men forced their
way and put a gun to his head. Immediately, her son ran downstairs to
grab a gun while she took refuge in a first-floor bedroom. Scott asked
where everyone was and then said he was going to kill everyone there.
That's when her 21-year-old son emerged from the basement and started
firing his weapon, striking Scott. The second intruder fled." (12/03/06)

http://www.post-trib.com/news/158490,GIntrude.article

-----

16) PA: Homeowner opens fire on intruders
WPXI News

"A homeowner opened fire after intruders entered his home on Monday,
police said. ... The man and his 1-year-old baby were home at the time
of the invasion. Police said several people kicked in the front
windows of the home. According to officials, the homeowner then shot
one person with a high caliber weapon, injuring that person severely.
The intruder fled in a vehicle. Police are now searching for the
intruders." (12/04/06)

http://www.wpxi.com/news/10460020/detail.html?rss=burg&psp=news

-----

17) CA: Bill would expand domestic partner law
San Francisco Chronicle

"Responding to the growing trend of couples raising children out of
wedlock, a San Francisco lawmaker plans to introduce a bill today that
would give young and middle-age heterosexual couples who are not
married the right to register as domestic partners. The new bill and
the expected reintroduction of legislation that would grant same-sex
partners the right to marry are already drawing the ire of social
conservatives and may once again put Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the
difficult position of taking sides on the politically divisive issue
of defining marriage. State Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, said
she decided to pursue legislation allowing heterosexual couples to
register as domestic partners when she saw that so many more children
are being born to unmarried women, many of whom live with the
fathers." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yawahz

-----

18) AZ: DPS deploys weapon to capture tailgaters
Arizona Republic

"If your idea of a sporting event is riding the tail of a slowpoke on
the highway, think again. The Arizona Department of Public Safety is
bringing a new device to the game in an attempt to take out
tailgaters. Call the ploy laser tag. Using a new laser device that
measures the distance between two moving vehicles, officers are citing
hundreds of motorists with tailgating tickets that can run more than
$100. And they are promising more to come. 'Tailgating accounts for
most of the collisions in the Valley,' said DPS Officer Michael
Beaudoin, who has written about 100 tickets using the laser in the
past year. 'The majority of the reactions I get from drivers are that
they don't realize they are tailgating.' Tailgating is not only a
cause of accidents, it is also a factor in many road-rage incidents."
(12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykbey9

-----

19) Universal to challenge MySpace with lawsuit
Nashville City Paper

"Last month, Universal Music Corp. filed a copyright lawsuit against
MySpace, alleging that the social Web site has cost Universal as much
as $150,000 in damages per copyrighted work. Some industry veterans in
Nashville, however, say MySpace is getting a bad rap. The 'big'
artists, who have much to lose to any album sales competitor, stand to
be harmed the most by MySpace. But on the other end of the continuum,
the business model followed by up-and-coming artists has been
revolutionized by the social networking site. 'For the long term, I
think more and more artists are going to be taking control. The money
goes to the artists. It doesn't go through any intermediary,' said
Dean Shortland, who hosts a monthly showcase of popular MySpace
artists at 3rd & Lindsley each month. 'I think it's bringing music
back to what it was meant to be.'" (12/04/06)

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?news_id=53494

-----

20) Study: Volunteering at 30-year high
Fox News

"The number of Americans who volunteer to mentor students, beautify
neighborhoods and pitch in after disasters is at a 30-year high,
fueled in part by a boom in teen participation, a new study says. The
report by the Corporation for National and Community Service tracked
volunteer rates since 1974. It found that more than 1 in 4 adults --
or 27 percent -- currently give time to their communities, a jump from
a low of 20.4 percent recorded in 1989. Teens aged 16 to 19 saw the
biggest jump, with 28.4 percent volunteering compared to just 13.4
percent in 1989. Service among mid-life adults (ages 45 to 64) and
senior citizens (ages 65 and over) also remained strong at 30 percent
and 23.5 percent, respectively. The study, which is set to be released
Monday, credits higher education levels, delayed childbearing and
longer life expectancy." (12/04/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234110,00.html

-----

21) Putin's Russia: better and worse
Christian Science Monitor

"Hearing Yevgeny Butovsky and Antonina Vallik describe the state of
their nation, one would think they live in two different countries. In
fact, they share a home. 'We are eating our future, and we are being
too quiet about it,' complains Mr. Butovsky, a successful private farm
manager increasingly concerned by the autocratic political system
built since President Vladimir Putin was elected in 2000. But for his
homemaker wife, Ms. Vallik, those years have yielded a rise in living
standards that has enabled her to widen the scope of her passion --
taking in homeless pets. 'Any regime is OK for me,' she says. They're
not the only ones having this discussion. The debate is rising in
Russia, and around the world, over what kind of a state Putin has
built, whether it's bearable for its population, and if it is safe to
invest in, or be friends with." (12/04/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1204/p01s04-woeu.html

-----

22) Democrats inspect faith-based initiative
Boston Globe

"Two leading Democrats on the House International Relations Committee
said they want to investigate President Bush's faith-based initiative
to determine whether taxpayer funds are being used to reward Bush's
Christian conservative supporters and whether the faith-based groups
are using the funds to help gain converts. In addition, Democrats on
the panel said they could be in a strong position to try to overturn a
measure that requires one-third of AIDS prevention money overseas to
be spent on 'abstinence-until-marriage' programs. The $1 billion
abstinence measure was passed by the Republican-led Congress and
signed by Bush, but many Democrats have complained that the money
could be better spent on other measures such as condoms. Many of the
religious groups receiving funds under Bush's faith-based initiative
have received money as a result of the abstinence-until-marriage
program." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ydcwl9

-----

23) OH: Bars, patrons prepare for smoking ban
Ohio News Network

"Bar and restaurant owners are throwing out ash trays and posting
no-smoking signs to get ready for Ohio's new smoking ban, which takes
effect Thursday. The law, backed by the American Cancer Society and
approved by 58 percent of voters on Election Day, prohibits smoking in
nearly all public buildings and work places. Exceptions include
tobacco shops, designated hotel rooms and enclosed areas of nursing
homes. But some business owners say they're confused about how the law
will be enforced -- it's mostly complaint-driven, according to state
health officials." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y2yxrp

-----

24) Colombia: Drug czar's brother busted
CNN

"Colombia's drug czar said police arrested his brother over the
weekend with six grams (0.2 ounces) of cocaine. Carlos Albornoz, head
of the National Drug Directorate responsible for Colombia's
drug-control policies, said in a news conference Sunday his brother
Ivan Albornoz was arrested shortly after buying the drugs Saturday
night in southern Bogota. The anti-drug official said President Alvaro
Uribe asked him to continue in his job." (12/04/06)

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/12/04/colombia.drugs.ap/

-----

25) OH: Sign case gets rare hearing
Cincinnati Enquirer

"The car Chris Pagan wanted to sell is long gone. But he kept the 'for
sale' sign, in case he might need it as evidence in a three-year
federal court battle over his right to use the sign. In 2003, Pagan
parked a 1970 Mercury Cougar with a 'for sale' sign in front of his
Sharon Road home. But Glendale police threatened to cite him under an
ordinance forbidding such signs on vehicles in public areas. ... Pagan
filed a federal lawsuit, launching a freedom-of-speech crusade against
the village's half-century-old sign regulation. 'This is not a trivial
thing. Glendale was seeking to throw me into the criminal justice
system and subject me to jail time -- and they can't do that when
they're violating the First Amendment,' said Pagan, who could have
been fined up to $250 and spent 30 days in jail. On Wednesday, Pagan's
case will be debated in an unusual hearing before all 14 judges of the
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/wwz6x

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 12/05/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 49,642 ... Max - 55,048
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,903
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

26) The Pavlovian state (you are the dog)
LewRockwell.Com
by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

"[T]he tool here is US tax dollars. It is money forcibly collected
from the wallets of you and me that these people play games with. And
to what end? To elicit perfect compliance with every US wish. Who can
deny that the US has occupied this country in the same way that the
Soviets once occupied its satellite states? Let us hear no more about
the grand 'humanitarian' mission of the Iraqi occupation. What is
being sought here is to turn Iraq into a country of lobotomized
automatons who obey orders. Sometimes it is said that the US's grand
mission here should be flattering to the Iraqis because we have dared
to believe them to be capable of democratic government. But this isn't
flattering. Quite the opposite. The US sees Iraqis as subjects to be
kicked and herded like swine." (12/05/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/pavlovian-state.html

-----

27) Because they can, regional edition
Kn@ppster
by Thomas L. Knapp

"Ameren UE is free to let its infrastructure decay while it takes
profits, to minimize its investment in upgrading that infrastructure,
and to cut back its work force so that it has bare minimum staff in
normal times and not nearly enough when a storm comes through. It's
free to do so for two reasons: * Because you and I aren't allowed to
call up Ameren UE and say 'screw you -- I'm switching to Acme Power
and Light. Come get your meter out of the way so they can put theirs
in;' and * Because big business naturally has more influence than
small customers over the governmental bodies which are supposed to
pinch hit for that kind of competition. Many 'progressives' believe
that the remedy to such situations is to somehow untangle government
power from corporate influence, but history shows us that that's a
naive expectation." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/todk2

-----

28) The Democrats' war mandate
Reason
by Brian M. Doherty

"The standard narrative seems to imply that concern
over/dissatisfaction with the Iraq mess means you voted Democratic,
the opposition party. But the data tells a slightly more complicated
story than that. ... of the voters who considered Iraq 'extremely
important' in their vote, 39 percent went Republican. Even more
interestingly, of the almost equal percentage of voters who thought
the war 'very important' ... a majority went Republican .... However,
if we agree to agree -- with some of those complications noted -- that
dissatisfaction with the occupation of Iraq won the Democrats' the
lovely gift of Congress, two other questions remain: were antiwar
voters right in assuming -- assuming they did -- that the Democratic
Party stood unambiguously for severe change in policy in Iraq? And now
that the Dems won with this supposed anti-occupation mandate, what are
they prepared to do about it? What can they do about it?" (12/04/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/117015.html

-----

29) Police state mentality breeds poor judgment
Liberty For All
by CCRKBA staff

"While citizens in New York search for answers in the horrendous
shooting death of an unarmed man hours before he would have married
his high school sweetheart, the Citizens Committee for the Right to
Keep and Bear Arms says a factor nobody wants to discuss could be the
anti-gun mentality fostered in that city for generations. 'The mere
thought that a citizen may have had a firearm seems to have
contributed to the terrible shooting death of Sean Bell,' said CCRKBA
Chairman Alan M. Gottlieb." (12/04/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=407

-----

30) Voluntaryism, coercion, and the poor
Strike the Root
by Angelo Mike

"Democracy just makes this process of stealing massive and organized.
... Instead of taking up the risk yourself of stealing, knowing you
might be hurt or killed by someone defending their property, and for a
one time sum, you can just vote for the candidate who will put the
laws, tax collectors, police, and civil servants at work to do the job
for you." (12/04/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/mike/mike7.html

-----

31) The coming clash over Iraq policy
Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland

"The Baker Commission report calls for a phased withdrawal of combat
forces in Iraq and for the United States to talk to adversarial
neighboring countries -- that is, Iran and Syria -- about playing a
more constructive role in that country's civil war. If his rhetoric
before the release of the report is any indication, President Bush
will pretend to adjust his Iraq policy but spurn the commission's main
recommendations. From this inflexible man, that course is not
surprising. The president, somewhere in a parallel universe, continues
to talk about 'victory,' despite a clear warning from then
soon-to-be-sacked Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that he should
alter his failed strategy in Iraq and begin downplaying expectations
in case that strategy change didn't work." (12/04/06)

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1863

-----

32) Police agencies need to review raid procedures
Tribune Chronicle
by staff

"Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Paul Howard has said an
investigation will be launched. But one of his comments concerning the
tragedy is troubling. He said a preliminary review indicated that
police 'had a legal right' to search the home. Of course they did. But
that isn't the point. The question is whether the raid could have been
handled in a manner that would not have left three officers wounded --
and a 92-year-old woman dead. The answer is something to which law
enforcement officials everywhere should be paying attention." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/sn9j9

-----

33) Civil wars or proxy wars?
Asia Times
by Spengler

"Words often mean the opposite of what they appear to mean in the
Middle East. When Jordan's King Abdullah demanded a speedy solution to
the Israel-Palestine issue to quell the outbreak of multiple civil
wars in the region, he meant the precise opposite: the Arab world has
something more pressing on its mind than the plight of the
Palestinians. The emergence of an Iranian threat to Saudi Arabia makes
Palestine the odd man out. The Palestine problem has dropped to the
bottom of the Arab priority list, and the fate of the Palestinians is
to become cannon fodder for proxy wars." (12/04/06)

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HL05Ak04.html

-----

34) Woman latest collateral damage in drug war
Baltimore Sun
by Cynthia Tucker

"All wars have a way of creating collateral damage, as the desk-bound
bureaucrats euphemistically call the dead innocents, destroyed
buildings and decimated towns that just happen to be in the way of
bombs and bullets. Kathryn Johnston was collateral damage in America's
misguided 'war on drugs.'" (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yjaq7p

-----

35) Repression on the menu in Mexico
CounterPunch
by John Ross

"The expected wave of repression has already descended over Oaxaca
where the Oaxaca Peoples Popular Assembly or APPO and dissident
education workers have occupied the center of the state capital for
six months. On October 27th, following the murder of independent U.S.
journalist Brad Will on the barricades by a death squad in the employ
of Governor Ruiz, a leading member of the PRI party which ruled Mexico
for seven decades and whose removal is the key demand of protestors,
Fox moved in thousands of Federal Preventative Police, a corps culled
from the military, who retook the central plaza. Since then, the
dissidents have waged a fierce resistance from behind barricades
thrown up throughout the state. Ruiz's gunsills have now killed 18
demonstrators beside Will -- whose killers, police officers
themselves, were released from custody last week by the governor's
police." (12/04/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/ross12042006.html

-----

36) A post election political rant
The Libertarian Enterprise
by Francis A Ney, Jr.

"I'm surrounded by idiots. And most of the idiots either work for the
government or may as well be working for the government, given their
propensity for getting in the face of everyone, needed or not, or
ignoring truths inconvenient to the nanny state. " (12/03/06)

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle396-20061203-04.html

-----

37) Native American history schools don't want you to know
Strike the Root
by Ken Bank

"Henry David Thoreau spent a great deal of time with, and writing
about, native Americans. Their emphasis on spiritual development and
ecological harmony impressed him greatly, and probably contributed to
his transcendentalist ideas." (12/04/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/bank/bank5.html

-----

38) So, when does it get weird?
Strike the Root
by Wilt Alston

"At the risk of being crass, what the hell does it say about a country
when our current leader openly admits to 'hearing voices' and no
person vying for that job can get it if he doesn't hear them too? They
used to lock people up for that kind of stuff, no?" (12/04/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/alston/alston1.html

-----

39) Think twice about fixing the free market
Orange County Register
by Tibor R. Machan

"The free-market economy is the best-suited to human commercial
affairs; there is no reasonable doubt about this. But a free market
leaves some people with laments, which then tempt them to undermine
this great institution. When we do all our producing and consuming in
a free market, we may do well, or we may do badly as producers and
consumers, even as we do not violate any principles of the market
economy. Freedom of trade, the right to private property and other
elements of free-market economic affairs can remain fully intact, yet
people in the marketplace can do many things either badly or well.
People can shop carefully, prudently, efficiently, attentively, and
they also can shop recklessly, inefficiently and inattentively."
(12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y8vheh

-----

40) Republicans must be more like Ike
Christian Science Monitor
by John Hulsman & Anatol Lieven

"The American people rightly, and overwhelmingly, punished the
Republican Party in the midterm elections, chiefly because of the Iraq
war and the neoconservative ideology that helped bring it about. Iraq
is a disaster today partly because of the neoconservative fantasy that
democratic nationhood can be built from scratch, at the point of a
gun. This is crazed nationalist utopianism -- and it is wholly alien
to core Republican traditions. Worse still, neoconservatism has
endangered the core values and traditions of America itself. As Thomas
Jefferson pointed out, empires require emperors. ... The Founding
Fathers would be horrified by the shameful excesses of such
neoconservative folly: warrantless wiretaps, Abu Ghraib, Gauntanamo
Bay, renditions, and torture." (12/04/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1204/p09s02-coop.html

-----

41) A message to critics in ex-spy's murder
Boston Globe
by Cathy Young

"The precise circumstances of the death of Alexander Litvinenko, the
Russian ex-spy-turned-dissident who died of radiation poisoning Nov.
23, are likely to remain a mystery for some time. But the tragedy and
the reaction to it actually reveal a great deal about Vladimir Putin's
Russia -- and the West. Litvinenko fell ill after a meeting with a
source in his investigation of the recent fatal shooting of Russian
journalist Anna Politkovskaya, another strong critic of the Putin
regime. He issued a deathbed statement naming Putin as his murderer.
This does not, of course, constitute proof of Putin's involvement. But
the fact that Litvinenko was poisoned with polonium, a highly
radioactive substance that is virtually impossible to manufacture or
obtain outside a sophisticated nuclear laboratory, points to a
high-level plot." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ydprnv

-----

42) The economic quagmire
The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner

"The dollar just hit a 20-month low against the Euro. It now costs
over $1.33 to buy one Euro, and the dollar is falling against other
currencies as well. The greenback is sinking mainly because the United
States runs an immense trade deficit with the rest of the world,
especially East Asia. Countries like China, Korea, and Japan have an
unhealthy co-dependency with the United States. Their governments help
their industries capture leadership in technologies, products, and
jobs. They then sell America far more then they buy. However, their
central banks happily lend those dollars back to us, so that we can
finance the trade deficit and keep on buying their exports. We now owe
foreigners over a trillion dollars, about half of it to central banks.
Our annual trade deficit is over seven percent of one year's Gross
Domestic Product, and it keeps growing. If any other country ran such
a deficit, foreigners would lose confidence and its currency would
crash." (12/04/06)

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12273

-----

43) Countering conservative economics
Tom Paine
by Jared Bernstein & David Kusnet

"Although Thanksgiving and the midterms elections are behind us,
Christmas is coming and '08 debates are underway. Which means you may
soon find yourself debating a conservative about economics. It may be
at a neighborhood or family gathering, on a college campus, or at a
city council hearing about a living wage ordinance. If your
conservative opponent takes a lesson from the right-wing talking heads
on the shout shows, you're in for a surprise. Take it from us --
veterans of too many of the shows you should only watch if you've had
your blood pressure checked beforehand. No matter what the subject,
these folks have only four arguments." [editor's note: This piece is
muddled, confusing valid free-market arguments with the babblings of
right-wing RepublicanT pundits, but it does make some points; scan it
advisedly - SAT] (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y9c6q2

-----

44) Right runs out of potential Presidents
Fox News
by Susan Estrich

"Where have all the conservatives gone? Are there going to be any
running for President? First it was Virginia's George Allen, the great
white hope, the George on a horse, the governor with a smile, on his
way to a White House run, once he got past that frisky re-election
campaign. He was, less than a short year ago, the Hotline's unknown
front-runner, the insider's best guess, the neocon's next new best
friend. Now, thanks to a Macaca joke, a ham sandwich joke, a terrible
campaign, and some smart moves by senator-elect Jim Webb, he's toast.
Then there was Rick Santorum. Mr. Conservative. ... The number three
Senate Republican and conservative stalwart is as good a friend as
conservatives have in the Senate. Correction: Had. History." (12/03/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234085,00.html

-----

45) The Democrats' economic wish list
Christian Science Monitor
by David R. Francis

"The Democrats have won control of Congress. But will that really
enhance the prosperity of middle-class and poor Americans, as party
advocates maintain? Since the 1990s, most people in the United States
have been treading water, economically. American paychecks began to
rise faster than the cost of living only in October. Extra inflation,
however, could again stall real wage gains. 'There will be some
changes -- but minor ones' with Democrats in charge on Capitol Hill,
predicts Alan Blinder. He's a Princeton University economist who
advised the failed presidential campaigns of Democrats Al Gore and
John Kerry. As Dr. Blinder puts it, the '800-pound gorilla'
influencing the welfare of working people is 'the market,' that is,
the status of the economy in the years ahead. The latest numbers
indicate that the economy is slowing -- not good news if this pattern
continues into the new year." [editor's note: Fascinating to see an
advisor to both Gore and Kerry refer to economic issues as "the
market" - SAT] (12/04/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1204/p17s02-cogn.html

-----

46) At least Saddam kept order
Free Market News Network
by Ilana Mercer

"When it comes to Iraq, the pols and the pundits fetishize details,
hang hopes on minutia and forfeit a deeper understanding of the place
and people. The devil is not in the details, but in the big picture.
More troops or training for Iraqis, better baksheesh, Maliki or
Moqtada -- these will make no difference. For the government of Iraq
doesn't stand apart from the governed; it reflects them. Ditto the
phantom known as the Iraqi Army. The divisions that have riven the
region for four millennia are mirrored in the current regime, and will
continue to hobble every successive government that hunkers down in
the Green Zone, where it'll forever be forced to take cover, incapable
of governing Baghdad, much less the rest of the country -- a reality
the philosopher-kings who sing from Bush's hymn sheet are slowly
accepting. But have neoconservatives slunk off the political stage?
Not on your life; they've merely shifted tactics, and now blame,
first, faulty logistics for failure in Iraq." (12/04/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/56/6510/ilana.asp?nid=6510&wid=56

-----

47) Give me vodka or give me death
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Mihai Sarbu

"Last year Russian President Putin called for a state monopoly on
vodka, due to what many consider a serious health crisis. He estimated
that around 40,000 deaths annually can be attributed to various
illegal products sold as vodka. All this while the state-owned
RosSpirtProm was producing as much as 60 percent of the country's
spirits. Beside the official vodka business, worth $9 billion
according to some estimations, there was a $2 billion moonshine
market." (12/04/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2387

-----

48) Russian bear sets a trap
FreedomWorks
by Richard W. Rahn

"Have you noticed New York residents do not fear a cutoff of their
natural gas supplies because of a potential political or economic
dispute with Texas? But envision a scenario where the State of Texas
owned all of the natural gas in that state and the distribution
network to other states, and where the governor of Texas decided to
ignore pre-existing contracts in order to force New Yorkers to pay
more for their gas since they were totally dependent on the Texas
monopoly." (12/01/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yj6v9m

-----

49) End the other war too
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Sheldon Richman

"The war in Iraq goes on, but we shouldn't let it overshadow the war
at home -- one that frequently is really a war on people who
themselves are not making war against anyone. Too often individuals
minding their own business are killed by government officers. In the
name of decency, this war must end." (12/01/06)

http://www.fff.org/comment/com0612b.asp

-----

50) About those drugs for poor nations
Classically Liberal
by "CLS"

"Selling drugs to poor people at much lower prices can still be
profitable. Now if pharmaceutical companies are greedy -- just like
everyone else on the planet --- then why don't they maximize their
profit by selling to poor customers at these much lower rates? Who
stops them from doing this? Well, broadly speaking, you do. And by you
I mean those of you who live in wealthy first world nations." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vqzrz

-----

51) Privatization: The rediscovery of entrepreneurship
Foundation for Economic Education
by William H. Peterson

"Last February I participated in a conference on international
privatization in Washington, along with some 500 others, mostly
officials from the Third World. Perhaps surprisingly, the conference
buzz-words turned out to be privatization and entrepreneurship. I was
struck by this seeming rediscovery of the world of Adam Smith and John
Stuart Mill, and the fading from view of the world of Karl Marx and
John Maynard Keynes. The trend is commendable, and I applaud it."
(written 08/86; posted 12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ylrzrq

-----

52) Lobster brisk
The American Spectator
by Peter Hannaford

"Douglas Tabler is the president and only member of the Lobster Rights
Watch. He has just won a major victory on behalf of his mute
crustacean friends -- or so he thinks. Several weeks ago when
California's North Coast Co-op opened its big, snazzy new supermarket
it had a tank to hold live lobsters. The fresh water burbled through
day and night. The lobsters' claws were clamped shut, lest they eat
one another before the customers got them. Mr. Tabler happened upon
this tableau and looked the lobsters in the eye. Like George Bush
seeing Vladimir Putin's soul, Doug saw their fright and loneliness. He
reasoned that he'd be frightened and lonely, too, if he were about to
be boiled in someone's cooking pot. Not one to shun a fight, he set up
a one-man picket line in front of the Co-op." (12/04/06)

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10706

-----

53) Unleash the media
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Clyde Wayne Crews and Achim Schmillen

"With a stop-off in Nashville on Dec. 11, the Federal Communications
Commission continues a series of hearings debating government's role
in determining the structure of major media in the United States.
Today, for example, media ownership regulations prohibit broadcast
companies from owning stations that reach more than 35 percent of the
public. Other restrictions apply to local TV station ownership and to
newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership." (12/02/06)

http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,05645.cfm

-----

54) Corrupting mumble
America's Future Foundation
by Jason D. Fodeman

"Exhausted by the seemingly never ending political season, frustrated
by Republican repudiation of the brand of conservatism that led to
victory and a brief stint as the majority party, seeking refuge from
the shoot 'em up, slash 'em up world of Hollywood entertainment, I
decided to get away from it all, relax, clear my head and enjoy the
innocuous cartoon flick, Happy Feet. Alas, it was not to be! Within
thirty minutes it became clear that the cute leading character
portrayed in the commercials was little more than a front penguin for
the left wing environmental agenda." (12/04/06)

http://www.affbrainwash.com/archives/021682.php

-----

55) Never give up your rights!
The Price of Liberty
by Doug Newman

"In a recent column on World Net Daily, Robert Ringer states that 'In
order to preserve freedom, some freedoms must be restricted.' Although
I have heard similar things God knows how many times since 9/11, this
particular column got my dander up. I guess it is because it so neatly
summarizes the panic mentality that has come over so many Americans in
the last five years. Ringer says he wishes things were otherwise, but
in a world gone mad he believes that surrendering freedom in order to
preserve freedom is a 'reality.' Orwellian Doublethink doesn't get
much more straightforward than this." (12/04/06)

http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/06/12/04/newman.htm

-----

56) Abortion law opens door to unfair prosecutions
Liberty For All
by Jeffery M. Leving and Glenn Sacks

"HB 5882, which passed the Michigan House 67-38, amends the Michigan
Penal Code to create the Coercive Abortion Prevention Act. Its purpose
is to prohibit the putative father of a pregnant woman's child from
coercing or intimidating the woman into terminating her pregnancy.
While preventing violence or threats of violence against pregnant
women is an admirable goal, HB 5882 goes way beyond this by
interfering with constitutionally protected personal prerogatives."
(12/04/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=406

-----

57) One limit or another
The Free Liberal
by Paul Jacob

"Tired of election analysis? Think there should be some kind of limit,
rather than allowing it all to drone on and on and on? Well, here's
some analysis you'll like. It's about a limit. An article by Andrew
Cline, titled 'Finally Term Limited,' recently ran in American
Spectator. Cline argues, 'Republicans might have saved their majority
by keeping a single signature promise from 1994. More than any other
point in the Contract With America, the promise of term limits showed
how serious these reformers were about changing the culture in
Washington.' And he calls it a 'fateful decision' that most Republican
reps who came to Washington believing in limits 'chose to stay put
rather than step down.'" (12/04/06)

http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002460.html

-----

58) Renew Milton Friedman's conservatism
National Review
by Newt Gingrich & David Merritt

"Milton Friedman was a man of towering eminence. He had a positive
impact on the world surpassed by only a handful of individuals in the
20th century. He revered the individual, private cooperation, and
peace, and he distrusted centralized power of any kind. As we mourn
his passing, we should renew Friedman's call for freedom and for
responsible, limited government -- and we should apply his
conservatism to meet today's challenges." [editor's note: Gingrich
didn't seem inclined toward "Friedmanism" when he sat in Congress -- I
recall him sitting at the same table with Charles Rangel and Pat
Schroeder in a Firing Line debate on drug legalization. Why should we
believe that's changed now that he's all but running for president? -
TLK] (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxg6an

-----

59) How about a commission to end commissions?
TCS Daily
by James H. Joyner, Jr.

"Just a quick Google search reveals the National Bipartisan Commission
on the Future of Medicare, the National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States (aka 'The 9-11 Commission'), the
National Commission on Social Security Reform (not to be confused with
the 1998 National Commission on Retirement Policy or the 2001
President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security), the bipartisan
National Commission on Energy Policy, the Commission on No Child Left
Behind, and the bipartisan Commission to Strengthen Confidence in
Congress. The gold standard has to be the National Commission on
Federal Election Reform, which was headed by former presidents Jimmy
Carter and Gerald Ford. It just doesn't get any more bipartisan,
moderate, and statesmanlike! It's intuitively satisfying, after all.
Surely, if we would just put politics aside, we'd all agree on the way
ahead. Unfortunately, the sage advice of Rodney King notwithstanding,
the world doesn't work that way." (12/04/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=120406B

-----

60) A conservative case for same-sex marriage?
Intellectual Conservative
by M. Dylan McClelland

"Homosexuality has never been an easy issue for the American people.
Torn between the afore-mentioned commitment to tolerance, and the
religious underpinnings of their culture, Americans continue to
struggle with reconciling two seemingly opposite positions. Most would
agree that sexual orientation is likely irrelevant in most situations
-- e.g., employment, housing. While some will contend that
homosexuality is relevant in the marriage context because of
marriage's procreative preference, this article suggests it is not.
The crucial role of marriage is no longer procreation: millions of
out-of-wedlock births prove this. Nor is it, as our friends on the
Left emote, to recognize the love between two people. Were it so then
marriage would likely require recognition of loving consanguineous and
poly-amorous relationships. Instead, as Professor Allen argues,
marriage is intended to restrain selfish behavior in order to promote
and produce productive offspring. It is here that the conservative
case for same-sex-marriage may be made on both principle and
practicality. Gay couples have children." (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y539nf

-----

61) Eschew the taboo
Slate
by Christopher Hitchens

"I added that the word Tory was originally an insult -- it means
something like brigand in Gaelic -- and it had also been adopted, by
those at whom it was directed, as a badge of pride. In this respect, I
went on to say, it anticipated other such appropriations --
impressionist, suffragette -- by which the target group inverted the
taunt thrown at it and, by a kind of verbal jujitsu, turned it back on
its originators. In more recent times, I finished with what I thought
was a flourish, the words nigger and queer (and I may have added
faggot) had undergone some of the same transmutation. Very suddenly,
we went to a break, and the studio filled with unsmiling people who
detached my microphone and announced that the segment was extremely
over. My protests were futile. Should I have remembered to cover
myself and say 'the N-word' instead? It would have seemed somehow
inauthentic. Did MSNBC think that anything I had uttered was inflected
with the smallest tinge of bigotry? Presumably not. So, what we now
have is a taboo, which is something quite different from an agreement
on etiquette." (12/04/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2154854

-----

62) Capital flight
Independent Institute
by Pierre Lemieux

"With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's heavy-handed
regulating and enforcement, and with the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act the
cherry on the regulatory cake, an economist would expect American
capital markets to lose some of their lustre in favour of less
constrained marketplaces. A new study has just documented that this is
indeed happening. The implications for Canada run counter to accepted
wisdom in political and bureaucratic circles." (12/04/06)

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1862

-----

63) Social Security reform isn't just about solvency
Cato Institute
by Michael D. Tanner

"Now that the elections are over, Democrats are suggesting a new
willingness to address the need for Social Security reform. Max
Baucus, D-Mont., incoming chairman of the Senate Finance Committee,
announced plans to hold hearings on proposals to fix the program's
looming financial crisis. 'All options are on the table,' according to
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., including tax increases,
benefit cuts and changes in the retirement age. Well, maybe not all
options. Democrats remain unwilling to even discuss President Bush's
plan for allowing younger workers to privately invest a portion of
their Social Security taxes through personal accounts." (12/04/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6793

-----

64) Go Webb go
The American Conservative
by Scott McConnell

"Is it too soon for a 'Webb for President' bandwagon? Of course it is.
But Webb's landslide win in a Southern state -- well, make that a
pre-recount third of a percentage-point win carved from big margins in
the Washington suburbs -- has transformed him instantly into a
commodity of interest for the Democrats, as was former Virginia Gov.
Mark Warner before him. A national audience will now become aware of
the Webb paradox: the qualities that make him most compelling are the
very ones that make him not a particularly smooth or natural
politician. Despite Webb's impressive military background, it's not as
if he commanded armies in a winning war. No one will offer Jim Webb an
Eisenhower ride to a higher nomination." (12/04/06)

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_12_04/mcconnell.html

-----

65) Business is the next big casualty in Iraq
AlterNet
by Dahr Jamail and Ali Al-Fadhily

"Major industries in Iraq for oil products, phosphates and cement,
along with the military industry, were mostly state-run under the
previous regime. Foreign companies were allowed, under state
supervision, to build factories as Iraq moved towards increasing
industrialisation. This growth was reversed during the 1990's under
the U.S-backed UN economic sanctions. The sanctions crippled the Iraqi
dinar and people's ability to purchase goods and services. The
business situation worsened further during the U.S.-led invasion when
most factories ceased to function. Many were bombed, and for other
factories employees stayed at home. Following the invasion several
were looted, and were never able to start again. Some private
businesses held out, but eventually security problems, lack of
electricity and fuel, a staggering inflation rate (70 percent) and
lack of safe transportation led many of these too to close down.
Unemployment now stands at more than 50 percent -- but most people
believe the real situation is far worse."

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/45068/

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66) Freedom Rings, 12/11/06
Freedom Rings

Open line libertarian talk radio with Kenneth John. 9AM CST on WRMN
1410 AM, Elgin, Illinois, or via webcast. [Live radio or stream]
(12/11/06)

http://www.freedomrings.net/

-----

67) The bottom line on Iran
Cato Institute

Cato daily podcast, featuring Justin Logan. [MP3] (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/v2duc

-----

68) FMNN eRadio: What is free market?
Free Market News Network

"Gather round your e-radio screen and find out if you're a Free Market
person, or something else. Noel Gibeson forms the definition from some
recent events." [MP3 or stream] (12/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/eRadioLaunch.asp?rid=821

-----

69) Freedomain Radio #540
Freedomain Radio

"Testing Morality: Can you judge a moral theory by its effects?" With
host Stefan Molyneux. [MP3] (12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yx5np2

-----

70) Free Talk Live, 12/04/06
Free Talk Live

"Poor Show Prep / Jose Padilla Update: Total Dehumanization / Blood
Bank / Seat Belts Overrated / Cops admit to planting evidence / Madman
caller advocates killing innocent people worldwide / Arbitrators and
Big Customers / Worshipping the State / Persuading 'Liberals' to
Liberty / Parking Nazi." [MP3] (12/04/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-12-04.mp3

********************
* Weekly Symposium
********************

71) Private parts

This last weekend, I had an interesting conversation with a
(state-oriented) leftist friend. We disagree about a lot of things.
The thing we agreed on this weekend, oddly enough, was why we were
talking with the lights off. The lights were off at my home (for the
second multi-day stretch in about five months) because of ...
"privatization."

As a libertarian, I believe that electricity (and all other
commodities, services, utilities, etc.) should be provided by and
purchased through the free market. As a (state-oriented) leftist, my
friend believes that electricity (and at least some other commodities,
services, utilities, etc.) should be provided by, and purchased
through, government.

We agree that trying to split it down the middle brings out the worst
of both worlds. In the case of the "privatized" situation with in my
area -- in which a privately owned, for-profit enterprise enjoys a
government-enforced monopoly on the provision of electricity -- this
has twice in 2006 expressed itself in multi-day dangerous (for some,
fatal) blackouts.

This week, I'd like symposium participants to discuss that phenomenon
... why and how it occurs ... and also to propose better ways to move
currently "publicly administered" functions into the private sector
without such side effects. I'll describe my own situation in more
detail in comments.

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21621

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

72) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for this week's Thomas Szasz Awards
ceremony and other upcoming freedom movement events. Don't see your
event? Drop us a line at info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

73) Happy hour

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

**********************************************************************
* RRND is through the valued support of our readers. Forward freely.
*
* To subscribe, unsubscribe, or financially support RRND, visit:
* http://www.rationalreview.com/news
*
* To support ISIL's Free-Market.Net Project (tax deductible)
* http://www.isil.org/store/membership.html
**********************************************************************

Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher
Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,038
* Monday, December 4th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,061
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
* In cooperation with ISIL:   htp://www.isil.org
**************************************************

Dear readers,

It's "web-only Monday" here at RRND, and possibly just a wee bit
ragged around the edges. As Steve informed you on Friday, I was once
again caught up in a blackout situation extending from Thursday night
and into the weekend, so in organizing today's edition, it wasn't
especially apparent where "Friday's stuff" left off and "Monday's
stuff" began. I erred on the side of extending back into "Friday's
stuff" so as not to miss anything. 25 news stories, 40 commentaries at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/news

This week's symposium is about the phenomenon which occasioned the
blackout here in St. Louis (the second multi-day blackout since July)
-- faux "privatization" of "public utilities." Weigh in at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21621

The auction of the top banner ad space for 2007 at Rational Review is
over (it ended during the blackout). And the winner is (drum roll,
please!): TheBumperSticker.Com! Feel free to check'em out even before
their ad goes up. They provide all kinds of stickers, but the ones
you're likely to be interested in (unless you're ordering mass
quantities for a campaign or something -- and please do!) can be found
at libertystickers.com.

Back tomorrow with the regular email edition!

Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review

**************************************************
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*
* NEW HAMPSHIRE LIBERTY FORUM
* Keynote speaker John Stossel - February 23-25, 2007!
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* The classic statement on why economic freedom works
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0156334607/internationso-20
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* Get fit FAST!
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*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 12/04/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 49,235 ... Max - 54,615
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,897
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

**********************************************************************
* RRND is through the valued support of our readers. Forward freely.
*
* To subscribe, unsubscribe, or financially support RRND, visit:
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Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher
Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,034
* Friday, December 1st, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,062
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
* In cooperation with ISIL: htp://www.isil.org
**************************************************

Dear readers,

It's another RRND "Web-only" edition, with good reason: Our esteemed
editor-in-chief woke up to no power and 20s temperatures today, so one
of the faithful flock is filling the gap; sorry it's so late in the
day, this is normally my sleep-in day. ;}

Let's see, we have as usual about 25 News stories and 30 or 40
Commentaries from the likes of Garry Reed, Thomas L. Knapp, Robert
Scheer, Chris Floyid, Jonathan Cook, Robert Dreyfuss, Susan Estrich,
Dwight Lewis, Elizabeth Kantor, James Jay Carafano, and others ...
awaiting you at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/news

- This week's symposium is still about "natural law" -- does it
exist and from what conditions does it arise? Weigh in at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21290


We'll be back Monday; have a good weekend and try to stay warm.

Yours in liberty,
Steve Trinward
One of the Editors
Rational Review

**************************************************
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*
* NEW HAMPSHIRE LIBERTY FORUM
* Keynote speaker John Stossel - February 23-25, 2007!
* http://www.freestateproject.org/libertyforum
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* The classic statement on why economic freedom works
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0156334607/internationso-20
*
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* Get fit FAST!
* http://shannonstyle.com/warriors_way_guide.html
*
**************************************************

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 12/01/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 49,021 ... Max - 54,397
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,884
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

**********************************************************************

* RRND is through the valued support of our readers. Forward freely.
*
* To subscribe, unsubscribe, or financially support RRND, visit:
* http://www.rationalreview.com/news
*
* To support ISIL's Free-Market.Net Project (tax deductible)
* http://www.isil.org/store/membership.html
**********************************************************************

Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher
Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor



   ----------

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**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,036
* Thursday, November 30th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,061
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
* In cooperation with ISIL:   htp://www.isil.org
**************************************************

**************************************************
* SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS
*
* NEW HAMPSHIRE LIBERTY FORUM
* Keynote speaker John Stossel - February 23-25, 2007!
* http://www.freestateproject.org/libertyforum
*
* FREE TO CHOOSE
* The classic statement on why economic freedom works
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0156334607/internationso-20
*
* THE WARRIOR'S WAY
* Get fit FAST!
* http://shannonstyle.com/warriors_way_guide.html
*
**************************************************

In The News:

0)  Opening notes
1)  Seven million in US "justice" system
2)  Frist won't seek GOP nomination
3)  MI: Pols chicken out on medical marijuana
4)  Iraq: Fighting shuts down Baquba
5)  UK: Radiation found on planes
6)  GM plans plug-in, battery-powered car
7)  CA: City plans to steal land from Wal-Mart
8)  Fiji military chief gives PM 24-hour ultimatum
9)  Wrongly accused man settles bomb suit
10) FEMA must resume Katrina housing aid
11) Panel reaches deal on US-Iraq policy
12) Bush, Iraqi PM al-Maliki meet in Jordan
13) Army scammed into buying golf balls
14) Bush, Webb in testy exchange
15) Single boomers seek love on their terms
16) TN: Convention center tax plan challenged
17) Theologian: Christians must "let go" of some beliefs
18) Author challenges automakers to go green
19) Iraq's hard truths shape general's new battle plan
20) UK: Blair loses mind, babbles nonsense
21) Maldive arrests spark claims of state repression
22) Spam tries to go upscale
23) NZ: Artist arrested after women killed on artwork
24) FL: Real gun trumps fake
25) NC: Cabbie shoots robber

Everybody Has An Opinion:

26) The great property rights revival
27) A second American civil war?
28) Rand and ethical objectivity
29) SWAT Overkill
30) The Peace War: It's all about marketing
31) Supporting death and destruction
32) The historical fallacy
33) Embracing populism
34) Gates, Hadley: More of the same
35) Sex will make you go blind
36) Businesses should not pay for competition
37) Does America need a draft to win the war on terror?
38) Getting it wrong in Somalia, again
39) How the foreign policy consensus protects itself
40) What we need is a constitutional convention
41) The N-Word
42) Throwing the bums out
43) Wrong door
44) The Great Tory Hope
45) Is the US cotton industry in danger of collapse?
46) After Atlanta raid, scrutiny of police tactics
47) Seek facts in debate over gun rights
48) Book review: Teaching Women to Shoot
49) Kofi's legacy misfires
50) Dog eats dog in fractured Iraq
51) Senator in a fog
52) CIA: No evidence of Iranian weapons program
53) Not flying while Muslim
54) Buy local this holiday season
55) No justification for a military draft
56) Third String but still on the team
57) The case for economic freedom
58) The case of the DDT deniers
59) Letting business help
60) Ganging up on the people

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

61) Freedom Rings, 12/04/06
62) Free Talk Live, 11/29/06
63) Freedomain Radio #533
64) Gains from trade?
65) FMNN eRadio: Silver and Europe

Weekly Symposium:

66) Law, natural and unnatural

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

67) Today's events
68) America in Chains counter for your site
69) Auction: Rational Review top banner

WaYbAcK:

70) The overlords of Overlord

***************
* In The News
***************

0)  Opening notes

Don't miss this week's symposium on natural law (full listing below,
or see http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21290). Weigh in!

Also, the auction of the top banner ad space on Rational Review -- for
a full year -- ends tonight at midnight. Bidding stands at $500.
Going, going ... go to http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20587 for
more info.

-----

1)  Seven million in US "justice" system
Miami Herald

"A record 7 million people -- or one in every 32 American adults --
were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year,
according to the Justice Department. Of those, 2.2 million were in
prison or jail, an increase of 2.7 percent over the previous year,
according to a report released Wednesday. More than 4.1 million people
were on probation and 784,208 were on parole at the end of 2005.
Prison releases are increasing, but admissions are increasing more."
(11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y4eeqd

-----

2)  Frist won't seek GOP nomination
Indianapolis Star

"Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist renounced a bid for the White House
in 2008 on Wednesday, becoming an early dropout from the most
wide-open race in decades. 'In the Bible, God tells us for everything
there is a season, and for me, for now, this season of being an
elected official has come to a close,' said the Tennessee Republican,
a surgeon before he entered politics in 1994 Frist made his
announcement as several potential GOP hopefuls were descending on
Miami for the annual meeting of the Republican Governors' Association.
Among them were Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Arkansas Gov. Mike
Huckabee. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., planned private meetings with
governors today. ... His decision capped a 12-year career in politics
marked by a speedy rise but an uncertain tenure at the peak of Senate
power." (11/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yk42gt

-----

3)  MI: Pols chicken out on medical marijuana
Detroit News

"A bill to allow people with 'debilitating medical conditions' to
legally use marijuana to ease their symptoms died in the Michigan
Legislature on Tuesday, and backers say the issue will likely be left
up to voters to decide. Following an often emotional, 90-minute
hearing before a state House committee, the panel broke without taking
a vote. It was the first and only hearing on the legislation,
introduced a year ago. The inaction means the bill will have to be
reintroduced in a new session in January." (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yathfx

-----

4)  Iraq: Fighting shuts down Baquba
CNN

"Fierce fighting Wednesday between coalition forces and insurgents
shut down the city of Baquba, which has been roiled by violence in
recent days, killing scores of militants and civilians. Suspected
insurgents attacked the police headquarters in downtown Baquba,
sparking a clash with police that left five of the attackers dead,
police said on condition of anonymity, as they regularly do to protect
themselves." (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y8omrm

-----

5)  UK: Radiation found on planes
Seattle Times

"British authorities investigating the death of a former Russian spy
have discovered low-level radiation on two British Airways planes,
prompting warnings to tens of thousands of passengers who traveled on
those aircraft and on a third plane grounded in Moscow, company
officials said Wednesday. ... The radiation found on the planes is an
important new clue for investigators trying to solve an extraordinary
case that has caused political tensions between Britain and Russia. It
may help determine where the material that killed Litvinenko, called
polonium-210, came from as detectives follow the trail of the
radioactive substance. Traces of radiation also have been found at his
London home, as well as a central London restaurant, a hotel and two
offices that he visited Nov. 1, the day he fell violently ill.
Litvinenko's supporters -- and the former spy himself in a deathbed
statement -- have alleged he was killed on orders from Russian
President Vladimir Putin, which Kremlin officials have called
nonsense." (11/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ya3wus

-----

6)  GM plans plug-in, battery-powered car
Baltimore Sun

"General Motors Corp. will resurrect it with a plug-in version of the
Saturn Vue sport utility vehicle, said G. Richard Wagoner Jr., GM's
chairman and chief executive. He wouldn't say when it would be ready
for sale. 'I can't give you a date but can tell you this is a top
priority program for GM given the huge potential it offers for fuel
economy improvement,' Wagoner said at the opening of the Los Angeles
Auto Show. Wagoner estimated a Vue plug-in could obtain better than 45
percent higher mileage than a gas-driven Vue, which would give it a
city rating of nearly 70 miles per gallon." (11/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y9gxsz

-----

7)  CA: City plans to steal land from Wal-Mart
Fox Reno

"The city of Hercules is planning to file a lawsuit of eminent domain
in Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez by the end of this
week in an effort to [steal] a 17-acre parcel of land in central
Hercules currently owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., according to City
Attorney Alfred Cabral. The city council voted unanimously Tuesday
night in what might be a first for a redevelopment agency to invoke
the city's eminent domain authority to [steal] land from a commercial
developer, Cabral said. Historically, redevelopment agencies have used
eminent domain to [steal] residential property to use for commercial
development that will bring more revenue to the city, Cabral said. ...
The city wanted a neighborhood shopping center and had zoned the
property for that purpose, not for a big box store, Cabral said."
(11/29/06)

http://www.foxreno.com/news/10427339/detail.html

-----

8)  Fiji military chief gives PM 24-hour ultimatum
swissinfo [Switzerland]

"Fiji's defiant military chief gave Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase a
24-hour ultimatum on Thursday to clean up his government or face
removal despite winning a raft of concessions. Suva residents were
stockpiling supplies from supermarkets and cash machines were running
short of money despite attempts by Qarase [to] allay fears in a
national address. Military Commander Frank Bainimarama stoked those
fears anew when he said crisis talks in New Zealand on Wednesday had
been a failure and gave Qarase 24 hours to meet all his demands or he
would start his threatened 'clean-up campaign.'" (11/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yzjxfj

-----

9)  Wrongly accused man settles bomb suit
USA Today

"The federal government has agreed to pay an Oregon lawyer $2 million
to settle part of a lawsuit he filed after the FBI misidentified a
fingerprint and wrongly arrested him in the 2004 Madrid terrorist
bombings. 'The pain and torture and humiliation that this (case) has
caused my family is hard to put into words,' Brandon Mayfield said
after the settlement was announced Wednesday. Mayfield was arrested in
May 2004 on the basis of a fingerprint found on a bag of detonators in
Madrid that was mistakenly matched to him after the March 11, 2004,
train bombings that killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,500."
(11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y9t85k

-----

10) FEMA must resume Katrina housing aid
MSNBC

"A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Federal Emergency Management
Agency to immediately resume making housing benefits available to the
thousands of evacuees of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. U.S. District
Judge Richard Leon said FEMA failed to adequately explain why it ended
the 18-month housing assistance program for people who lost their
homes in the 2005 storm." (11/29/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15958660/

-----

11) Panel reaches deal on US-Iraq policy
Port Clinton News Herald

"A bipartisan commission, under pressure to offer a U.S. exit strategy
for the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq, has reached a consensus
and will announce its recommendations next week, the group's
co-chairman said Wednesday. Former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., declined
to disclose any specifics about the Iraq Study Group's decisions."
(11/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykpawg

-----

12) Bush, Iraqi PM al-Maliki meet in Jordan
Kalispell Daily Inter Lake

"President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Thursday
opened talks originally set for the day before but canceled following
disclosure of U.S. doubts about the Iraqi leader's capabilities and a
Baghdad protest of his attendance. Instead of talks over two days, the
stunning turn of events found Bush and al-Maliki meeting only Thursday
for a working breakfast and a longer session afterward. The Iraqi
prime minister came to Bush's hotel, and the pair were to appear
before reporters at the end of nearly two and a half hours together."
(11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vt5ng

-----

13) Army scammed into buying golf balls
Florence Times Daily

"On paper, the U.S. Army was supposed to be getting 'a ball bearing
assortment' for $1,409. It was bad enough that the order form marked
up the price from $682.50. But there was something about the order
that was way out of bounds: It was for 420 golf balls for a civilian
employee at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground. Douglas Atwell is now
facing up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court
Wednesday to bribery in a scam to defraud the government." (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yhfr93

-----

14) Bush, Webb in testy exchange
Raw Story

"President Bush and U.S. Senator-elect Jim Webb got into a testy
exchange over the status of Webb's soldier son, who is serving in
Iraq, The Hill is reporting. Emily Heil writes that at a White House
private dinner just after the election featuring 'newly elected
lawmakers,' Bush asked Webb 'how his son, a Marine lance corporal
serving in Iraq, was doing.' According to a person who was present at
the dinner, Webb replied to the President that he 'really wanted to
see his son brought back home.' 'I didn't ask you that, I asked how
he's doing,' Bush replied, according to The Hill's source. 'Webb
confessed that he was so angered by this that he was tempted to slug
the commander-in-chief, reported the source, but of course didn't,'
writes Heil. 'It's safe to say, however, that Bush and Webb won't be
taking any overseas trips together anytime soon.'" [editor's note: A
proper response, short of a right cross, might have been, 'He's still
alive, no fucking thanks to you, asshole!' - SAT] (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxzxun

-----

15) Single boomers seek love on their terms
Arizona Republic

"Of the nearly 82 million baby boomers in America, a third are single.
And although a generation ago, being single later in life would have
been a stigma, single boomers see this as one more chance to define
happiness on their own terms. Single boomers feel no pressure to
marry. Instead, they want to have fun after lives of building careers
and taking care of others. They want to find someone who complements
the person they have become. They've got several advantages. They are
living longer, with life expectancy near 80. They are generally in
good health and taking better care of themselves. And they have money,
with $2.1 trillion in buying power, according to MetLife Mature Market
Institute. And although their wants are as varied as their lifestyles,
this is where they agree: They are unwilling to settle. ... Boomers
have changed the old social norm that being unmarried at midlife is a
shortcoming, an issue." (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y44moh

-----

16) TN: Convention center tax plan challenged
Nashville City Paper

"Advocates of a new downtown convention center have submitted draft
legislation to the Tennessee General Assembly that would, if it passes
this spring, let Metro increase its hotel-motel tax in order to help
fund the proposed $455 million center. And although members of the
Davidson County delegation to the General Assembly legislature seemed
generally amenable to the proposals in interviews Tuesday, at least
one -- Rep. Mike Turner (D-Old Hickory) -- said he feels that
including Opryland hotel customers in the proposed higher levy of the
hotel-motel tax would be like '[robbing] Peter to pay Paul' and that
he would not support the legislation as currently drafted. The
Opryland Resort & Convention Center sits in Turner's district."
[editor's note: This is the first fallout from the voter's recent
decision to cap property taxes (or at least require a public vote
before raising them); see the editorial below for further
considerations - SAT] (11/29/06)

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?news_id=53436

-----

17) Theologian: Christians must "let go" of some beliefs
Tennessean

"To live peacefully with Muslims and Jews, Christians must put aside
the notion that their faith requires the creation of a Christian
kingdom on Earth, a Lipscomb University theologian told an interfaith
gathering at the university. 'We are not going to get very far in our
relationship with Jews or Muslims if we do not let go of this idea,'
Lipscomb professor Lee Camp said at Tuesday's conference. The unusual
gathering of several dozen clergy and lay people was devoted to
resolving religious conflict in Nashville and around the world. 'We
need to forsake the Christendom model,' Camp said. 'The most basic
Christian commitment ... is that we say we believe in the Lordship of
Jesus. But, if we claim that, how can a Muslim or Jew trust us, if we
say Jesus is the Lord of all Lords?'" (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yfv4un

-----

18) Author challenges automakers to go green
Fox News

"Edwin Black is on a mission. He wants to go head-to-head with the
head of General Motors in a showdown at Starbucks. The best-selling
author has nothing against the coffee chain, but says he wants a
public venue to confront the nation's largest car industry with his
charges that GM has addicted the U.S. to the internal combustion
engine -- and hence oil -- and is spelling doom for America. 'These
are the cigarettes of individual movements. These are the cigarettes
of technology. These are eight-cylinder cigarettes. They are killing
us,' Black said recently in a one-on-one interview." [editor's note:
And like cigarettes, they may be chosen or avoided, though not quite
as easily at present; the alternate vehicles do exist, at a price -
SAT] (11/29/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,232598,00.html

-----

19) Iraq's hard truths shape general's new battle plan
Boston Globe

"When Lieutenant General David Petraeus was reassigned last year from
a top command in Iraq to this sprawling Army complex in the heartland
where new leaders are trained, many in the military saw it as a move
to sideline a potential critic from Pentagon decision-making. Petraeus
seized on the opportunity to think -- about how the war has been waged
and how it should have been. As commander of the 101st Airborne
Division, and later as the commander in charge of training Iraqi
forces, Petraeus had gained 'ground truth,' as it is called in the
military, about taking on the deadly and confounding insurgency that
emerged after the swift, early victory in the campaign against
Baghdad." (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yztv2n

-----

20) UK: Blair loses mind, babbles nonsense
Guardian [UK]

"Tony Blair made the startling claim yesterday that Britain and other
Nato members were 'winning' the war in Afghanistan despite increased
Taliban activity and a sharply rising death toll. The prime minister
was speaking to the press at the end of a two-day Nato summit in
Latvia which exposed continuing divisions within the 26-member
transatlantic organisation over the level of commitment to the
Afghanistan venture. Doubts about the military operation have grown
this year as a result of a resurgence in Taliban operations that has
left thousands of Afghans dead, as well as Nato troops. Two Nato
soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb south of Kabul yesterday. But
Mr Blair, who along with George Bush is among the most bullish of the
Nato leaders about the prospects for Afghanistan, said: 'I think there
is a sense that this mission in Afghanistan is not yet won, but it is
winnable and, indeed, we are winning.'" (11/30/06)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,1960424,00.html

-----

21) Maldive arrests spark claims of state repression
Independent [UK]

"The Maldives government has begun a new crackdown on political
opponents and pro-democracy activists, ordering the mass arrests of
peaceful protesters and using violence and intimidation as a means of
curbing dissent, a human rights group said. Hundreds of opposition
activists have been arrested and many have suffered torture and
beatings after being detained, Amnesty International said yesterday,
adding that scores of detainees were still being held without charge
in some of the country's worst jails. ... The Maldives, best known to
outsiders as a luxurious holiday resort for Western tourists, has come
under growing international pressure in recent years to make reforms,
with rights groups accusing President Maumoon of running an autocratic
state. Unprecedented anti-government violence has flared in the
streets." (11/30/06)

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2026805.ece

-----

22) Spam tries to go upscale
Wall Street Journal

"Can the maker of Spam find new successes beyond the blue-collar
dinner table? Hormel Foods Corp. thinks so and along with competitors
like Kraft Foods Inc. and General Mills Inc. is chasing the small but
fast-growing premium, ethnic and health-conscious markets. But so far,
Hormel is finding that its quest is hampered by its identification
with Spam and other processed meats. ... In February 2004, Hormel
rolled out the first of four new ethnic-themed varieties of its
Refrigerated Entrees line -- Hot and Spicy Szechuan-Style Beef Strips,
Teriyaki Chicken Breast Strips, Sweet and Sour Diced Pork, and
Southwestern Pork Carnitas. It pulled all four off the shelves earlier
this year. The reason: Consumers were skeptical that the maker of Spam
could also deliver restaurant-quality ethnic fare." (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxaaf4

-----

23) NZ: Artist arrested after women killed on artwork
New Zealand Herald

"The creator of an inflatable artwork which killed two women when it
lifted off from its moorings has been arrested on suspicion of
manslaughter. Dreamspace designer Maurice Agis, whose commissions over
40 years have included shows at the Barbican and New York's Lincoln
Centre, was held for questioning when he attended an appointment
yesterday at Charing Cross Police Station, in London. His arrest
follows the deaths of 68-year-old grandmother Elizabeth Collings and
38-year-old mother-of-two Claire Furmedge, who were killed when the
inflatable reared up into the air, on a warm afternoon on July 23. ...
After the tragedy, Mr Agis said that he would never again make
anything like the vast, walk-in structure. His partner, Paloma
Brotons, said at the time that the British sculptor was heartbroken.
'There was a team of us that helped to tie the structure to the
ground, we even used more ropes because it was hot,' she said. 'We
can't understand what's happened. Maurice is in mourning. He is in a
terrible way. I doubt he will be able to talk about this for a very
long time.'" (11/30/06)

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10413152

-----

24) FL: Real gun trumps fake
Miami Herald

"A robber used a lighter resembling a pistol to steal a man's wallet
-- only to be shot by his victim, who was armed with a gun that was
real. Delbert Leroy Wells, 40, the would-be robber, lingered for two
weeks at Jackson Memorial Hospital before succumbing to his wounds on
Thanksgiving Day. On Nov. 8, Miami police say, Wells was driving a
white Dodge when he pulled up to the car of Patrick Laguerre on
Northwest 75th Street and North Miami Avenue at about 12:20 a.m. He
asked for directions. As Laguerre was responding, Wells pulled out a
nickel-plated lighter made to look like a gun. Laguerre gave him some
loose dollars, 'but [Wells] wanted more,' according to a police
report. Wells searched his pockets, fished through his wallet and got
back into his own car. But the wallet was empty. Wells 'became irate,
aiming the handgun at the victim, stated he was going to shoot,' the
police report said. Laguerre took cover back in his own car, grabbed
his own handgun and squeezed off three to four rounds." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yeakz9

-----

25) NC: Cabbie shoots robber
WSCO News

"Homicide detectives are combing the scene of a deadly overnight
shooting in west Charlotte.Police say a cab driver shot and killed a
man who robbed him around 3 a.m. Wednesday on Columbus
Circle.Investigators say the driver called for help over his radio,
but before help arrived, the two men started fighting and the cab
driver fired a shot.The robber was pronounced dead at the scene."
(11/29/06)

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/10419498/detail.html

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 11/30/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 48,904 ... Max - 54,266
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,882
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

26) The great property rights revival
Cato Institute
by Timothy Sandefur

"In a powerful response to last year's Supreme Court decision in Kelo
v. New London, voters approved nine state-ballot initiatives
prohibiting the seizure of homes and businesses for private
development. These initiatives -- in Florida, New Hampshire, Arizona,
and Michigan -- won in a landslide, with a nationwide average of some
75 percent in favor. Louisiana passed a similar initiative in October.
Only two eminent-domain initiatives -- in California and Idaho --
failed. California's came within a few percentage points of
succeeding, despite the powerful opposition of government and wealthy
interest groups. Add these to new laws enacted by the legislatures of
some 25 states and recent anti-eminent-domain decisions by the supreme
courts of Ohio, Oklahoma, and Michigan, and the message is clear:
Americans are fed up with eminent-domain abuse." (11/30/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6791

-----

27) A second American civil war?
TCS Daily
by Glenn Harlan Reynolds

"Is America in danger of civil war? Not immediately, perhaps, but
famed science fiction writer Orson Scott Card thinks that we're in
enough danger that he's authored a cautionary tale entitled Empire
that's set in more-or-less present times. In Card's novel, which is
straight thriller fiction a la Jack Bauer rather than the science
fiction for which Card is generally known, shadowy forces use terror
and assassination to trigger a civil war in an America sharply divided
along Red/Blue lines. In the Afterword, Card writes: 'Rarely do people
set out to start a civil war. Invariably, when such wars break out
both sides consider themselves to be the aggrieved ones.' Such is the
case now, he notes, when both Left and Right feel threatened by the
other side, and unfairly so ..." (11/29/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=112906B

-----

28) Rand and ethical objectivity
Rebirth of Reason
by Tibor R. Machan

"Ayn Rand called her philosophy Objectivism because she wanted to be
sure she is known as someone who defended our ability to know the
world as it is, not as distorted or constructed by our minds, not as
we wish it to be, etc. Subjectivism and relativism propose these other
positions and Rand was against them, indeed considered those who
promoted them, such as Kant, vicious. When it came to one of the most
controversial areas of human knowledge, namely, ethics or morality,
Rand insisted that she was an objectivist here as well, unlike, say,
Milton Friedman and Ludwig von Mises, who denied that we can know
(objectively) what is right or wrong." (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ydbuuj

-----

29) SWAT Overkill
Popular Mechanics
by Glenn Reynolds

"Soldiers and police are supposed to be different. Soldiers are aimed
at enemies from outside the country. They are trained to kill those
enemies, and their supporters. In fact, 'killing people and breaking
things' are their main reasons for existence. Police look inward.
They're supposed to protect their fellow citizens from criminals, and
to maintain order with a minimum of force. It's the difference between
Audie Murphy and Andy Griffith. But nowadays, police are looking, and
acting, more like soldiers than cops, with bad consequences. And those
who suffer the consequences are usually innocent civilians." [editor's
note: Excellent! Reaction against the SWAT abuses hits the mainstream
- MLS](11/28/06)

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/4203345.html

-----

30) The Peace War: It's all about marketing
Liberty For All
by R. Lee Wrights

"What is the quickest way for an individual, elected to high office,
to gain approval for a war plan from a particular populace? Apparently
it is all in the marketing magic of proper packaging and presentation.
That's right. It is just a matter of presenting the message in such a
way that it becomes a 'friendly idea' to most people. Generally,
people have to feel good about a leader's intentions before they will
freely show support for anything as drastic as a battle plan for
all-out war." (written 04/24/03; posted 11/29/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=401

-----

31) Supporting death and destruction
LewRockwell.Com
by Michael Gaddy

"For those who asked how I could say such things about soldiers, I
would say to them: I love the soldier much more than you because I do
not wish to send soldiers to be maimed or killed, or have them kill
those who are trying to defend their homeland in a war based on lies.
I do not believe you can sentence someone to death, or a lifetime of
flashbacks and horrible dreams, and call it support." (11/30/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/gaddy/gaddy29.html

-----

32) The historical fallacy
Boston Globe
by Jonathan Zimmerman

"Nobody knows what caused police officers to kill Sean Bell, a
23-year-old African-American, outside a Queens, N.Y., nightclub last
weekend. Not the Rev. Al Sharpton, who met with Mayor Michael
Bloomberg to demand 'fairness and justice.' Not the Rev. Herbert
Daughtry, who called the episode part of a 'pattern of police abuse.'
Not Councilman Charles Barron, who warned that African-Americans would
not remain 'peaceful' while 'they are being murdered.' Not me. Not
you. But we pretend we do know, thanks to a common error of logic.
Call it the historical fallacy. The historical fallacy works like
this: Because something happened in the past, it is happening in the
present." [editor's note: The only problem with this analysis, which
attempts to explore whether "racial" motives were involved, is that it
doesn't explore the "power" motives (of a police force running wild)
that clearly were - SAT](11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ydh4hk

-----

33) Embracing populism
In These Times
by David Sirota

"It is a blissful yet bewildering feeling. You fight so long, endure
so much establishment belittlement, and suddenly you win. That's what
happened on Nov. 7: We the populists won. After our fully warranted
victory laps and back patting, we must review Nov. 7's lessons. If
Democrats want to hold a governing majority, they must see the
election for what it was: a mandate for economic populism and a battle
cry against Big Money's war on middle-class Americans. Candidates all
over the country talked about how corporate lobbyists have manipulated
our trade policy to crush workers, our energy policy to harm consumers
and our health care policy to hurt families. Polls show populism
(a.k.a., challenging corporate economic power) is the 'center'
position for the voting public, even though it may not be the 'center'
position in a K-Street-owned Washington, D.C." [editor's note: The
delusion and spin continue, in "progressive" circles as well as in the
neocon one. This was no more a "populist" victory than it was a
"liberal" one; negative energy against the perceived greater evil is
all it amounts to - SAT] (11/29/06)

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2924/

-----

34) Gates, Hadley: More of the same
Tom Paine
by Ray McGovern

"Initial press reports on information provided to the Senate by Robert
Gates, President George W. Bush's nominee for the post of defense
secretary, show Gates hewing very closely to the rhetoric of his
predecessor. Gates is more parrot than innovator in his responses to a
questionnaire given him by the Senate Armed Services Committee, which
takes up his nomination on December 5. None of this surprises those of
us who for decades have watched Gates make career after career out of
trimming his sails to the prevailing winds. No one should expect Gates
to depart one iota from the position of the president, who said
Tuesday, 'I'm not going to pull the troops off the battlefield before
the mission is complete.' In answering the senators' questions, Gates
insisted that an early pullout would risk 'leaving Iraq in chaos
[with] dangerous consequences both in the region and globally for many
years to come.'" (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/tzdyb

-----

35) Sex will make you go blind
San Francisco Chronicle
by Mark Morford

"Single? Under 30? You are in grave danger. Your government says so.
Please, stop laughing ... I think I get it now. The latest pitiable
GOP plan, from what I can tell, goes something like this: To make it
all so absurd, to make the remaining Bush administration proposals and
doctrines and cultural stratagems so outlandish and silly and
degrading and insulting to your mind and your heart and your very own
beleaguered genitalia that you cannot help but take note of their
existence and laugh and cringe and sit back and go, Oh my God these
people have got to be kidding. At which point (they hope) you will
turn to your spouse or your significant other or your dog and say, Hey
honey, check this out, did you see the latest moronic and horrible
dictum from the Bush administration? We should totally try it, just
for kicks!" (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yyeaug

-----

36) Businesses should not pay for competition
Nashville City Paper
by staff

"How many businesses would willingly pay money out of their own pocket
to help put a competitor in business? That is the question being asked
by one state house member about a business in his own district -- the
Opryland Resort & Conventions Center -- and a proposed downtown
convention center. It is a fair question, and one which Music City
Center Coalition advocates have not answered well. ... The General
Assembly must approve four different measures to enable the financing
structure for the Convention Center, including a hike in the city's
hotel-motel tax. But State Rep. Mike Turner is not buying it. Turner
represents the district that is home to Gaylord's Opryland facility,
which already houses a convention center and as a private entity plays
host to the majority of the city's convention business. Turner this
week openly questioned whether asking Gaylord and Opryland to help pay
the tab to put a publicly financed competitor into business was
'American.' Turner is right, it is questionable whether in a society
ruled by capitalism and free enterprise the government -- any
government, Metro included -- should levy a tax on a private business
for the purpose of putting a public entity into competition with that
business." (11/29/06)

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?news_id=53436

-----

37) Does America need a draft to win the war on terror?
Christian Science Monitor
by Garin K. Hovannisian

"Rep. Charles Rangel (D) of New York says it's hypocritical to
'support the war and not support the draft' -- to stand for the
liberation of a foreign people but not the enslavement of one's own.
Quite the verbal acrobat at age 76, Mr. Rangel, the incoming chairman
of the House Ways and Means Committee, proposed this month a revival
of conscription for all men and women between the ages of 18 and 42,
in part to sabotage the Iraq war and coerce a withdrawal. Though his
bill has little hope of making the books, Rangel has pinched a
national nerve. And though his grandstanding ploy is deeply flawed and
divorced from the American heritage, it is also a timely reminder of a
thinning American military and the crisis of American confidence it
suggests." [editor's note: An attack on the pragmatic argument for
reinstating the "peculiar institution," which starts by calling it
what it is - SAT](11/29/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1129/p09s02-coop.html

-----

38) Getting it wrong in Somalia, again
Boston Globe
by John Prendergast & Colin Thomas-Jensen

"Already notorious [sic] as the world's only state without a
functioning government, Somalia may be about to deteriorate even
further. The country is rapidly sliding back toward war. As an
Islamist militia, the Council of Somali Islamic Courts, consolidates
control over large swathes of southern Somalia, neighboring Ethiopia
has sent thousands of troops over the border, and both sides are
preparing for a showdown. A return to war could bring about the same
horrific famine conditions that precipitated a US military
intervention 14 years ago, and damage rather than advance US counter
terrorism objectives in a vulnerable region. Unfortunately for
Somalis, the United States and other members of the UN Security
Council are taking actions that make war more likely, not less."
[editor's note: Though the assumptions here are typically statist, the
analysis of the situation is pretty sound - SAT] (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yjlzgt

-----

39) How the foreign policy consensus protects itself
The Power of Narrative
by Arthur Silber

"The most likely candidate for a near-term, even more catastrophic
identical error is, of course, Iran. The terms in which virtually
everyone discusses the possible threat that Iran might represent
reveal that none of this framework has been altered to any significant
degree. I regret to note that this judgment applies to far too many
liberal and progressive bloggers, as well as to the foreign policy
establishment. That basic framework is entirely false. It led to the
disastrous U.S. involvement in World War I, to the debacle of Vietnam,
and to the catastrophe of Iraq. It has already led to almost a century
of worldwide devastation -- and it threatens to lead to still another
century of death and chaos reaching around the globe. If the framework
is not rejected at its foundation, the scale of devastation and death
may finally overwhelm our ability to grasp and comprehend it at all."
(11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ycervj

-----

40) What we need is a constitutional convention
Intellectual Conservative
by Phillip Ellis Jackson

"Add it all up, and then ask yourself the Big Question: Exactly what
is it we're protecting by not having a Constitutional Convention and
revamping the whole ball of wax? Sure, the nuts on the Left will try
to toss out the Second Amendment, and in light of the shoddy education
most people receive today about politics, economics, and other
formerly-important issues ... they might just succeed. But then again,
despite what Chuck Schumer and the national media tells us, the
majority of people in this country are opposed to abortion, and don't
want to see their taxes constantly raised by Congress to pay for
social spending experiments, and would probably support a fairer
system of free speech and religious expression than we have at the
present (including placing restrictions on media attempts to influence
national elections by deliberately misreporting or ignoring crucial
facts). So in the end, we'd probably come out ahead on most of the
issues that are important to the future of the country. " [editor's
note: I get the feeling that any new constitution conforming to this
fellow's desires would bring me out to vote ... from the rooftops -
TLK] (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yazrrl

-----

41) The N-Word
Slate
by Diane McWhorter

"For some reason, I keep thinking about an observation Eleanor
Roosevelt made in an unpublished interview conducted in May of 1940,
as the German Wehrmacht swept across France. She expressed dismay that
a 'great many Americans' would look with favor on a Hitler victory in
Europe and be greatly attracted to fascism. Why? 'Simply because we
are a people who tend to admire things that work,' she said. So, were
the voters last month protesting Bush's policies -- or were they
complaining that he had not made those policies work? If Operation
Iraqi Freedom had not been such an unqualified catastrophe, how long
would the public have assented to the programs that accompanied the
'war on terror:' the legalization of torture, the suspension of habeas
corpus, the unauthorized surveillance of law-abiding Americans, the
unilateral exercise of executive power, and the Bush team's avowed
prerogative to 'create our own reality?'" (11/28/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2154567

-----

42) Throwing the bums out
Reason
by Shira Toeplitz

"Russ Diamond, a businessman from Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, put up
just $182.47 last year to launch PACleanSweep.com, a site dedicated to
defeating every single incumbent in the Pennsylvania legislature. It's
safe to say his money has been well spent. During the previous decade,
no more than five legislators had been voted out of office in any
election year. But in this year's May primary, 17 sitting lawmakers,
including two Senate leaders with more than five decades of experience
between them, were denied the chance to stand for re-election. The 17
defeated lawmakers, plus the 30 members who announced their retirement
following the same wave of public outrage, added up to almost a 20
percent turnover for the next legislative session. And there's still
the general election in November to come." (for publication 12/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116756.html

-----

43) Wrong door
Cato Institute
by Radley Balko and Joel Berger

"The Supreme Court ruled this June that evidence seized in an
illegally performed 'no-knock' police raid can still be used against a
defendant. Though disturbing in its own right, Hudson v. Michigan
touched on only a small part of a larger problem -- the trend toward
paramilitary tactics in domestic policing. Criminologist Peter Kraska
estimates that the number of SWAT team 'call-outs' soared past 40,000
in 2001 (the latest year for which figures are available) from about
3,000 in 1981. The vast majority are employed for routine police work
-- such as serving drug warrants -- not the types of situations for
which SWAT teams were originally established. And because drug
policing often involves tips from confidential informants -- many of
whom are drug dealers themselves, or convicts looking for leniency --
it's rife with bad information. As a result, hundreds of innocent
families and civilians have been wrongly subjected to violent,
forced-entry raids." (11/29/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6651

-----

44) The Great Tory Hope
The American Conservative
by Peter Hitchens

"A very strange thing is happening in London. Political experts are
once again talking of the possibility of a Conservative government.
There is something close to excitement about the new Tory leader,
David Cameron. On the face of it, this is absurd. Millions of British
voters would rather barbecue their grandmothers than ever vote again
for the Conservative Party. Irrational -- and rational -- loathing for
the Tories has already kept them out of office for almost 10 years,
and the normal cycle of politics in England appears to have been
suspended. Mathematically and in other ways, a Tory victory is still
most unlikely in 2009, the expected year for the next election." (for
publication 12/04/06)

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_12_04/article.html

-----

45) Is the US cotton industry in danger of collapse?
AlterNet
by Jason Mark

"The view from the Panoche Cotton Gin outside Firebaugh, Calif.,
reveals a great deal about the state of the cotton industry in the
U.S. A generation ago, fields of cotton surrounded the gin as far as
the eye could see. Today, the gin -- a warehouse-sized plant that can
clean and bundle dozens of tons of cotton a day -- is flanked on all
sides by almond orchards, groves upon groves of the tall trees.
'Cotton used to be king -- it was our No. 1 crop,' Joseph Maron, the
operations supervisor for the gin, told a group of visitors on a
bright autumn day. 'Now it's all pistachios or almonds. The cotton
industry is slowly disappearing.' Quickly disappearing may be more
like it." (11/28/06)

http://www.alternet.org/story/44772/

-----

46) After Atlanta raid, scrutiny of police tactics
Chistian Science Monitor
by Patrik Jonsson

"[I]n a case that is raising increasing questions about police conduct
and the use of 'no-knock' warrants, the octogenarian Ms. Johnston
ended up using the gun on police, rather than hood-wearing thugs. Last
Tuesday, a team of police, who were conducting a 'no-knock raid' in
search of a drug dealer, burst into her home. Johnston opened fire.
Three officers were wounded. Johnston was killed. Raids in which
heavily armed police enter suspected drug dens in an overwhelming rush
have become a regular occurrence as embattled officers try to clear
neighborhoods of drugs and violent crime. But around the US, a growing
list of botched raids has prompted critics to call for a rollback. And
Atlanta is now added to the list of a small but growing number of
cities who are scrutinizing such practices." (11/29/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1129/p03s03-ussc.html

-----

47) Seek facts in debate over gun rights
Enquirer
by Charles Donabedian

"The New York Times editorial titled 'Confusion on Guns,' reprinted by
the Enquirer (Nov. 23), is an example of arrogance or ignorance,
neither of which stands that shrinking media behemoth in good stead.
The paper asserts that 'America's confusion about the Second Amendment
is now nearly total. An amendment that ensures a collective right to
bear arms has been misread in one legislature after another.' While
there is an ongoing debate about the Second Amendment, and volumes
written on the subject, it is disingenuous in the extreme to make this
assertion as if the New York Times were the final arbiter on the
matter, or that this opinion represented settled law and fact." (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yffx8y

-----

48) Book review: Teaching Women to Shoot
Liberty Belles
by Jennifer Freeman

"As gun owners, we have a responsibility not only to learn the proper
use of our firearms, but also to ensure that adequate training is
available to people who need it. If you go to any gun store, gun show,
or shooting range, you'll find that there are far more men than women.
The firearms industry is very much male-dominated. And that's
okay.But, when it comes to training, it becomes obvious that women may
be receiving training programs designed for men. Since women process
information differently than men, they might not realize as much
success as men do in such a program. This can create a variety of
problems. .... TEACHING WOMEN TO SHOOT: A LAW ENFORCEMENT INSTRUCTOR'S
GUIDE and WOMEN LEARNING TO SHOOT: A GUIDE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICERS were both written by Diane Nicholl and Vicki Farnam." (11/29/06)

http://www.libertybelles.org/articles/teachingwomen2shoot.htm

-----

49) Kofi's legacy misfires
iFeminists.Com
by Wendy McElroy

"In October, the United Nations (UN) released its much-anticipated
Secretary-General's Study on Violence Against Women (SVAW) -- a global
overview and update on the issue. The SVAW is a lumbering 139-page
behemoth of a document that is embarrassingly inaccurate, ideological
and biased against men." (11/29/06)

http://www.ifeminists.net/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.55

-----

50) Dog eats dog in fractured Iraq
Asia Times
by Sami Moubayed

"As the sectarian death toll spirals, a serious divide is emerging
among the Shi'ites in Iraq over Iran's influence in the country. At
the same time, Ba'athists and al-Qaeda loyalists are trading deadly
blows in al-Anbar province. Things can only get worse, as long as
Syria and Saudi Arabia remain at odds. The US, meanwhile, is chasing
shadows in this labyrinth." (11/29/06)

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HK30Ak15.html

-----

51) Senator in a fog
CounterPunch
by Glen Ford

"Barack Obama is a windblown politician. The junior Illinois senator
avoids anchoring himself to any principle, lest his political sails
fail to catch the slightest breeze blowing from the left or the right.
His political direction is always tentative, although his ultimate
destination is never in doubt: he will be a formidable national
presence -- maybe even president. But Barack Obama -- who has never
claimed to be a Black leader -- is in fact not a leader at all.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the most critical issue facing
Americans and the world at this dangerous juncture in history: the war
in Iraq." (11/29/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/ford11292006.html

-----

52) CIA: No evidence of Iranian weapons program
CounterPunch
by Gary Leupp

"According to Seymour Hersh's latest New Yorker shocker, the CIA has
found no evidence of a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program. The
White House, given a draft assessment in the fall, has been 'hostile'
to the agency's report. Now why would that be? Why no sighs of relief?
Why no, 'Thank you guys,' and pats on the back for all their careful
intelligence work?" (11/29/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/leupp11292006.html

-----

53) Not flying while Muslim
Truthout
by William Fisher

"The paranoid wing of the blogosphere continues to go ballistic with
joy about the six Muslim imams who were removed in handcuffs from a US
Airways flight because one passenger thought it was 'suspicious' that
they knelt on their prayer rugs and prayed in the airport waiting room
before boarding their flight." (11/29/06)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112906A.shtml

-----

54) Buy local this holiday season
Common Dreams
by Shannon Biggs

"This Holiday season, thousands of shoppers will be choosing to buy
local starting with a national Buy Local Day on November 18. While at
first blush shopping from independent local retailers may not seem
like the obvious remedy for the Holiday Blues, it really is the gift
that, in the spirit of the Season, truly keeps on giving. Every dollar
spent in the local economy is like a gift to the community because
local businesses are directly connected to our well-being; unlike big
chain stores, every dollar you spend locally generates more income,
wealth and jobs for the people in your town. Studies show that money
spent locally turns over seven times within the community, while that
same dollar spent at Wal-Mart leaves so fast you'd think it was being
sucked up to the Mother Ship (which ... it is)." (11/29/06)

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1129-33.htm

-----

55) No justification for a military draft
Hawaii Reporter
by Tim Kane

"Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), soon to chair the powerful House Ways and
Means Committee, has announced his intention to reinstate the draft.
He has offered three different justifications for the reversion to
conscription after 33 years of an all-volunteer force: social justice,
peace, and better troops. Rep. Rangel claims that poor people with few
opportunities enlist, often driven to military service because of
structural unemployment. 'If a young fellow has an option of having a
decent career, or joining the Army to fight in Iraq, you can bet your
life that he would not be in Iraq,' he said on FOX News Sunday
(11/26/2006). This serious charge -- that the most vulnerable citizens
are being hauled away to fight in corporate America's wars of choice
while the elite are snow-skiing -- is untrue." (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ydzykj

-----

56) Third String but still on the team
Frontiers of Freedom
by Nancy Salvato

"More and more federal and state money is being funneled to our public
schools to help disadvantaged and special education students. How is
it possible that there are so many more disadvantaged and special
education students in today's classrooms? Well, the first question is
the easiest to answer. Because there are so many children from
families who speak a native language other than English; whose income
levels reflect below minimum wage; who enter school several grade
levels behind; there are more disadvantaged students in our schools.
The second question implicates the 'progressive education' agenda
which places 'self esteem' ahead of academic achievement." (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yenqeq

-----

57) The case for economic freedom
Foundation for Economic Education
by Benjamin A. Rogge

"My economic philosophy is here offered with full knowledge that it is
not generally accepted as the right one. On the contrary, my brand of
economics has now become Brand X, the one that is never selected as
the whitest by the housewife, the one that is said to be slow acting,
the one that contains no miracle ingredient. It loses nine times out
of ten in the popularity polls run on Election Day, and, in most
elections, it doesn't even present a candidate." (written 02/81;
posted 11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/wbrdl

-----

58) The case of the DDT deniers
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by John Berlau

"Poor little Kenya. That's the message the media have been sending as
the United Nations and European nations hold out this African country
as the poster child of America's environmental sins. In the weeks
leading up today's presentation of oral arguments in Massachusetts v.
EPA -- the Supreme Court case in which northeastern states are suing
the Bush administration to regulate carbon dioxide as a 'pollutant'
under the Clean Air Act -- global-warming alarmists and the media have
been pointing to malaria epidemics in the cooler regions of Kenya as
proof of the harmful effects of human-induced 'climate change.'"
(11/29/06)

http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,05639.cfm

-----

59) Letting business help
Acton Institute
by Kevin E. Schmiesing

"With recent election results splitting control of the national
government, legislators must now confront the challenge of crafting
bipartisan initiatives. There is a prime opportunity for enlisting
such broad support, which has not yet been fully developed:
educational choice. Most of the action in this field occurs at the
state rather than the federal level, but the principle is the same.
Legislation in favor of educational choice appeals to broad swaths of
Democrats, Republicans, racial and ethnic minorities, and the middle
class." (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y6ce8v

-----

60) Ganging up on the people
Liberty For All
by Matthew Hunter

"We have a two-party system. Fans of this system say it gives us the
benefits of an antagonistic system without the relentless
coalition-building that often seems to force foreign nations (with
stronger minor parties) into crisis when conditions change. Opponents
say that it denies third parties a significant voice in the government
of their nation. Both are correct; the two party system acts to mute
dissent and provides the illusion of broad consensus around the party
positions." (written 05/21/04; posted 11/29/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=400

*******************************************************************
* RRND MEDIA SHELF -- Tchotchkes from today's edition
*
* Empire, by Orson Scott Card
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0765316110/rationalrev08-20
*
* Teaching Women to Shoot, by Diane Nicholl and Vicki Farnam
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0965942236/rationalrev08-20
*
* Women Learning to Shoot, by Diane Nicholl and Vicki Farnam
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0965942260/rationalrev08-20
*
* Note: Affiliate links generate commissions for RRND's editors.
*******************************************************************

*****************************
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************

61) Freedom Rings, 12/04/06
Freedom Rings

Mark McCoy, write-in campaign for Illinois governor, on libertarian
talk radio with Kenneth John. 9 am CST on WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin,
Illinois, or via webcast. [live radio or stream] (12/04/06)

http://www.freedomrings.net/

-----

62) Free Talk Live, 11/29/06
Free Talk Live

"Imposter Hero Arrested / Changed Opinion on Cops / Black People and
Liberty / Persecution Continues for Liberty Dollar / Peace Wreath
Under Attack! / A 'Right' to Protection? / The Founding Fathers on
Government / Agorism / Michael Richards' Outburst / Evolution /
Smoking Bans Getting Worse! / Grocery Cards / WalMart and Britney."
[MP3] (11/29/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-11-29.mp3

-----

63) Freedomain Radio #533
Freedomain Radio

"Prostitution part 1: Exploitation, or economics?" With host Stefan
Molyneux. [MP3] (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yhwdho

-----

64) Gains from trade?
Cato Institute

Cato daily podcast, featuring Sallie James. [MP3] (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygan4z

-----

65) FMNN eRadio: Silver and Europe
Free Market News Network

"Just back from Europe, FMNN Silver Analyst David Bond has the latest
thoughts on silver from the Swiss Bankers!" [MP3 or stream] (11/28/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/eRadioLaunch.asp?rid=818

********************
* Weekly Symposium
********************

66) Law, natural and unnatural

Since at least as far back as Aristotle, philosophers have argued on
behalf of, and against, natural law -- "law that exists independently
of the positive law of a given political order, society or nation-state."

Some arguments in favor of natural law are grounded in religious
belief; others in theories of the nature of reality and humanity which
stand independent of such belief.

And, of course, there are the arguments against natural law, which
usually take the form of a utilitarian or consequentialist
"results-oriented" argument that whatever result we like is "right"
because it's the result we like, and that no further justification is
required.

From where do you think that natural law arises from, if you think
that id so arises at all? Was it brought down from Sinai on tablets by
Moses, or discovered as a categorical imperative by Kant, or
identified in the structure of metaphysics and epistemology by Rand
... or is it just so much hooey, offered to explain the inexplicable
and justify, rather than serve as a rational basis for, our desires?

Have at it!

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21290

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

67) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for upcoming freedom movement events. Don't
see yours? Drop us a line at info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

-----

68) America in Chains counter for your site
The Libertarian Enterprise

L.Neil Smith: "I know it's a small thing, but genuine revolutions are
made up of small things. This object will keep counting the days until
Democrats are out of power once again, or they finally manage to shut
down the Internet. What's different is that you can download this
counter and plant it on your own website. You can also link to it in
your e-mail .sig line. Democrats want you to visualize world peace (or
is it whirled peas, I forget). Instead, visualize a million of these,
clicking away the days of their hypocrisy and cruelty everywhere they
look on the Web.When the Republicans come back, we'll think of
something else." (11/06)

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle393-20061112-02.html

-----

69) Auction: Rational Review top banner

It's that time of year! As publisher of Rational Review, one of my
"perks" is ownership of the banner ad space that appears at the top of
each and every page on the site (as well as at the bottom of every
page on my personal blog, Kn@ppster). I auction that space annually.
The auction begins now, and ends at midnight (central time zone),
November 30th, with payment due by December 15th. Your ad (468x60
pixels and no larger than 16Kb in file size) begins running on January
1st, 2007, to run thereafter until midnight of December 31st, 2007. My
"reserve price" is $200. Please email bids (and questions) to me at
info at rationalreview.com. I'll try to answer frequent questions in
the comment form here, and I'll update this entry daily with the high
current bid.

Current High Bid: $500.00
High Bidder's Initials: TBSC

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

70) The overlords of Overlord

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

**********************************************************************
* RRND is through the valued support of our readers. Forward freely.
*
* To subscribe, unsubscribe, or financially support RRND, visit:
* http://www.rationalreview.com/news
*
* To support ISIL's Free-Market.Net Project (tax deductible)
* http://www.isil.org/store/membership.html
**********************************************************************

Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher
Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,035
* Wednesday, November 28th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,061
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
* In cooperation with ISIL:   htp://www.isil.org
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**************************************************
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**************************************************

In The News:

1)  Pelosi scuttles pick for key House post
2)  Report: 11 governments knew of CIA gulag
3)  Judge strikes down Bush on terror groups
4)  Six Iraqis killed as occupiers fight insurgents
5)  FL: Guards, nurse charged in "boot camp" killing
6)  Bush supports Georgia bid to join NATO
7)  Obama to join Democrats in New Hampshire
8)  Brawl, standoff in Mexican Congress
9)  Cuba: Sick Castro misses birthday celebrations
10) Global warming case goes to Supreme Court
11) US ordered to help blind tell bills apart
12) Ecuador: Candidate promises end to US drug ops
13) Reid: Ethics, stem cells atop Senate agenda
14) NATO allies grumble over Afghan mission
15) Bush covers ears, closes eyes, screams "Can't HEAR you!"
16) TX: Ethics commission says bribes OK if in cash
17) McDonald's tries to patent sandwich
18) MA: IHOP changes policy of asking for IDs
19) OH: Clerk, robber have shootout
20) MN: 73 year old man kills home invader
21) Ex-spy's poison on the Internet
22) AZ: Valley cities battle for big-league teams
23) TN: Gas tax hike "not in immediate plans"
24) IL: Festival nixes "Nativity Story" ads
25) Pope's fence-mending trip

Everybody Has An Opinion:

26) Back to basics
27) The little party that saved America
28) RE THIS MOST URGENT MATTER
29) The hope of November 2006
30) One ring to ruin them all
31) Daily elections?
32) The Litvinenko mystery
33) The return of Hillarycare?
34) Charlie Rangel wants to draft my daughters
35) There is a gay agenda -- winning elections
36) Bury my heart in the Green Zone
37) Dismal dream for Middle East
38) The victory that masks defeat
39) The war on rebel journalists
40) A most civil adversary and comrade, part 2
41) The evil Ledeen
42) Bush adrift
43) The wisdom of Tradesports
44) Deal or no deal
45) From Beirut to Baghdad
46) Learn to love the wall
47) Insurgent Republicans
48) Chinese takeout
49) Crap of the future
50) Debating Rangel's draft
51) What we learn when we learn economics
52) Dove camp
53) Iraq panel's real agenda: damage control
54) Who's missing from this "top 100" list?
55) My health care is making me sick
56) No smoking around the little ones
57) Have we outgrown recessions?
58) What a fantasy (the real freedom fighters)
59) The mother of all food fights
60) From 9/11 to 11/7

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

61) Freedom Rings, 12/04/06
62) Pigou or no Pigou
63) FMNN eRadio: Dollar tumble
64) Free Talk Live, 11/28/06
65) Freedomain Radio #531

Weekly Symposium:

66) Law, natural and unnatural

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

67) Today's events
68) America in Chains counter for your site
69) Auction: Rational Review top banner

WaYbAcK:

70) The Duke goes down

***************
* In The News
***************

1)  Pelosi scuttles pick for key House post
New York Daily News

"Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday dumped the top
contender for House Intelligence Committee chairman because of past
ethics problems. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) said he was
'disappointed,' but promised to seek 'better and bigger opportunities
in a Democratic Congress.' ... A former federal judge, Hastings was
acquitted of bribery charges in 1983, but some judicial colleagues
alleged he had fabricated his defense. The House impeached him in
1988, and the Senate removed him from the bench the next year." (11/29/06)

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/story/475433p-399940c.html

-----

2)  Report: 11 governments knew of CIA gulag
USA Today

"A European Parliament report on Tuesday said Britain, Poland, Italy,
Germany and seven other EU nations were aware of the running of CIA
secret prisons in Europe. The draft report, written after months of a
special committee investigation, also accused top EU officials,
including EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, of not coming clean
about the alleged U.S.-run secret jails and secret abductions of
terror suspects across the European Union." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ym76r9

-----

3)  Judge strikes down Bush on terror groups
Orangeburg Times and Democrat

"A federal judge struck down President Bush's authority to designate
groups as terrorists, saying his post-Sept. 11 executive order was
unconstitutionally vague, according to a ruling released Tuesday. The
Humanitarian Law Project had challenged Bush's order, which blocked
all the assets of groups or individuals he named as 'specially
designated global terrorists' after the 2001 terrorist attacks."
(11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygsac5

-----

4)  Six Iraqis killed as occupiers fight insurgents
Clarksville Leaf Chronicle

"U.S. soldiers fought with suspected insurgents using a building as a
safe house in Ramadi on Tuesday, killing one Iraqi man and five
females, ranging in age from an infant to teenagers, the U.S. military
said. Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, has been the scene of some of
Iraq's fiercest fighting between U.S. forces and Sunni insurgents. It
is the capital of Anbar province, where many Iraqi insurgents are
based." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y97typ

-----

5)  FL: Guards, nurse charged in "boot camp" killing
Houston Chronicle

"Gina Jones has buried her son twice in the past year. News that eight
former employees of a boot camp for juveniles were charged Tuesday in
his death finally gave her something to celebrate. 'Today is a good
day for me,' Jones said. 'I'm finally getting justice.' In the past 11
months, Jones has repeatedly seen on television a surveillance video
showing seven guards beating and kicking her son, 14-year-old Martin
Lee Anderson, during a 30-minute altercation at the Bay County
sheriff's camp in Panama City. A nurse is seen doing nothing to help
him. The boy died at a Pensacola hospital the next day. The seven
guards and the nurse face as much as 30 years in prison if convicted
on charges of aggravated battery of a child. Bail was set at $25,000
for each, and they will be arraigned in mid-January, a prosecutor's
office official said." (11/29/06)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4365885.html

-----

6)  Bush supports Georgia bid to join NATO
MOSNews

"President George W Bush vowed on Tuesday to maintain U.S. support for
Georgia's aspiration to join the NATO alliance despite strong Russian
opposition that has sparked tensions between Moscow and Tbilisi,
Reuters news agency reports. Speaking just before the first NATO
summit on former Soviet soil, Bush said in a speech at the University
of Latvia that the alliance would keep its door open to new members
and hoped to issue additional invitations at its next summit in 2008."
(11/29/06)

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/11/29/georgianatobush.shtml

-----

7)  Obama to join Democrats in New Hampshire
ABC News

"Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, who is mulling a presidential bid, will
make his first visit to New Hampshire next month. The Illinois senator
will join the state's Democrats on Dec. 10 for a belated celebration
of their big win in the midterm election. Obama has traveled to Iowa,
site of the leadoff presidential caucuses, but New Hampshire hasn't
been on his itinerary. Obama has gotten encouragement to seek the
presidency in 2008 from fellow Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, who sent a
letter to political supporters this week encouraging them to sign a
'Run, Barack, Run' petition." (11/28/06)

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2685614

-----

8)  Brawl, standoff in Mexican Congress
Chicago Tribune

"Lawmakers wrestled, slapped each other and tumbled across the floor
of Mexico's Congress after opposition legislators threatened to block
the inauguration of the incoming president, whom they accuse of
stealing the election. By late Tuesday, the brawl had turned into a
tense standoff between congressmen of President-elect Felipe
Calderon's conservative party -- who want him to take the oath of
office in Congress -- and opposition leftists who have vowed to block
the swearing-in ceremony." (11/29/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yjse46

-----

9)  Cuba: Sick Castro misses birthday celebrations
Guardian [UK]

"New doubts were raised today about the health of the Cuban leader,
Fidel Castro, after he failed to attend the launch party last night of
a delayed five-day national celebration to mark his 80th birthday. In
a message read out to a gathering of 5,000 people in Havana's Karl
Marx theatre, Mr Castro said he was not well enough to be at the
gathering. The message indicates that he is far from recovered from a
mysterious ailment that in late July forced him a to hand power over
to his brother Raul. The Cuban leader turned 80 on August 13 but
delayed his birthday celebrations as he recovered from surgery two
weeks earlier for intestinal bleeding. Mr Castro, who has not been
seen in public for four months, wanted the delayed birthday
celebrations to be held on December 2, to coincide with the 50th
anniversary of the date when he and fellow rebels landed by boat in
Cuba to launch their revolution." (11/29/06)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/cuba/story/0,,1959678,00.html

-----

10) Global warming case goes to Supreme Court
MSNBC

"Environmental groups and a dozen states will argue the U.S.
government should regulate emissions of greenhouse gases that spur
global warming in a pivotal case before the Supreme Court on
Wednesday. Plaintiffs in the case, which is known as Massachusetts v.
EPA, contend the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's mandate to
shield Americans from harmful pollution includes putting limits on
car, truck and power plant emissions that have been shown to hasten
climate change." (11/28/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15938695/

-----

11) US ordered to help blind tell bills apart
MSNBC

"The government discriminates against blind people by printing money
that all looks and feels the same, a federal judge said Tuesday in a
ruling that could change the face of American currency. U.S. District
Judge James Robertson ordered the Treasury Department to come up with
ways for the blind to tell bills apart. He said he wouldn't tell
officials how to fix the problem, but he ordered them to begin working
on it." (11/28/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15940087/

-----

12) Ecuador: Candidate promises end to US drug ops
Lawrence Journal-World

"The leader in Ecuador's presidential election Monday repeated his
promise to end the U.S. military's counternarcotics operations out of
an airport in Manta, while his rival cried fraud. Four exit polls,
including one from the Organization of American States (OAS), found
that Rafael Correa, a leftist economist with a doctorate from the
University of Illinois, won Sunday's runoff election by at least 13
percentage points. The OAS had 80 observers here, and its counts are
traditionally very close to the actual results." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yncgkx

-----

13) Reid: Ethics, stem cells atop Senate agenda
CNN

"Ethics reform, a higher minimum wage and more money for stem cell
research are the top items on the Senate agenda next year, incoming
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday in an interview with
The Associated Press. Reid said he will tackle those priorities after
cleaning up the 'financial mess' that the outgoing Republican
leadership has left. He was referring to nine long-overdue
appropriations bills covering 13 Cabinet departments for the budget
year that began October 1." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygvvoy

-----

14) NATO allies grumble over Afghan mission
CNN

"NATO pressed its members Tuesday to deploy more troops to
Afghanistan's volatile south, but Germany resisted any permanent
expansion and Canada complained of bearing the brunt of an
increasingly bloody mission. Despite the strengthening Taliban
insurgency and unexpectedly high casualties, NATO Secretary-General
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer insisted the alliance would prevail in its first
mission outside Europe. He also expressed hopes that by 2008, Afghan
forces could begin taking over security tasks." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yawans

-----

15) Bush covers ears, closes eyes, screams "Can't HEAR you!"
Great Falls Tribune

"Under intense pressure to change course, President Bush on Tuesday
rejected suggestions Iraq has fallen into civil war and vowed not to
pull U.S. troops out 'until the mission is complete.' At the opening
of a NATO summit, Bush also urged allies to increase their forces in
Afghanistan to confront a strengthening Taliban insurgency. On the eve
of his visit to Jordan for meetings with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki, Bush portrayed the battles in both Afghanistan and Iraq as
central fronts in a war 'against the extremists who desire safe havens
and are willing to kill innocents anywhere to achieve their
objectives.'" (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yx7knl

-----

16) TX: Ethics commission says bribes OK if in cash
My San Antonio

"A Texas official who receives any sum of cash as a gift can satisfy
state disclosure laws by reporting the money simply as 'currency'
without specifying the amount, the Texas Ethics Commission reiterated
Monday. The 5-3 decision outraged watchdog groups and some officials
who accused the commission of failing to enforce state campaign
finance laws. 'What the Ethics Commission has done is legalize bribery
in the state of Texas. We call on the commission to resign en masse,'
said Tom 'Smitty' Smith, who heads Texas Citizen, an Austin-based
group that advocates for campaign finance reform. " (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ymq7gx

-----

17) McDonald's tries to patent sandwich
New York Post

"The next time you're stacking a pastrami hero, better make sure
McDonald's isn't watching -- they're trying to claim rights on how to
make a sandwich. McDonald's filed a staggering 55-page patent
application in Europe and the United States claiming 'intellectual
property rights' on how to slap together a deli sandwich. The legal
brief rambles on about the 'simultaneous toasting of a bread
component' and inserting condiments into the works with a 'sandwich
delivery tool.'" (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yn3kn2

-----

18) MA: IHOP changes policy of asking for IDs
Billings Gazette

"John Russo has been a victim of identity theft. So when he was asked
to fork over a photo ID just to be seated at an IHOP pancake
restaurant, he flipped. ''You want my license? I'm going for pancakes,
I'm not buying the Hope diamond,' and they refused to seat us,' Russo
said, recounting his experience this week at the Quincy IHOP. The
restaurant now has agreed to reverse the policy of requiring customers
to turn over their driver's licenses before they can order -- a rule
that was enacted to discourage 'dine and dash' thefts." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxl3fw

-----

19) OH: Clerk, robber have shootout
1290WHIO

"A robber gets more than he bargained for at a Dayton convenience
store. The thief walked into the Express Market on Necco Avenue last
night with a gun. Instead of giving him cash, the clerk whipped out
his own pistol and the two shot at each other. Officers followed a
blood trial over to Kings Mill Court where they found the suspect shot
in the shoulder. The clerk wasn't hit." (11/27/06)

http://1290whio.com/news/localnews.html

-----

20) MN: 73 year old man kills home invader
Minneapolis Star Tribune

"A man who kicked his way into a home in Coon Rapids was shot and
killed by the 73-year-old homeowner late Monday night, according to
reports.The homeowner told police that the suspect, and a perhaps a
companion, kicked in his rear garage door in the 11700 block of
Bittersweet Street at around 11 p.m., according to reports. The man
told police he shot and killed the intruder with a rifle.Police said
the homeowner heard people talking and believes there was a second
suspect who escaped." (11/28/06)

http://www.startribune.com/467/story/839249.html

-----

21) Ex-spy's poison on the Internet
San Francisco Chronicle

"It's one of the deadliest imaginable poisons, a radioactive substance
about 100 billion times as deadly as cyanide -- and a Web site run by
a physicist and flying saucer enthusiast offers to sell you a trace
amount of it for $69 and send it via the U.S. Postal Service or UPS.
Contrary to early news reports, polonium-210 -- the poison suspected
in the death of an ex-Russian spy in England -- is not some exotic
material available solely from nuclear laboratories. The isotope is
available from firms that sell it for lawful and legitimate uses in
industry, such as removing static electricity from machinery and
photographic film. If ingested in large enough amounts, polonium-210
causes a hideous death." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygolhp

-----

22) AZ: Valley cities battle for big-league teams
Arizona Republic

"The bid to bring more baseball teams to the Cactus League is pitting
two West Valley cities against each other as Glendale and Goodyear
battle for public financing. Glendale is courting the Los Angeles
Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, two storied major-league teams.
Goodyear, meanwhile, has a commitment from the Cleveland Indians and
continues to search for a second team to make its proposal more
attractive. In the middle and faced with intense political pressure is
the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, which oversees a limited pot
of tax money for spring training facilities in Maricopa County. A
committee of the sports authority began exploring Goodyear's proposal
two weeks ago. Glendale is expected to submit its proposal to the
agency this week. The authority was created, in part, to renovate
Maricopa County's spring training facilities and build the Surprise
stadium." [editor's note: This is either yet another story of fatcats
holding up taxpayers, or careful examination of cost-benefit by the
cities concerned. History points to the former scenario - SAT] (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yx683m

-----

23) TN: Gas tax hike "not in immediate plans"
Nashville City Paper

"The Bredesen administration and a top Democratic lawmaker have no
immediate plans to increase the gas tax -- even though the state says
it needs $2 billion in increased road funding. ... One way of raising
those funds is through the state Legislature passing a gas tax hike,
which Gov. Phil Bredesen has not ruled out backing during his second
term. Lydia Lenker, Bredesen's spokeswoman, dismissed talk, however,
of any immediate plans to up the gas tax. 'At this time, the governor
has no intention of raising the gas tax,' Lenker said. Rep. Phillip
Pinion (D-Union City), the chairman of the House Transportation
Committee, said he was not in favor of increasing the gas tax.
Instead, Pinion said the state needs to 'think outside the box' and
not put 'more of a burden on the taxpayer.' He pointed toward public,
private toll roads as an option for the state." [editor's note: This
is posted mostly for the last sentence - SAT] (11/28/06)

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?news_id=53413

-----

24) IL: Festival nixes "Nativity Story" ads
Fox News

"A public Christmas festival is no place for the Christmas story, the
city says. Officials have asked organizers of a downtown Christmas
festival, the German Christkindlmarket, to reconsider using a movie
studio as a sponsor because it is worried ads for its film The
Nativity Story might offend non-Christians. New Line Cinema, which
said it was dropped, had planned to play a loop of the new film on
televisions at the event. The decision had both the studio and a
prominent Christian group shaking their heads. 'The last time I
checked, the first six letters of Christmas still spell out Christ,'
said Paul Braoudakis, spokesman for the Barrington, Ill.-based Willow
Creek Association, a group of more than 11,000 churches of various
denominations. 'It's tantamount to celebrating Lincoln's birthday
without talking about Abraham Lincoln.' He also said that there is a
nativity scene in Daley Plaza -- and that some vendors at the festival
sell items related to the nativity." [editor's note: In a related
story, the 16-year-old actress who plays Mary is ... pregnant! - SAT]
(11/28/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,232239,00.html

-----

25) Pope's fence-mending trip
Christian Science Monitor

"It most likely isn't the welcome Pope Benedict XVI was expecting when
his trip to Turkey was first planned. The pontiff's arrival Tuesday
has been met not with open arms, but by angry demonstrators, an exodus
of elected officials leaving the country for other engagements in
order not to be seen with him, and a security detail even larger than
that provided for George W. Bush's 2004 visit. Even the original
purpose of the trip -- an opportunity to heal the 1,000-year-old
schism between the Vatican and the Orthodox Church, whose spiritual
leader resides in Istanbul -- has changed. Since offending Muslims in
a September speech that linked Islam with violence, Pope Benedict's
visit -- his first to a Muslim country -- is now being billed as a
chance for him to heal another East-West divide, that between
Christianity and Islam. But observers here say that the pope's image
among Muslims and the political realities in Turkey will not only make
that a difficult task but also turn his visit into an extremely
delicate balancing act." (11/28/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1128/p04s01-woeu.html

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 11/29/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 48,829 ... Max - 54,191
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,882
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

26) Back to basics
The Libertarian Enterprise
by L. Neil Smith

"True, there a lot of obstacles to overcome: crooked election laws,
crooked elections, corrupt officials, deliberate legal obstructions,
outright disregard for the law when it works for us and against the
BOYNers. But we don't have to overcome these obstacles by ourselves.
Give people a good enough reason, and they'll storm the Bastille for
you, clean out the judiciary with flamethrower and firehose, and hang
an election official or a judge from each and every lamppost in the
city. The key to a libertarian future is the libertarian future
itself. The other parties are afraid to talk about the future. We are
the future." (11/26/06)

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle395-20061126-07.html

-----

27) The little party that saved America
Liberty For All
by George Phillies

"Having gone on at considerable length about the Republican Party and
its War on America, we now reach the momentary denouement: The
Republicans have lost. They lost the House. They lost the Senate. With
the Senate, they lost the ability to install far-right judges. With
Congress, they lost the ability to field ultra-right legislation. In
the next two years, there will be no more Patriot Acts. There will be
no more Military Commission Acts. There will be no more Real ID acts."
(11/28/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=398

-----

28) RE THIS MOST URGENT MATTER
Rational Review
by David M. Brown

"Dear Idiot, I am the son of a Nigerian multi-millionaire who was
recently decapitated .... Trusting you to keep this matter in
strictest confidence. Only you and the billion other people receiving
this letter will be privy to this opportunity .... Please help! Cuz
there's just no f--king way we Nigerian sons of millionaires have any
idea of how to set up a bank account of our own outside of Nigeria
without the help of a complete stranger I'm contacting off a spam
email list." (11/28/06)

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21369

-----

29) The hope of November 2006
LewRockwell.Com
by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

"At some point in the days following the November election, it became
conventional wisdom that the Republicans lost control of the House
because of the war. That is also said to be the reason that President
Bush's poll numbers have sunk lower than Clinton's ever were, and are
tending towards Nixon-level depths. Can we take a moment to observe
how remarkable this 'conventional wisdom' truly is, and why it
matters? I would like to explain why the results should make us
optimistic about the prospects for liberty, even under the current
system of politics, which seems so rigged against the triumph of
ideals." (11/29/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/november-hope.html

-----

30) One ring to ruin them all
Reason
by Jacob Sullum

"A Jersey City ordinance that takes effect on December 11 bars sex
offenders from living within 2,500 feet of a school, day care center,
park, playground, sports facility, library, theater, or convenience
store. These zones cover the entire city. As a result of the federal
Gun-Free School Zones Act, you can't legally transport a firearm in
Phoenix unless you have a carry permit or keep it locked and unloaded.
In New Haven the only substantial piece of land not covered by a
drug-free zone is the Yale University golf course. Across the country,
politicians are eager to draw magical circles of protection they claim
will banish evil and keep children safe. It's an easy, cheap way of
opposing what everyone opposes and supporting what everyone supports.
But the resulting crazy quilt of drug-free, gun-free, and
molester-free zones is ineffective, sometimes counterproductive, and
frequently unjust." (11/29/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116934.html

-----

31) Daily elections?
Free Market News Network
by Jim Babka

"Should it really surprise us that the Big Election turns out to be
'storm and fury signifying nothing?' After all, the politicians have
nothing to fear for another two years now, so it's business as usual
until then, and after 'then' too, as the bi-annual process repeats
itself repetitively. There is something fundamentally wrong with a
system in which politicians receive loud messages from their
constituents only once every two years, and then promptly forget those
messages three weeks later. We need a system whereby politicians hear
loud messages everyday, and by which they are made to feel fear
everyday. Then, there can be no forgetting. Elections, in a sense,
would happen daily, issue by issue." [editor's note: There's no reason
that congresscritters couldn't ACTUALLY be chosen or unseated on a
daily basis in "perpetual polling" these days -- if we're going to
have unreliable electronic polling anyway, why not do it via Internet
or phone and let us change our votes any time we like, with the
results instantly expressed? - TLK] (11/28/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/64/6474/daily.asp?nid=6474&wid=64

-----

32) The Litvinenko mystery
AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo

"The horrific murder of Alexander Litvinenko, ex-KGB officer and minor
conspiracy theorist, has unleashed a wave of Russophobia that is
sweeping over the Western media with Katrina-like force -- washing
away reason, logic, and the natural curiosity that makes for good
investigative journalism. In their rush to convict Russian President
Vladimir Putin as the evil mastermind behind this grisly death,
Western journalists don't seem to need all that many facts to condemn
Putin as a murderous fiend. Litvinenko was a critic of Putin, he was
subsequently poisoned in a horrible manner -- and what more do we need
to know? Apparently, nothing. Yet the facts, insofar as we know them,
are not bearing out this conclusion." [editor's note: Neither do the
facts, as Raimondo lays them out, militate AGAINST that conclusion ...
unless one believes that all loyalties are worn on sleeves and that
the Russian state necessarily eschews pointed "message" killings now
that the Cold War is over - TLK] (11/29/06)

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=10081

-----

33) The return of Hillarycare?
Cato Institute
by Michael D. Tanner

"In the wake of the Democratic victory in the midterm congressional
elections, Hillary Clinton announced that Democrats would once again
make health care reform a top legislative priority. 'Health care is
coming back,' Clinton said, apparently giddy with triumph, adding, 'It
may be a bad dream for some.' Indeed, it may well be a nightmare for
American health consumers. No one knows for certain what the new
Democratic majority has in mind, but its initial proposals --
expanding Medicaid and the Medicare prescription drug program -- are
certainly steps in the direction of more government interference in
the medical marketplace." (11/29/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6789

-----

34) Charlie Rangel wants to draft my daughters
The American Spectator
by G. Tracy Mehan III

"Following the exemption path was something one just did without
thought or reflection. I can think of only one person in my college
prep school graduating class who served in Vietnam. His name is
written on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, a Notre Dame football
walk-on, who quit college to join the Marines. For this reason I came
to accept the idea of some form of universal military service sans
college exemptions, but not the politically correct social service
options preferred by liberals. The latter hardly seemed to justify the
involuntary conscription of young men, taking them away from their
freely chosen paths in life. Community service is a valued calling,
but it should not be an excuse for extending the power of the federal
government over the lives of its citizens through compulsion. But
drafting women into military service is hardly the sort of thing a
conservative can endorse. While many women forego the demands of
child-rearing, it is a unique, necessary vocation which the government
should be encouraging and protecting." [editor's note: Whereas, on the
other hand, the preference of a male to do something with his life
besides be enslaved by politicians, so that the slaves of other
politicians can shoot at him, deserves no protection, huh? - TLK]
(11/29/06)

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10682

-----

35) There is a gay agenda -- winning elections
Salon
by Kerry Eleveld

"Five weeks before the 2004 election, Rep. Sue Kelly, N.Y.-19 , made
what seemed to be a safe move for a six-term Republican congresswoman
accustomed to winning reelection by comfortable margins. Like 226
other members of the U.S. House, she voted to pass the Federal
Marriage Amendment, which would have altered the U.S. Constitution to
deny same-sex couples the right to marry. Sure enough, the residents
of Kelly's Hudson Valley district returned the moderate Republican to
Congress that November with 67 percent of the vote. Voting for a
constitutional amendment she had once vowed to oppose seemed to have
few negative consequences for her politically -- and so she did it
again in July 2006. To the degree either vote was noticed, they mostly
helped quiet talk of a future GOP primary challenge from the right.
But at least one constituent who did take notice of what Kelly had
done also took offense. This September, openly gay businessman Adam
Rose wrote a $500,000 check to Majority Action, a so-called 527
political advocacy group, for the express purpose of unseating Sue
Kelly in the November election." [subscription or ad view required]
(11/29/06)

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/11/29/gay_millionaires/

-----

36) Bury my heart in the Green Zone
Asia Times
by Pepe Escobar

"With President Mahmud Ahmadinejad hosting his Iraqi counterpart in
Iran (minus Syria) and President George W Bush due to meet Iraqi Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the scramble for solutions to the Iraqi
debacle continues. In the meantime, all options remain open to those
not taking part in summits -- the guerrilla resistance. Two scenarios
could become a double bill: the return of the Ba'athists and an attack
on the US heart in Iraq, the Green Zone." (11/28/06)

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HK29Ak01.html

-----

37) Dismal dream for Middle East
Daytona Beach News Journal
by Pierre Tristam

"It's all coming full circle. The American dream of a democratic
Middle East is surrendering to old nightmares of autocracy from Iraq
to Lebanon by way of Syria and Iran. It hadn't been much of a dream to
start with, not because its intentions weren't desirable, but because
its duplicity doomed it. The Bush administration couldn't pretend to
want democracy in Iraq or Lebanon while abetting dictatorial-like
regimes in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, baby-sitting disintegration
in Afghanistan and virtually flaunting indifference at the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict, source and subconscious of all
Mideastern nightmares." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y6cp6m

-----

38) The victory that masks defeat
Common Dreams
by Sally Kohn

"The Democratic team may have won the election but all evidence
suggests that their players were coached by the Right wing, drawing
their plays from the conservative handbook. The 'liberal victory'
achieved by Democratic candidates who embraced a staunchly
conservative agenda as their own is not indicative of Right wing
defeat but, rather, victory. The conservative ideology has invaded our
culture so deeply that Democrats -- once visionary reformers and
guardians of democracy -- now champion backwards limitations on
freedom and equality, then call winning on that platform success."
(11/28/06)

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1128-22.htm

-----

39) The war on rebel journalists
CounterPunch
by John Ross

"The pogrom against independent journalists who refuse to conform to
corporate media definitions of what a reporter should be continues
full throttle. The murder of Indymedia correspondent Brad Will this
past October 27th on the barricades in Oaxaca by death squads in the
employ of that southern Mexican state's bloodthirsty governor, segues
into the denial of the courts to release 23 year-old Josh Wolf from
prison during the life of the present grand jury. Wolf is charged with
refusing to turn over video clips of an anarchist anti-capitalist
march on Mission Street during which San Francisco's Finest beat the
living shit out of protestors -- one cop claims to have been maimed.
The Ninth Circuit is now insisting that it will entertain no further
motions in the case which insures Wolf of a place in the Guinness
Record Book as the longest-serving imprisoned reporter in U.S.
history." (11/28/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/ross11282006.html

-----

40) A most civil adversary and comrade, part 2
Free Market News Network
by Tibor R. Machan

"Over the years that I have taught and written quite extensively on
the subject of business ethics, I have always presented my students
with one of Uncle Milty's most widely reprinted and relatively
nonacademic essays from 1961, one that appeared in The New York Times
Magazine, addressing the topic of corporate moral responsibility. His
essay put on record one of the most uncompromising defenses of
economic liberty, rejecting the notion popularized by Ralph Nader and
John Kenneth Galbraith, among others, that business corporations must
serve various social purposes and not the goals of those who own them.
Although here, too, I was not in full agreement with him, Dr. Friedman
held that managers must serve no other goals at all but those the
owners designate -- which is mostly to pursue the prosperity of the
enterprise, or profit -- and to do otherwise is to betray a trust the
owners extend to managers who voluntarily come to work for them.
(Uncle Milty told me and some others at Chapman University, on the
occasion of the unveiling of his bust some years ago on the promenade
of the campus, that, ironically, this essay of his brought him more
royalties that any other piece he wrote in his long career.)" (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ylwjp6

-----

41) The evil Ledeen
The Power of Narrative
by Arthur Silber

"There should be a more damning word than evil for Michael Ledeen.
Always keep in mind that it was Ledeen who said (as reported by his
Number One Fan, Jonah Goldberg): 'Every ten years or so, the United
States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it
against the wall, just to show the world we mean business.' ...
[according to Ledeen] Everyone who opposes the plans of hawks like
Ledeen for wider, endless war, and everyone who recognizes that there
is in fact nothing we can do any longer to lessen the horrors of the
immoral catastrophe that is Iraq, is an 'antisemite.'" (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygddja

-----

42) Bush adrift
National Review
by Rich Lowry

"Is President Bush still the nation's commander in chief? Yes, he
continues to return the salute when boarding Marine One, but it's a
role he sometimes seems on the verge of abdicating." [editor's note:
If there is, by some chance a God ... PLEASE let Lowry be right for
once! - TLK] (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/srpl3

-----

43) The wisdom of Tradesports
TCS Daily
by William Wilson and Philip Wallach

"In the wake of the Democratic takeover of the House and Senate, much
hay has been made over the failure of the prediction market
Tradesports (or the Iowa Electronic Markets for the more
legalistically squeamish). Going into November 7th, TS gave the
Republicans a seventy percent chance of retaining the Senate. For much
of the life of the contracts, the markets predicted both chambers
staying in GOP hands. Were the markets wrong? The answer,
unequivocally, is no." (11/27/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=112706A

-----

44) Deal or no deal
The Weekly Standard
by David DeVoss

"A hostile country with the world's fastest growing army lies 90 miles
away. Slightly to the North, an eccentric dictator just acquired a
nuclear bomb. Your friendliest neighbor is constitutionally prohibited
from having any military at all. The one country willing to defend you
sits on the far side of the Pacific. Welcome to Taiwan. A vulnerable
frontline state that only 24 other countries even admit exists, Taiwan
needs armaments. The United States excels at developing and selling
them. It should be a match made in heaven. But nothing is simple when
it comes to Taiwan." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y96ngh

-----

45) From Beirut to Baghdad
Slate
by Christopher Hitchens

"In Iraq, the terrifying aspect of the violence is its randomness. You
have a higher chance of being tortured to death with a drill if you
are a secularist, a translator working with the coalition, an advocate
of women's rights, or a Christian, but the atmosphere is one in which
nobody -- not even a preacher or practitioner of sectarianism -- can
feel safe. In Lebanon, the situation is also slightly volatile. Those
targeted for murder have included a former prime minister backed by
Saudi funds, the former chairman of the Communist Party, and most
recently the leader of the Maronite Catholic right: a fairly broad
spectrum of victims, if, essentially, a predictable one. But in Beirut
two decades ago, the situation was more like it is in Baghdad today,
with mayhem in almost every part of the city and splits within cracks
within fissures of each militia, so that almost every block had its
own warlord. So ghastly was this state of affairs that there were
enough people to welcome Syrian troops at least grudgingly when they
first arrived, on the basis that anything was preferable to anarchy."
(11/27/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2154504

-----

46) Learn to love the wall
No Force, No Fraud
by Bob Smith

"Something there is that doesn't love a wall .... That's the opening
line from a Robert Frost poem. He was speaking about the sort of wall,
or fence, that separates the properties of neighbors. There are
certainly some good reasons for walls and fences, but there is one
unfortunate aspect of them. Whether they were intended to keep
something out, or to keep something in, they invariably do both. The
U.S. government is in the process of building a wall around our
nation, in the name of national security." (11/28/06)

http://libertyed.org/noforce/2006/11/learn-to-love-wall.html

-----

47) Insurgent Republicans
Reason
by David Weigel

"This is not where Pat Toomey wanted to be tonight. The 43-year-old
Pennsylvanian took over the Club for Growth in September 2006, after
he lost a nail-biting primary to Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and
vacated his own seat in Congress. Against the objections of powerful
Republicans, Toomey helped nudge Stephen Laffey, the conservative
mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island, into a primary fight against Lincoln
Chafee, the state's liberal Republican senator. Throughout the summer,
polls showed Laffey positioned to do what Toomey couldn't: oust a
pro-choice, pro-tax RINO ('Republican in Name Only') and send the GOP
establishment reeling. But the plan isn't coming together." (for
publication 12/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116812.html

-----

48) Chinese takeout
The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow

"Three weeks after it appears to have joined the world's nuclear club,
North Korea has confirmed that it will return to multilateral
disarmament talks, a move that diminishes the likelihood of a second
nuclear test. President Bush pronounces himself 'pleased,' though the
New York Times reports, 'behind closed doors at the White House and
the State Department, some are less happy, saying the country's
nuclear test should be answered with isolation.' Thus far, the Bush
administration's reluctance to talk to Pyongyang has resulted in
another embarrassing foreign-policy failure. But even as Washington
proclaims its readiness for war against another member of Bush's axis
of evil, armed conflict with North Korea is truly unthinkable. The
U.S. would win, but the cost -- to America, but even more so to South
Korea -- would be horrendous. Diplomacy remains the strategy of
choice, and what little hope is left of dissuading the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) from amassing a nuclear arsenal
centers on China." (for publication 12/04/06)

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_12_04/cover.html

-----

49) Crap of the future
AlterNet
by Annalee Newitz

"I reserve the right to do another thing that tech-sci writers are
supposed to do: predict the future. So instead of bitching about the
stupid holiday gadgets of today, allow me to predict what kinds of
lameass holiday crap I'll be bitching about in the future.
Peer-to-peer brain distribution client: Everybody is uploading and
downloading their brains via the Internet. It's certainly the best way
to travel -- just upload your brain in San Francisco and download it
into another body in France. The problem is bandwidth. With everybody
uploading and downloading their brains around the holidays, the
network gets awfully slow. That's why Yahoo! BitTorrent has introduced
the P2P brain distribution client .... The problem is that sometimes
the pieces arrive out of order, so you spend half an hour thinking the
Star Wars series has gotten better over time. Also, people often
mislabel copies of your consciousness. You think you're downloading
your mind, but actually you've gotten Cher's childhood or somebody's
false memory of being abducted by aliens." (11/28/06)

http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/44863/

-----

50) Debating Rangel's draft
The Nation
by Katrina vanden Heuvel

"Congressman Charles Rangel announced earlier this month that he will
push to renew the military draft. Rangel argues, forcefully, that the
draft will spread the burden of war more equitably and force political
leaders to think twice about starting wars. ... The 18-term
Representative, and incoming Chair of the powerful Ways and Means
Committee has already introduced a bill. Lawrence O'Donnell over at
the Huffington Post has a strong piece supporting Rangel's move. Let
his bill come to a vote, O'Donnell insists. House Majority Leader
Nancy Pelosi 'should let the House debate the draft. ... [L]et's hear
Rangel's speech about how the burden of war is not fairly shared in
this country. Let's get America thinking about exactly who is being
left in the line of fire in the war Americans have turned against and
know we can't win. Let's get America thinking about John Kerry's line
about Vietnam -- who is going to be the last soldier to die for a
mistake? A real debate on the draft will do that. Don't worry, the
bill has no chance of passing.'" [editor's note: Too close to a
stealth campaign to nationalized public service for this lil black
duck. This fascistic idea should be challenged solely on its ethical
grounds: slavery is wrong, for any purpose! - SAT] (11/27/06)

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?pid=143309

-----

51) What we learn when we learn economics
In These Times
by Christopher Hayes

"There's a case to be made that the single most intellectually and
politically influential neighborhood in the United States is Chicago's
Hyde Park. Integrated, affluent and quiet, the 1.6 square-mile enclave
on the city's south side is like a tiny company town, where the
company happens to be the august, gothic, eminently serious University
of Chicago. Students at the U. of C. sell T-shirts that read 'Where
Fun Goes To Die,' and the same could be said of the neighborhood,
which until very recently had a bookstore-to-bar ratio of 5:2. But the
university is probably best known for the school of economic thought
it has produced. When the Chicago School first emerged in the '50s,
its zealous support of free markets and critique of government
intervention were considered reactionary and extreme." [editor's note:
There's a LOT happening in this piece; take the time to read/skim
through the whole thing ... then post your feedback - SAT] (11/27/06)

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2897/

-----

52) Dove camp
The American Prospect
by Matthew Yglesias

"'Can the Democratic Party become fully competitive?' asked New York
Times guest columnist Thomas Edsall on Saturday, or 'is American
liberalism dead, the 2006 election a last twitch of life before rigor
mortis sets in?' According to Edsall, 'the answer to both questions is
yes,' but 'for the Democratic Party to revive, major tenets of
American liberalism, economic and sociocultural will have to be
discarded.' In particular, says Edsall, to remain competitive,
liberals will need to stop pushing the interests of labor unions,
racial minorities, feminists and gays, and instead focus on 'the
broader public interest.' The broader public, in this instance,
apparently composed entirely of fairly prosperous straight white men.
'Only two members of the House leadership are,' according to Edsall,
'intuitively attuned' to this vital need for liberalism to set aside
its concern for under-privileged groups -- Rahm Emanuel and Steny
Hoyer." (11/28/06)

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12262

-----

53) Iraq panel's real agenda: damage control
Christian Science Monitor
by Andrew J. Bacevich

"Even as Washington waits with bated breath for the Iraq Study Group
(ISG) to release its findings, the rest of us should see this gambit
for what it is: an attempt to deflect attention from the larger
questions raised by America's failure in Iraq and to shore up the
authority of the foreign policy establishment that steered the United
States into this quagmire. This ostentatiously bipartisan panel of
Wise Men (and one woman) can't really be searching for truth. It is
engaged in damage control. Their purpose is twofold: first, to
minimize Iraq's impact on the prevailing foreign policy consensus with
its vast ambitions and penchant for armed intervention abroad; and
second, to quell any inclination of ordinary citizens to intrude into
matters from which they have long been excluded. The ISG is
antidemocratic. Its implicit message to Americans is this: We'll
handle things -- now go back to holiday shopping." (11/28/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1128/p08s02-coop.html

-----

54) Who's missing from this "top 100" list?
Boston Globe
by Ross Douthat

"American life feels overwhelmed by politics. All anybody wants to
talk about is President Bush or the midterm elections, what the
Democrats should do or where the Republicans went wrong. And with the
elections over, the press has already begun obsessively handicapping
2008. This makes it a good time to take a step back and remember how
small a role politics has played in national life, and how much
influence has been wielded by those who never stood for office or
shouted from a soapbox. This year, The Atlantic asked 10 historians to
compile their lists of the 100 most influential Americans -- with
influence defined, loosely, as a person's impact, for good or ill, on
his or her own era and on the way we live now. The lists were then
averaged to create a 'top 100' list that will appear in the December
issue. The results of this survey are inevitably unscientific, but
they offer a snapshot of our nation's past. They offer, too, a timely
suggestion that there's something faintly un-American about our
obsession with electoral politics." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y5bsn4

-----

55) My health care is making me sick
Liberty For All
by Donna Mancini

"Getting sick is high on my list of life's biggest hassles these days!
Excuse me if I am sounding like an 'old fogie' when I reminisce about
the 'good old days;' but, I can't help thinking back on my childhood
(in the 50s and the 60s) when my mom and dad would call our family
doctor who lived in the neighborhood. Dr. Greenfield would keep my dad
calmed down who was such a worry-wart that he would get sick along
with me and my two sisters." (11/28/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=399

-----

56) No smoking around the little ones
National Center for Policy Analysis
by staff

"Anti-tobacco forces are opening a new front in the war against
smoking by banning it in private places such as homes and cars when
children are present, says Emily Bazar in USA Today. For example:
Starting Jan. 1, Texas will restrict smoking in foster parents' homes
at all times and in cars when children are present. Vermont,
Washington and other states and counties already prohibit foster
parents from smoking around children in their homes and cars." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vuqtk

-----

57) Have we outgrown recessions?
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Frank Shostak

"The economy has been in an expansionary phase for the past sixty
months. According to the accepted rules of thumb, recessions are at
least two quarters of negative growth in real gross domestic product
(GDP). Recessions are also seen as something associated with the
strength of the economy. The stronger an economy is, the less likely
it is to fall into recession. The major cause of recessions is usually
seen as shocks, such as a sharp increase in the price of oil or some
disruptive political events, or natural disasters or a sudden fall in
consumer outlays on goods and services. If an economy is strong enough
to cope with these shocks then recessions can be prevented, or at
least be made less painful." (11/28/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2400

-----

58) What a fantasy (the real freedom fighters)
Frontiers of Freedom
by R.A. Hawkins

"I guess if I were to try to put a title to the current geo-political
occurrences I would have to call it 'Win Another One For the Gimper.'
Ortega wins the election in Nicaragua and Kerry says Ortega is a
changed man these days. But of course he is, Kerry. He, like the
radical left in this country, has learned to not be so obvious as to
what they're really up to. The left has learned that in order for us
to swallow their socialist agenda they will have to smother the entire
cow flop in whipped cream and even go so far as to place a nice big
cherry on top. The last election has shown them that this works and
with enough voters, they can make it work for them. Yummy." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ved95

-----

59) The mother of all food fights
Foundation for Economic Education
by Sam Kazman

"Someone once commented that if the federal government regulated
restaurant fare, there'd be blood in the streets. Vegetarians would be
fighting with meat-eaters, Jews and Moslems would battle pork
fanciers, tee-totalers would have at it with imbibers, and burrito
purists would persecute wrap-sandwich snackers. Food peace is, in
fact, one of the greatly unappreciated benefits of our relatively free
restaurant market. Violent food fights are few and far between, and
they tend to be limited to such government monopoly situations as
prisons." (written 11/98; posted 11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/wtoyz

-----

60) From 9/11 to 11/7
America's Future Foundation
by David Freddoso

"After an afternoon making calls from the Dubliner and an all-nighter
fueled by a week's worth of Irish whiskey, I put the final edits on
the post-election edition of the Evans-Novak Political Report. The top
headline: 'Republican Disaster.' Aside from some congressmembers'
scandals, there was just one issue that turned this election: Iraq. I
almost felt a smug satisfaction as I pulled out an old, dusty document
I've kept in my desk, a transcript of the presidential debate of
October 3, 2000." (11/27/06)

http://www.affbrainwash.com/archives/021660.php

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*****************************
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************

61) Freedom Rings, 12/04/06
Freedom Rings

Mark McCoy, write-in campaign for Illinois governor, on libertarian
talk radio with Kenneth John. 9 am CST on WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin,
Illinois, or via webcast. [live radio or stream] (12/04/06)

http://www.freedomrings.net/

-----

62) Pigou or no Pigou
Cato Institute

Cato daily podcast, featuring Peter Van Doren. [MP3] (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yfye63

-----

63) FMNN eRadio: Dollar tumble
Free Market News Network

"Wall Street sings the blues over the latest dollar slide, but experts
in the world of commodites are not taking such a dim view. David
Hightower from the Hightower Report gives analysis of Monday's slide."
[MP3 or stream] (11/28/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/eRadioLaunch.asp?rid=818

-----

64) Free Talk Live, 11/28/06
Free Talk Live

"Reflections on the Police / Taxes / Projectors / Jury Nullification /
Passenger V / Neuremburg / What's Right vs. The Law / School of the
Americas Protest / Police Veto / Friendly Cop Email / Forced
Signatures / Brain Branding / Evidence for God / Cash Confiscation /
Why People are Afraid of Police." [MP3] (11/28/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-11-28.mp3

-----

65) Freedomain Radio #531
Freedomain Radio

"Logical fallacies, part 1: The top forty of being naughty!" [MP3]
(11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yf38cy

********************
* Weekly Symposium
********************

66) Law, natural and unnatural

Since at least as far back as Aristotle, philosophers have argued on
behalf of, and against, natural law -- "law that exists independently
of the positive law of a given political order, society or nation-state."

Some arguments in favor of natural law are grounded in religious
belief; others in theories of the nature of reality and humanity which
stand independent of such belief.

And, of course, there are the arguments against natural law, which
usually take the form of a utilitarian or consequentialist
"results-oriented" argument that whatever result we like is "right"
because it's the result we like, and that no further justification is
required.

From where do you think that natural law arises from, if you think
that id so arises at all? Was it brought down from Sinai on tablets by
Moses, or discovered as a categorical imperative by Kant, or
identified in the structure of metaphysics and epistemology by Rand
... or is it just so much hooey, offered to explain the inexplicable
and justify, rather than serve as a rational basis for, our desires?

Have at it!

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21290

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

67) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for upcoming freedom movement events. Don't
see yours? Drop us a line at info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

-----

68) America in Chains counter for your site
The Libertarian Enterprise

L.Neil Smith: "I know it's a small thing, but genuine revolutions are
made up of small things. This object will keep counting the days until
Democrats are out of power once again, or they finally manage to shut
down the Internet. What's different is that you can download this
counter and plant it on your own website. You can also link to it in
your e-mail .sig line. Democrats want you to visualize world peace (or
is it whirled peas, I forget). Instead, visualize a million of these,
clicking away the days of their hypocrisy and cruelty everywhere they
look on the Web.When the Republicans come back, we'll think of
something else." (11/06)

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle393-20061112-02.html

-----

69) Auction: Rational Review top banner

It's that time of year! As publisher of Rational Review, one of my
"perks" is ownership of the banner ad space that appears at the top of
each and every page on the site (as well as at the bottom of every
page on my personal blog, Kn@ppster). I auction that space annually.
The auction begins now, and ends at midnight (central time zone),
November 30th, with payment due by December 15th. Your ad (468x60
pixels and no larger than 16Kb in file size) begins running on January
1st, 2007, to run thereafter until midnight of December 31st, 2007. My
"reserve price" is $200. Please email bids (and questions) to me at
info at rationalreview.com. I'll try to answer frequent questions in
the comment form here, and I'll update this entry daily with the high
current bid.

Current High Bid: $500.00
High Bidder's Initials: TBSC

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

70) The Duke goes down

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

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Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,034
* Tuesday, November 28th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,061
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
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In The News:

0)  Opening notes
1)  GA: Cops suspended after murdering 92-year-old
2)  Air Force jet crashes in Iraqi province
3)  Orders for manufactured goods plunge
4)  Pope preaches brotherhood in Turkey
5)  NJ: Anti-family pol moves for marriage ban
6)  Giuliani tops in new politico popularity poll
7)  CO: Subdivision backs off peace wreath threats
8)  Bush broadens diplomatic efforts on Iraq
9)  Biden: Blame immigration woes on Mexico
10) Federal fund gives millions to charity tax cheats
11) NBC label of civil war at odds with White House
12) Iraqi Army not ready to defend Fallujah
13) Court affirms $10 billion Philip Morris ruling
14) Justice Department eyes spy program
15) Massachusetts to sue Big Dig companies for millions
16) US Embassy asks Bush twins to leave Argentina
17) Tax issue presents dilemma for Dems
18) TN: Nonprofits unite to cut costs, streamline services
19) Police investigate threat at Lincoln Memorial
20) America the charitable: A few surprises
21) Bush seeks unity on immigration
22) Austria's anti-Santa clause
23) Serb nationalist fails to show at war crimes trial
24) NM: Suspected home invader shot, killed
25) PA: Facing gun, merchant shoots 3

Everybody Has An Opinion:

26) Why not private charity?
27) The future of freedom at the ballot box
28) Phillies 2008: Repeal the Internet Poker Ban
29) Plea to fellow libertarians -- FORGET PARTY POLITICS!
30) Taking from Peter to pay Paul
31) War on Drugs expands to catnip
32) Home improvement on Mars
33) The "centrist" position on the war in Iraq
34) Congress to ponder conscription?
35) The good, the bad and the ugly
36) The Abominables of The New Republic
37) Police defense falling apart
38) Like I care
39) Withdrawal: Less painful now than later
40) A most civil adversary and comrade, part 1
41) No spark for a higher power
42) Yes, Democrats do need the South!
43) Now, the hard part
44) Rocky Mountain Blue
45) Just how far can we go with our kids and politics?
46) Pelosi bungling Democratic win
47) NATO needs a big think
48) Balancing views on campus
49) Strange how in Iraq slaughter soon seems part of normal life
50) Contract with America
51) The Saudis strike back at Iran
52) Let's hold CNN accountable
53) US v. Bush, et al.
54) Bush's big Indonesian photo op
55) Milton Friedman, RIP
56) Economic coercion not effective foreign policy tool
57) Apocalypse's eternal return
58) Putting parents first
59) Lou Dobbs turns on the CEOs
60) The 2nd Amendment: The original homeland security
61) Universal care goes to Washington
62) Fears of a "brain drain"
63) Utilitarianism -- the new evil
64) The remarkable Dr. Ayau
65) Allen agonistes

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

66) Freedomain Radio #529
67) FMNN eRadio: Dollar and the world
68) Free Talk Live, 11/27/06

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

69) Today's events
70) America in Chains counter for your site
71) Auction: Rational Review top banner

WaYbAcK:

72) ... but the paperwork is still on a truck somewhere

***************
* In The News
***************

0)  Opening notes

Don't forget to weigh in on our weekly symposium -- this week's topic
is "natural law."

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21290

-----

1)  GA: Cops suspended after murdering 92-year-old
Sarasota Herald Tribune

"The police chief placed all eight members of a narcotics
investigation team on leave Monday after a confidential informant said
they had asked him to lie during the investigation of the death of an
88-year-old woman, shot and killed by police officers during a drug
raid last Tuesday. Chief Richard J. Pennington said the Federal Bureau
of Investigation would investigate the death of the woman, Kathryn
Johnston, who was killed after she fired at three officers who
breached the door of her small house, with its green shutters and a
wheelchair ramp. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is also examining
the case." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ybt2tx

-----

2)  Air Force jet crashes in Iraqi province
Tulsa World

"Mortar rounds crashed into an oil processing facility near the
northern city of Kirkuk on Monday, igniting a huge blaze, and a U.S.
Air Force jet with one pilot crashed while supporting American
soldiers fighting in Anbar province, a hotbed of Iraq's Sunni Arab
insurgency. The government fully lifted a curfew on Monday, allowing
vehicles back on the roads and reopening the international airport on
the fourth day after suspected Sunni insurgents used bombs and mortars
to kill more than 200 people in Sadr City, a large Shiite slum, in the
worst attack by militants in the war." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y7q7kb

-----

3)  Orders for manufactured goods plunge
Houston Chronicle

"Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods plunged in October by the
largest amount in more than six years, in another sign of a slowing
economy. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that demand for
durable goods fell a larger-than-expected 8.3 percent last month to a
seasonally adjusted $210 billion, reflecting a big drop in demand for
commercial airplanes, a category that had soared in September. It
marked the third month in the past four that orders have either fallen
or shown no gain, providing evidence that the nation's factories are
beginning to feel the impact of the slowdown in the overall economy."
(11/28/06)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4364350.html

-----

4)  Pope preaches brotherhood in Turkey
Baltimore Sun

"Pope Benedict XVI began his first visit to a Muslim country today
with a message of dialogue and 'brotherhood' between Christians and
Muslims in an attempt to ease anger over his perceived criticism of
Islam. Two months after the pope touched off fury across the Islamic
world with remarks linking violence and Prophet Muhammad, the Turkish
prime minister -- in a last-minute change of plans -- was on hand at
the airport in Turkey's capital to greet the pontiff. ... The pope
used his first moments of his four-day trip to try to mend fences with
Islamic leaders." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykufrb

-----

5)  NJ: Anti-family pol moves for marriage ban
New York Times

"Outraged by the State Supreme Court's decision last month declaring
that same-sex couples are entitled to the same legal rights and
financial benefits as heterosexual ones, a Republican legislator on
Monday introduced a bill to amend the Constitution by defining
marriage as being only between a man and a woman. The lawmaker,
Senator Gerald Cardinale of Bergen County, said the proposed amendment
was modeled after successful efforts in other states in recent years
-- including several on this Election Day -- to essentially ban
same-sex marriage." (11/28/06)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/28/nyregion/28marriage.html

-----

6)  Giuliani tops in new politico popularity poll
Fox News

"Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a prospective 2008
presidential candidate, has won the latest Quinnipiac University poll
popularity contest, ranking highest in the warm and fuzzy feeling that
voters have for politicians. Giuliani rose eight notches over two
months ago, according to the poll released Monday. On the flip side,
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry dropped 15 seats to rank 20th. Sens.
Barack Obama, D-Ill., and John McCain, R-Ariz., both also strong
contenders for a White House run next election, won second and third
place respectively in the gauge of voters' 'thermometer readings.'"
(11/28/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,232222,00.html

-----

7)  CO: Subdivision backs off peace wreath threats
The Denver Channel

"A Colorado homeowners' association has withdrawn its threat of $25
daily fines against a homeowner who put a Christmas wreath shaped like
a peace sign on the front of her home. 'We want to let you know that
this evening we just received a letter from the Loma Linda Home Owners
Board of Directors stating: We had a misunderstanding with your
Christmas decoration and for that we apologize. We withdraw any and
all previous requests for removal of your decoration,' homeowner Lisa
Jensen told The Associated Press." (11/28/06)

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/10411803/detail.html

-----

8)  Bush broadens diplomatic efforts on Iraq
Florence Times Daily

"President Bush intensified diplomatic efforts on Monday to quell
rising violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, turning to allies as his
national security adviser said the conflict in Iraq had entered 'a new
phase' requiring changes. 'Obviously everyone would agree things are
not proceeding well enough or fast enough,' National Security Adviser
Stephen Hadley told reporters aboard Air Force One as Bush flew
eastward." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/uyhk4

-----

9)  Biden: Blame immigration woes on Mexico
Winston-Salem Journal

"Sen. Joe Biden, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's incoming
chairman, wants to get tough with Mexico, calling it an 'erstwhile
democracy' with a 'corrupt system' responsible for illegal immigration
and drug problems in the U.S. Biden, D-Del., was in Columbia on Monday
in his first postelection trip to this first-in-the-South presidential
primary state as he continues to line up support for his presidential
bid." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ybu3xr

-----

10) Federal fund gives millions to charity tax cheats
MSNBC

"When the U.S. government's version of the United Way handed out
hundreds of millions of dollars to charities last year, its largesse
extended to more than 1,280 nonprofit organizations that collectively
owe $36 million in taxes dating back as far as 1988. At the same time,
other federal agencies gave $1.6 billion in grants to at least 170 of
the delinquent charities, which account for nearly 6 percent of the
approximately 22,700 charities funded by the Combined Federal
Campaign." (11/27/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15832673/

-----

11) NBC label of civil war at odds with White House
MSNBC

"NBC News Monday branded the Iraq conflict a civil war -- a decision
that put it at odds with the White House and that analysts said would
increase public disillusionment with the U.S. troop presence there.
NBC said the Iraqi government's inability to stop spiraling violence
between rival factions fit its definition of civil war. The Bush
administration has for months declined to call the violence a civil
war -- although the U.S. general overseeing the Iraq operation said in
August there was a risk -- and a White House official Monday disputed
NBC's assessment." (11/27/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15921476/

-----

12) Iraqi Army not ready to defend Fallujah
Mansfield News Journal

"It's been two years since U.S. forces cleared out this dangerous
western city, the bloodiest urban combat of the Iraq war. But Iraqi
soldiers still aren't ready to stop Fallujah from becoming an
insurgent stronghold again. U.S. teams say training efforts have been
undermined by corruption, a dearth of basic equipment and Iraqi
soldiers' mistrust of those from different Muslim backgrounds and lack
of faith in the government." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yyy23x

-----

13) Court affirms $10 billion Philip Morris ruling
CNN

"The Supreme Court on Monday sided with Philip Morris USA, refusing to
disturb a court ruling that threw out a $10.1 billion verdict over the
company's 'light' cigarettes. The court issued its order without
comment. Last year, the Illinois Supreme Court threw out the massive
fraud judgment against Philip Morris, a unit of the Altria Group Inc.,
in a class-action lawsuit involving 'light' cigarettes." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y3zvc7

-----

14) Justice Department eyes spy program
Pocatello Idaho State Journal

"The Justice Department has begun an internal investigation into its
handling of information gathered in the government's domestic spying
program. However, Democrats criticized the review as too narrow to
determine whether the program violated federal law. The inquiry by
Glenn A. Fine, the department's inspector general, will focus on the
role of Justice prosecutors and agents in carrying out the warrantless
surveillance program run by the National Security Agency." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxaboq

-----

15) Massachusetts to sue Big Dig companies for millions
Grand Island Independent

"The state attorney general said Monday that he will sue the companies
that worked on a Big Dig highway tunnel, claiming their negligence led
to the ceiling collapse that killed a woman in July. Attorney General
Tom Reilly said he would seek unspecified damages for repairs, loss of
tunnel use and toll revenue, and other economic factors in a lawsuit
to be filed Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court. Reilly said that 15
firms involved in the management, design, construction or oversight of
the Interstate 90 tunnel would be named in the negligence lawsuit, but
that only one -- project manager Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff -- would
face the more serious claim of gross negligence." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y5vc3k

-----

16) US Embassy asks Bush twins to leave Argentina
ABC News

"Amid a growing barrage of front-page headlines, U.S. embassy
officials 'strongly suggested' President Bush's twin daughters, Jenna
and Barbara Bush, cut short their trip to Buenos Aires because of
security issues, U.S. diplomatic and security sources tell ABC News.
But the girls have stayed on, celebrating their 25th birthday over the
weekend and producing even more headlines about their activities.
Officials say the media coverage upstaged publicity plans for the new
U.S. Ambassador Anthony Wayne, who had only recently arrived in the
country. Neither the White House nor the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires
responded to requests for comment." [editor's note: Presumably they're
down there on behalf of Dad -- looking for rental property on
Garibaldi Street - TLK] (11/27/06)

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/11/us_embassy_asks.html

-----

17) Tax issue presents dilemma for Dems
San Francisco Chronicle

"After six years of railing against Republican tax cuts for the rich
and fiscal irresponsibility, Democrats will find themselves come
January under enormous pressure to pass a hugely expensive tax cut --
without any way to make up the revenue. The alternative minimum tax,
which slaps an extra income tax on many higher-income people, has
become a political monster for Democrats, threatening to clobber
prosperous professionals in such Democratic strongholds as California
and New York." [editor's note: Can you say "irony," boys and girls? I
knew that you could! If they do come through here, as they clearly
should, the Dems might campaign as "tax-cutters" next time! But will
they also live up to the promise to cut the spending? Stay tuned -
SAT] (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yjplas

-----

18) TN: Nonprofits unite to cut costs, streamline services
Tennessean

"Beth Lowry was ready to quit. After years of serving as the only
employee of Survivors Against Violent Environments, a local nonprofit
that provides transitional housing for domestic abuse victims, Lowry
was exhausted. Looking for help, she turned to a similar nonprofit,
the Domestic Violence Intervention Center, and proposed a merger. 'I
wanted to resign but I didn't want the organization to go under, so I
approached (DVIC) because I believe in their mission,' she said. 'It
seemed like it would be a good fit.' DVIC agreed, making the
collaboration the latest of several recent mergers of area nonprofits.
While each deal has its own details, financial considerations are key
causes for many nonprofit mergers." [editor's note: Perhaps a good
paradigm for other organizations to follow -- like say, alternative
political parties who share a distaste for the present powermongering?
- SAT] (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxhsyp

-----

19) Police investigate threat at Lincoln Memorial
Fox News

"The FBI is helping the U.S. Park Police and Washington, D.C. police
investigate what is described as the discovery of an 'anthrax threat
letter' and a suspicious package at the Lincoln Memorial. A strange
liquid was found in the women's restroom on the property Monday
afternoon. Authorities would not confirm what the note said or what
the substance may have been. There are no reports of anyone being
sick, nor have any ambulances been called. One citizen reported seeing
a suspicious bottle, which police never found. There was a letter in a
clear plastic sleeve with threatening language found in the restroom,
along with a thermos found on the memorial steps. After testing, the
fire department later determined that the substance in the thermos was
not harmful." (11/27/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,232146,00.html

-----

20) America the charitable: A few surprises
Christian Science Monitor

"Everybody knows Americans are big givers. But their charitable
impulses keep generating surprises. Consider just a few conclusions
from recent research: * Charitable giving plays an even larger role in
the economy than is suggested by some $260 billion in annual
contributions. Each dollar of giving appears to create $19 of extra
national income, according to a book released this past weekend. *
Demand for nonprofit services gets proportionately bigger, not
smaller, as a locality's income rises, a Federal Reserve economist
finds. * The philanthropy of the wealthy may not hinge on tax
incentives to the degree many believe. In one new survey, a majority
of wealthy givers say they would contribute the same amount if the
estate tax were abolished. Ditto, they said, if they could no longer
deduct the value of gifts from their taxable income." [editor's note:
The myth that says that rich folks are greediest is such a crock; what
rich folks know (and what some of us are learning) is, the flow of
wealth is not static, and an open hand receives better than a closed
fist - SAT] (11/27/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1127/p01s01-usec.html

-----

21) Bush seeks unity on immigration
Boston Globe

"The White House is reaching out to leading congressional Democrats on
the issue of overhauling immigration, hoping to build a bipartisan
coalition to support a 'guest worker' program and provide a path to
legalized status for many undocumented immigrants, lawmakers and
administration officials said. President Bush has expressed an
eagerness to work with Democrats on the issue in private meetings with
lawmakers and in public statements, as he seeks to strike a new tone
with Democrats who will be in control of Congress for the final two
years of his presidency. The president's interest in the issue is
getting a warm reception from members of both parties in Congress,
particularly in the Senate, where a bill reflecting the president's
priorities passed this year only to die in negotiations with the
House." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykdqyb

-----

22) Austria's anti-Santa clause
Ananova [UK]

"Santa Claus is being banned from Christmas markets in Germany and
Austria. Anti-Santa campaigners claim Father Christmas was invented by
Coca-Cola and detracts from the true spirit of the festive season.
Austria's biggest Christmas market is in front of the Vienna city hall
where thousands of visitors march past stalls offering everything
related to Xmas -- except Santa. The only Santa to be seen is the one
in the middle of the occasional 'Ban Santa' stickers. A Vienna city
hall spokesman confirmed: 'There are rules governing what stallholders
can do and one of them is to agree not to use the image of Santa as a
condition of being able to trade there. Santa is an English language
creation, people who want to see him should go to America where I am
sure Coca Cola will be happy to oblige.'" (11/27/06)

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2094952.html

-----

23) Serb nationalist fails to show at war crimes trial
Independent [UK]

"One of Serbia's most infamous paramilitary leaders boycotted the
start of his war crimes trial in The Hague yesterday. Vojislav Seselj
is accused of unleashing a bloody campaign of persecution,
extermination, murder and atrocities against non-Serbs in Croatia and
Bosnia. Mr Seselj, 52, one of the most prominent political figures in
the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal's custody, claimed he was too weak to
attend trial after being on hunger strike for the past fortnight in
protest at what he called the 'prejudiced' court. After yesterday's
no-show, the presiding judge Alphons Orie said he had permanently lost
his right to defend himself." (11/28/06)

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2021220.ece

-----

24) NM: Suspected home invader shot, killed
KOBTV News

"A late-night shooting in the Four Hills area of Albuquerque left one
person dead and a homeowner shaken. Police say the homeowner called
911 about 11:30 Saturday night. Albuquerque Police Department
spokesperson Trish Hoffman says the homeowner woke up to sounds inside
his house, discovered a burglar and shot the intruder. The intruder
died at the scene. Detectives haven't released whether the intruder
was armed. Detectives are investigating the scene as a homicide, but
say it's possible the homeowner won't be charged because it may be a
justifiable homicide." (11/26/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y76uq2

-----

25) PA: Facing gun, merchant shoots 3
Philadelphia Inquirer

"It was clear to John Lee that the four guys who came into his East
Germantown deli Saturday night would not be paying customers. 'They
all had their hoodies pulled tight, and it wasn't a cold night,' said
Lee, 48, owner of the Chelten Market at Chelten Avenue and Musgrave
Street. 'I said, 'You need to take off your hoodies,' then one of them
came around the counter with his gun drawn, so I shot them.' Lee fired
five rounds from his .38-caliber revolver, striking three of the
bandits and rupturing a water line, police said. The gunman dropped
his loaded 9mm pistol as he and his wounded partners fled the store.
Lee found a fourth would-be robber -- who had not been shot -- hiding
in the rear of the store. 'He had a BB gun on him, so I took it,' Lee
said. 'Then I beat him up and took his boots and called police.'"
(11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y7m6co

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 11/28/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 48,829 ... Max - 54,191
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,879
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

26) Why not private charity?
Foundation for Economic Education
by Robert Awenius

"For some period of time there has been considerable evidence that
private charity is superior to government welfare as a means of
overcoming poverty in America. Empirical data suggests that private
charity indeed would do more for the poverty-level families of this
nation than is being achieved under the present welfare system.
However, we must not conclude that this seemingly radical plan is
anything new in the annals of mankind." (writtem 11/84; posted 11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ukc55

-----

27) The future of freedom at the ballot box
Liberty For All
by Mike Renzulli

"During my eight years in the libertarian movement I have observed
that in many libertarian circles there is a debate not only on whether
it is legitimate to vote, but also what is the most effective method
needed to bring our ideas to the forefront. While there is in my view
no central LP plan for achieving freedom -- aside from 'running
Libertarians for office' -- the most effective way to bring our ideas
to be debated, discussed and enacted in the public arena would be
through the ballot initiative process." (11/27/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=396

-----

28) Phillies 2008: Repeal the Internet Poker Ban
Rational Review
by George Phillies

"Recently, Congress took a radical step to protect our nation. Under
the guise of protecting our country from terrorists trying to attack
our harbors, it passed a ban on Internet poker games. Of course, it
may be the case that someplace, somewhere, someone actually believes
that Internet poker players are third-world terrorists out to destroy
our way of life. Unfortunately, one of these people is a United States
Senator." (11/27/06)

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21220

-----

29) Plea to fellow libertarians -- FORGET PARTY POLITICS!
Rational Review
by Christopher Awuku

"I've only been a libertarian for four years. The libertarian movement
has been in existence for a number of decades. In that period, we have
pursued party politics as one primary means of spreading libertarian
values and bringing forth a libertarian society. I feel that, as
libertarians, we should attempt to create other avenues and strategies
of implementing our beliefs. In short, party politics doesn't seem to
be working. If I am being honest, I don't believe this approach will
work within the foreseeable future." (11/27/06)

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21168

-----

30) Taking from Peter to pay Paul
The Libertarian Enterprise
by Chris Claypoole

"However, through the magic of tax withholding, most people seem to
have no idea how much the government is Petering them. Nor do they
understand how much the hundreds of thousands of government
regulations bleed them almost as much. And most of them think that
corporate income taxes are a good idea, making sure they 'pay their
fair share.' This is another of the great mysteries of our current
condition: how can people be so ignorant of economics and the world
around them that they don't realize that if the government places a
more-or-less uniform burden upon businesses, said businesses will pass
that cost along to the consumers! We all know that shit flows
downhill, and that money talks. This point is easily as obvious, so
why is it that people seem oblivious to it?" (11/27/06)

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle395-20061126-05.html

-----

31) War on Drugs expands to catnip
The Free Liberal
by Fred E. Foldvary

"Drug warriors scored a virtual victory after the 2006 U.S. elections
when they hurriedly extended the War on Drugs to a psychoactive
substance previously exempt: nepetalactone, the main psychoactive
ingredient in catnip. It is well known that the sniffing of catnip
makes some cats 'turn on.' Their eyes open wide, they roll over on the
floor, they hug and bite the catnip toy and kick it with the feet, and
they friskily run to and fro, similar to human beings who go crazy
ingesting psychoactive drugs. While catnip does not have the same
effect on human beings, the advocates of banning catnip have pointed
out that children who give their cats catnip and then see the cat
being 'happy' might get dangerous ideas about getting high." [editor's
note: Satire? It's getting harder and harder to tell - TLK] (11/28/06)

http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002448.html

-----

32) Home improvement on Mars
TCS Daily
by Kenneth Silber

"Space tourism is rightly noted as a promising means of accelerating
human space flight via market forces. However, the model of space
travelers as passengers who sit back and enjoy the view may turn out
to cover just a fraction of human space activities. I suspect that a
major draw for humans to space will be the possibility of doing
something once you're there. This might involve more active forms of
tourism, such as driving a rover across the lunar surface. But over
time it should also include the possibility of owning and developing
property on celestial bodies." (11/28/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=111506A

-----

33) The "centrist" position on the war in Iraq
LewRockwell.Com
by Glenn Greenwald

"I'd really like to know what the excluded anti-war 'extreme view' is
that is the equivalent of the neonconservative desire for endless
warfare in Iraq and beyond. The only plausible possibility would be
the view that the U.S. ought to withdraw from Iraq, and do so sooner
rather than later. What else could it be? Nobody, to my knowledge, is
proposing that we cede American territory to the Iraqi insurgents, so
withdrawal essentially defines the far end of the anti-war spectrum.
Is withdrawal -- whether incremental or total -- considered to be an
'extreme view' that the Washington 'centrists' have not only rejected
but have excluded in advance even from consideration?" (11/28/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/greenwald2.html

-----

34) Congress to ponder conscription?
AntiWar.Com
by US Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

"To many politicians, the American government is America. This is why,
on a crude level, the draft appeals to patriotic fervor. Compulsory
national service, whether in the form of military conscription or
make-work programs like AmeriCorps, still sells on Capitol Hill.
Conscription is wrongly associated with patriotism, when really it
represents collectivism and involuntary servitude. I believe
wholeheartedly that an all-volunteer military is not only sufficient
for national defense, but also preferable. It is time to abolish the
Selective Service System and resign military conscription to the
dustbin of American history." (11/28/06)

http://www.antiwar.com/paul/?articleid=10069

-----

35) The good, the bad and the ugly
Independent Institute
by Charles Pena

"According to President Bush, 'I haven't made any decisions about
troop increases or troop decreases [in Iraq], and won't until I hear
from a variety of sources, including our own United States military.'
While the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group (co-chaired by
former Secretary of State James Baker and former U.S. congressman Lee
Hamilton) have not yet been made public, the military's verdict is
already in. Predictably, a study commissioned by chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Marine Corps General Peter Pace, has come up
with three options called 'go home,' 'go big,' and 'go long' -- which
might as well be called the good, the bad, and the ugly,
respectively." (11/27/06)

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1859

-----

36) The Abominables of The New Republic
The Power of Narrative
by Arthur Silber

"Beinart and all hawks of similar inclination refuse to give up the
idea that 'we meant well,' just as he refuses to surrender the myth
that American willpower can still make this work, even at this late
date. As I've discussed in detail, one of Beinart's fundamental
problems is not that '[he] can't even imagine Iraq anymore.' His
problem is that the reality of Iraq never was clear to him. Iraq, its
own history, peoples, cultures and aspirations never assumed solid
shape before his eyes, so Beinart, just like those driving the Bush
administration's foreign policy, deluded himself that we could shape
Iraq in our own image." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y5a4b9

-----

37) Police defense falling apart
Classically Liberal
by "CLS"

"The officers with a 'no-knock' warrant started battering down the
door to the Johnston home. The terrified woman used her handgun in
self-defence. But in America one is not allowed to defend one's self
from criminals in uniform. Johnston fired six shots and hit all three
officers only missing with one shot. They lived but she didn't. Police
shot her to death. Of course they gave the same claims they always
give. They claimed they had the right address. They claimed there were
drugs in the house. They claimed they announced themselves first. And
anyone one believes the cops -- well, they also tend to think there is
a Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny delivers chocolate eggs. Now all
eight members of the drug thugs squad have been suspended. The
'informant' has said that immediately after the execution of Johnston
he was called by the police and told to lie for them. The George
Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have
now been called in." (11/28/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y2g45c

-----

38) Like I care
Slate
by Michael Kinsley

"Anonymity, for better or for worse, is supposed to be one of the
signature qualities of the Web. As that dog in The New Yorker cartoon
famously says, 'On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog.' The
Internet is a place where you can interact with other people and have
complete control over how much they know about you. ... But anonymity
does not actually seem to interest many of the Web's most devoted
users. They are the ones who start their own sites, or sign up for
MySpace, or submit videos to YouTube. Quite the opposite: The most
successful Web sites seem to be those where people can abandon
anonymity and use the Internet to stake their claims as unique
individuals. Here is a list of my friends. Here are all the CDs in my
collection. Here is a picture of my dog. On the Internet, not only
does everybody know that you're a dog. Everybody knows what kind of
dog, how old, your taste in collars, your favorite dog food recipe,
and so on." (11/27/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2154507

-----

39) Withdrawal: Less painful now than later
Cato Institute
by Ted Galen Carpenter

"Except when the survival of the nation is at stake, all military
missions must be judged according to a cost-benefit calculation. Iraq
has never come close to being a war for America's survival. It was an
elective war -- a war of choice, and a bad choice at that. How much
are Americans willing to pay in blood, treasure and toil to try to
prevail in Iraq? The costs have already been staggering. We have spent
more than $340 billion, and the meter is running at more than $7
billion a month. The loss of life is even more horrific. Nearly 2,900
American troops have perished, and the Iraqi government estimates that
150,000 of its citizens have died in the carnage. And there is no end
in sight." (11/28/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6788

-----

40) A most civil adversary and comrade, part 1
Free Market News Network
by Tibor R. Machan

"I was teaching at a small place in Western New York and drove, in the
middle of February, 1974, to Chicago to meet and interview Uncle Milty
at his apartment. I had along Professor Ralph Raico and we were joined
also by one of Dr. Friedman's students, Joe Cobb, and the interview
commenced. It went on for several hours and when we finished we were
exhausted from a most exhilarating exchange with a very intellectually
agile and superbly educated scholar." (11/27/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/117/6461/tibor.asp?nid=6461&wid=117

-----

41) No spark for a higher power
The American Spectator
by Paul Chesser

"The science community usually finds favor with the mainstream media,
who have faith in the unseen only when it has to do with global
warming and hurricane predictions. Their reporters (at least the ones
who occupy prime journalistic real estate) consistently hold
scientific theory in higher regard than belief in a real God. Never
the twain shall reconcile. That shouldn't come as any surprise to the
God-honoring, because the Bible talks about those who think faith is
unknowable and unreal." (11/28/06)

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10680

-----

42) Yes, Democrats do need the South!
Salon
by Ed Kilgore

"You have to hand it to Tom Schaller. The moment the midterm election
results were more or less in, he crunched some numbers and stared at
the exit polls, and took to the cyber-pages of Salon to trumpet the
results as a confirmation of his idee fixe. As explained most
thoroughly in his new book, 'Whistling Past Dixie,' and in many fewer
words in his recent Salon article, 'Do Democrats Need the South?'
Schaller is a Captain Ahab whose Great White Whale is to persuade
Democrats not only to write off the South for the foreseeable future
but to campaign consciously against the benighted region in order to
consolidate a non-Southern majority. Salon invited me to respond,
presumably as the most conspicuous Cracker Democrat close at hand."
[subscription or ad view required] (11/28/06)

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/11/28/kilgore_south/

-----

43) Now, the hard part
The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner

"Clearly the voters are sick of an economic system that allows moguls
to make annual incomes running into the hundreds of millions for
manipulating commerce in ways that leave ordinary people worse off. In
an election billed as a referendum on Iraq and Republican corruption
(which it certainly was), the sleeper issue was the economy as it
affects regular Americans. But transforming this reality will require
a lot more than a higher minimum wage or even universal health
insurance." [editor's note: Uhh, yep! It will take some reality-doses
for those who think either of these paths leads to a better economy --
or even accomplishes their claimed goals! Is there a real economist in
the house? - SAT] (11/27/06)

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12259

-----

44) Rocky Mountain Blue
Tom Paine
by Stephen Fenberg & LaNette Diaz

"Excited chatter about progressive gains in the Rocky Mountain West is
quite possibly at an all-time high. Democrats across the country are
turning to the West for hope for the future and lessons to win. While
pundits debate whether the results are a long-term trend or a one-time
fluke, the truth is that the West is turning blue because a new
generation of voters are getting involved. These voters -- our
generation -- are repainting the West. And they're painting it deep
blue. Montana: Young voters turned out in force, comprising 17 percent
of the electorate -- compared to just 13 percent nationwide -- and
broke for Senator-elect Jon Tester by 12 percent. In 2004, they made
up more than one-fifth of the electorate and supported Brian
Schweitzer by 11 percent. Colorado: Colorado youth went for Kerry over
Bush 51 to 47 percent in 2004." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ydka8k

-----

45) Just how far can we go with our kids and politics?
Tennessean
by Saritha Prabhu

"Children and politics: Do they mix and how much? Like many parents, I
faced these questions often in this recent election season. It was
easy enough, I found, to explain to my children the nuts and bolts of
what was going on. What was harder to explain were some issues and
emotions. How, say, does one explain to a 10- or 11-year-old the
nastiness and underhandedness in some campaign ads? ... At my house,
we have a 9-year-old who was blissfully unaware of the elections, save
for the very basics, but it was the 11-year-old who was all eyes and
ears. He wanted to know more about the war, about gay marriage, about
stem-cell research, and bristled and wondered why I wouldn't let him
see a crude ad." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygmbk2

-----

46) Pelosi bungling Democratic win
Fox News
by Susan Estrich

"The first time I met Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., in 1984, she
announced that she was the new counsel to the Democratic Platform
Committee and henceforth would be advising its chairwoman, Geraldine
Ferraro, and since she was older and more experienced than I was, she
wasn't looking for direction from me, even if I had put the whole
thing together. ... I explained the problem to the late Paul Tully,
one of the greats in politics, Mondale's representative, who ambled
over to Geri and said it would be a good idea if she listened to me.
Jane insisted. Geri ruled. The chair promptly got overruled. From then
on, I told Jane what to tell Geri, and we got along just fine, and
have ever since. Clearly, Nancy and Jane never worked it out. But that
is still no reason to appoint Alcee Hastings to chair the Intelligence
Committee, and effectively sacrifice the corruption issue before
you've begun." (11/26/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,232009,00.html

-----

47) NATO needs a big think
Christian Science Monitor
by staff

"Ever since the cold war ended, NATO has been faced with the 'what's
our purpose' question. So far, the transatlantic military alliance has
artfully dodged it. When its 26 heads of state meet in Latvia this
week, they'll probably dodge it again; at their peril. Originally, the
summit was expected to address the transformation of the alliance --
to set its course for the new demands of the 21st century. That's been
pushed aside by division among NATO members about the 'purpose'
question, and by the pressing issue of Afghanistan, where NATO leads
about 32,000 troops. As it turns out, the subject highest on the
summit agenda - stabilizing and rebuilding Afghanistan -- is the very
one that demands an answer to NATO's existential question. If not this
year, then very soon." (11/27/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1127/p08s02-comv.html

-----

48) Balancing views on campus
Boston Globe
by Cathy Young

"Diversity in higher education was a major topic of discussion at a
recent conference in Cambridge. The focus, however, was not on the
familiar concept of diversity as a desirable mix of races, genders,
and ethnic groups. Rather, participants deplored the lack of
intellectual and political diversity on college campuses. The National
Organization of Scholars, which held the conference Nov. 17-19,
emerged in the late 1980s in response to 'political correctness' in
the academy. The group is widely perceived as conservative, much to
the consternation of some members who are liberal Democrats but are
put off by the prevailing orthodoxy in the universities. One star
speaker at the event was Boston-based lawyer Harvey Silverglate, a
liberal champion of civil liberties, who noted that many statements
that would be considered normal, if debatable, expressions of opinion
anywhere else are regarded as discriminatory on college campuses."
(11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y5fvd7

-----

49) Strange how in Iraq slaughter soon seems part of normal life
Independent [UK]
by Patrick Cockburn

"Iraq is rending itself apart. The signs of collapse are everywhere.
In Baghdad, the police often pick up more than 100 tortured and
mutilated bodies in a single day. Government ministries make war on
each other ... Iraq may be getting close to what Americans call 'the
Saigon moment,' the time when it becomes evident to all that the
government is expiring." (11/28/06)

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2021233.ece

-----

50) Contract with America
OpEd News
by Stephen Osbon

"The American People signed a contract. An agreement between the
Governed and the Government. It is called the Constitution of the
United States. The first ten amendments to that constitution are known
as the Bill of Rights. As Justice Hugo Black stated, 'It is my belief
that there are absolutes in our Bill of Rights, and that they were put
there on purpose by men who knew what words meant and meant their
prohibitions to be 'absolutes.''" [editor's note: Someone needs to
tell Olson that Lysander Spooner took apart the "Constitution as
contract" nonsense more than a century ago! - TLK] (11/26/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y6esad

-----

51) The Saudis strike back at Iran
Asia Times
by M K Bhadrakumar

"Saudi Arabia views with disquiet the rapid ascendancy of Iranian
influence in Iraq, and the Shi'ite claim of political empowerment in
the region haunts Riyadh. This latent Saudi-Iranian rivalry is likely
to play out in Lebanon, where, unlike Iraq, there is a convergence of
Saudi and US interests." (11/27/06)

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HK28Ak04.html

-----

52) Let's hold CNN accountable
Common Dreams
by Jeff Cohen

"Turn on CNN Headline News -- a supposed 'news' channel -- on weekday
nights and you'll be subjected to the lectures of a loudmouthed,
factually-challenged, occasionally funny know-it-all whose shtick is
that he's 'just a regular American schmoe.' His name is Glenn Beck, a
smiley-toothed monologist and proselytizer who is a recovering
alcoholic, talk-radio host, convert to Mormonism and self-described
'rodeo clown.' His crude rants would be easy to ignore except that CNN
-- part of the Time Warner conglomerate -- has chosen to give Beck a
primetime platform which he uses day after day to cheer on a
confrontation with Iran. (Imagine what an informed foreign policy
critic could do with such a nightly forum.)" (11/27/06)

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1127-22.htm

-----

53) US v. Bush, et al.
Truthout
by William Fisher

"The scene is a Federal Grand Jury room. There, impaneled ordinary
citizens listen intently as a veteran federal prosecutor asks them to
return an indictment unique in American history. The charge is
Conspiracy to Defraud the United States. And the defendants are
President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, outgoing
defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice, and former secretary of state Colin Powell." (11/27/06)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112706M.shtml

-----

54) Bush's big Indonesian photo op
CounterPunch
by Ben Terrall

"On his return from last week's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) summit in Vietnam, President Bush briefly touched down in
Indonesia on November 20. Protests against the visit were held across
the archipelago, demonstrating popular outrage against the Bush
Administration's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and U.S. backing for
Israel's wars on Lebanon and Palestine. ... The historic botanical
gardens where Bush was scheduled to arrive to meet Indonesian
president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Bogor, 40 kilometers south of
Jakarta, were dug up to build an enormous asphalt landing pad for
Bush's helicopter. In the end, Bush landed in a nearby Sports Center
instead of the formerly-pristine botanical gardens." (11/27/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/terrall11272006.html

-----

55) Milton Friedman, RIP
National Review
by William F. Buckley, Jr.

"It isn't right to rail against fortune when death comes to a friend,
or a hero -- in this case, both -- at the high age of 94. Still, we
are free to choose, and there was grief when word came to us of the
death of Milton Friedman. We were on board a large ship, where a week
of seminars at sea was being guided by a dozen celebrants of
conservative doctrine. One was to have been Friedman himself, but when
the boat pulled away from San Diego, bound for Mexico, Friedman was in
a hospital in San Francisco." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y7by9b

-----

56) Economic coercion not effective foreign policy tool
Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland

"Many foreign policy experts advocate using economic sanctions to
motivate foreign governments to change policy. And, while it may be
true that many of these governments could improve their countries with
policy reforms, history shows that economic coercion doesn't work."
(11/27/06)

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1858

-----

57) Apocalypse's eternal return
Reason
by Brian M. Doherty

Review of 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, by Daniel Pinchbeck: "Did
you know that the ancient Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl -- the
all-encompassing plumed serpent whose return has been prophesied for
centuries -- has decided to weigh in on politics? Here's an excerpt
from his message for the world of mortal men: 'The global capitalist
system that is currently devouring your planetary resources will soon
self-destruct, leaving many of you bereft.' Quetzalcoatl has chosen to
speak through the curious medium of Daniel Pinchbeck, 40, a former
editor of the Manhattan lit-journal Open City. Pinchbeck has had a
glowing reputation in hipster circles since his 2002 book Breaking
Open the Head, a travelogue and treatise on exotic psychedelics, which
transformed him into the 21st century's chief pop guru on the meaning
and significance of altered states -- a thought leader whose musings,
no matter how offbeat, are considered worthy of review in publications
as mainstream as The New York Times." (for publication 12/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116784.html

-----

58) Putting parents first
The Weekly Standard
by Yuval Levin

"We are beginning to get used to national security elections in
America. The 2006 election cycle was the third in a row focused almost
exclusively on the war on terror and Iraq. Apart from immigration and
the vague odor of corruption, it is hard to find a single domestic
issue that candidates consistently stressed on the stump this year.
Indeed, neither party has campaigned on anything that might be called
a domestic policy vision or platform since September 11. But there is
reason to think the 2008 election will be different." (for publication
12/04/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykc4gj

-----

59) Lou Dobbs turns on the CEOs
Mother Jones
by Sridhar Pappu

"To watch Dobbs work, to trust him, as many do, the way we once
trusted Walter Cronkite, is to see America as a nation under siege. We
are, if we're to believe Dobbs, suffering from policies that have
encouraged undocumented workers to cross the Mexican border only to
depress wages, overwhelm public schools, and blaze the way for
infiltrating terrorists. At the same time, we are under attack from
within, he says, from multinational corporations: the same grand
companies that once provided the middle class with decent jobs and
pensions but now find it easier and cheaper to ship out jobs to India
and China." (11/27/06)

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/01/dobbs.html

-----

60) The 2nd Amendment: The original homeland security
Liberty For All
by Matthew Holmes

"A few weeks ago in an article titled, 'Conscription, Standing Armies,
and Love of Country' I wrote that the Federal Government had outlawed
the state militias mentioned in the 2nd Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution. This was incorrect. The state militias have been
'nationalized' into the 'National Guard' and are now being used
unconstitutionally for foreign occupations. Governors across the
country are complaining to the Bush administration that their National
Guard units are being depleted for the War in Iraq, and that they do
not have enough manpower to handle emergencies in their home states."
(written 07/29/04; posted 11/27/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=397

-----

61) Universal care goes to Washington
National Center for Policy Analysis
by staff

"Newly elected Democrats and America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP),
the industry's trade association, have put universal health care at
the top of their legislative agenda, says Investor's Business Daily
(IBD). While Democrats have not developed a comprehensive plan, AHIP
has outlined its formal strategy: The group wants the federal
government to spend $300 billion over 10 years on the plan, which
would expand federal-state programs -- including Medicaid -- to insure
below-poverty-line children and adults." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yfw8vh

-----

62) Fears of a "brain drain"
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Mihai Sarbu

"People in developing countries complain about the 'brain drain'
supposedly practiced by rich countries. This complaint surfaces even
among Europeans with respect to the United States. The idea is that
the US is stealing the most qualified talent from Europe in an unfair
way. It is certainly true that many well-qualified professionals from
countries like mine, Romania, or neighboring Hungary leave their
homeland for career opportunities in Western Europe or the United
States." (11/27/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2371

-----

63) Utilitarianism -- the new evil
Frontiers of Freedom
by Doug Hagin

"'If you can breed cattle for milk yield, horses for running speed,
and dogs for herding skill, why on Earth should it be impossible to
breed humans for mathematical, musical or athletic ability?' Quite a
quote isn't it? Pretty scary that anyone could hold that selectively
breeding human beings is not only not a bad idea, but that it might
benefit society. The statement was made in a letter to Scotland's
Sunday Herald, and it was not just anyone who wrote that letter
either. It was written by one Dr. Richard Dawkins, who holds the
Charles Simonyi Chair in the Public Understanding at Oxford
University. Dr. Dawkins is best known for his hatred of Christianity
in particular and religion as a whole." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yhycds

-----

64) The remarkable Dr. Ayau
FreedomWorks
by Richard W. Rahn

"Nations do not just become rich by accident. Economic prosperity is
largely determined by the ideas and decisions of individuals regarding
the political organization and economic policies in their countries.
If the American Founding Fathers had not been well schooled in the
ideas of John Locke, David Hume, Adam Smith and others, their design
of the great American experiment would have been less perfect and thus
unlikely to have succeeded. If there had been no F.A. Hayek and Milton
Friedman, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher would have lacked much
of the intellectual base they needed to revitalize the economies of
the United States and United Kingdom." (11/27/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y8jbt4

-----

65) Allen agonistes
America's Future Foundation
by James Kirchick

"Virginia Senator George Allen's loss earlier this month to Jim Webb
was more than just a win for the Democratic Party, which needed
Allen's seat to gain a majority in the Senate. It was a victory for
decency over boorishness. For his decision to forgo a state-funded
recount of his opponent Jim Webb's 9,000-vote victory, Allen gained
effusive praise from the media, which, entirely because of his own
deficiencies as a candidate, had made him into a punching bag over the
summer." (11/27/06)

http://www.affbrainwash.com/archives/021659.php

*******************************************************************
* RRND MEDIA SHELF -- Tchotchkes from today's edition
*
* Who Really Cares, by Arthur C. Brooks
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0465008216/rationalrev08-20
*
* Whistling Past Dixie, by Tom Schaller
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743290151/rationalrev08-20
*
* No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority, by Lysander Spooner
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1419137190/rationalrev08-20
*
* 2012: The Return of Quetzlcoatl, by Daniel Pinchbeck
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1585424838/rationalrev08-20
*
* Note: Affiliate links generate commissions for RRND's editors.
*******************************************************************

*****************************
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************

66) Freedomain Radio #529
Freedomain Radio

"Prostitution and private property." With host Stefan Molyneux. [MP3]
(11/26/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y8pzkw

-----

67) FMNN eRadio: Dollar and the world
Free Market News Network

"The mainstream United States media paints a great picture for the
American economy, but when you look at it from the world picture you
get a different story. FMNN International Currency Expert Peter Schiff
gives the details." [MP3 or stream] (11/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/eRadioLaunch.asp?rid=816

-----

68) Free Talk Live, 11/27/06
Free Talk Live

"Law Enforcement Officers and their supporters call in and go head to
head with us on the War on Drugs, following the law, gun confiscations
and a lot more!" [MP3] (11/27/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-11-27.mp3

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

69) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for upcoming freedom movement events. Don't
see yours? Drop us a line at info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

-----

70) America in Chains counter for your site
The Libertarian Enterprise

L.Neil Smith: "I know it's a small thing, but genuine revolutions are
made up of small things. This object will keep counting the days until
Democrats are out of power once again, or they finally manage to shut
down the Internet. What's different is that you can download this
counter and plant it on your own website. You can also link to it in
your e-mail .sig line. Democrats want you to visualize world peace (or
is it whirled peas, I forget). Instead, visualize a million of these,
clicking away the days of their hypocrisy and cruelty everywhere they
look on the Web.When the Republicans come back, we'll think of
something else." (11/06)

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle393-20061112-02.html

-----

71) Auction: Rational Review top banner

It's that time of year! As publisher of Rational Review, one of my
"perks" is ownership of the banner ad space that appears at the top of
each and every page on the site (as well as at the bottom of every
page on my personal blog, Kn@ppster). I auction that space annually.
The auction begins now, and ends at midnight (central time zone),
November 30th, with payment due by December 15th. Your ad (468x60
pixels and no larger than 16Kb in file size) begins running on January
1st, 2007, to run thereafter until midnight of December 31st, 2007. My
"reserve price" is $200. Please email bids (and questions) to me at
info at rationalreview.com. I'll try to answer frequent questions in
the comment form here, and I'll update this entry daily with the high
current bid.

Current High Bid: $500.00
High Bidder's Initials: TBSC

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

72) ... but the paperwork is still on a truck somewhere

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

**********************************************************************
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* To subscribe, unsubscribe, or financially support RRND, visit:
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Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher
Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,033
* Monday, November 27th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,062
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
* In cooperation with ISIL:   htp://www.isil.org
**************************************************

Dear readers,

I hope all of you had a relaxing, enjoyable and safe holiday weekend
(even if there wasn't a holiday where you live!).

It's "web-only Monday" at RRND -- 25 news stories and 40 commentaries
from Steve Trinward, L. Neil Smith, Vin Suprynowicz, Ilana Mercer,
Mike Ruff, Alan Reynolds, Robert Higgs, Karen Kwiatkowski, Justin
Raimondo, Arnold Kling, Paul Jacob, Lady Liberty, Edward W. Younkins,
"CLS," Ronald Bailey, Fred Reed, Alan Bock, John V. Denson, Lew
Rockwell, Daniel R. Simmons, Tom Pico, Jr., Jonathan David Morris,
Scott McPherson and others await at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/news

- This week's symposium is on the subject of "natural law" -- does it
exist and from what conditions does it arise? Weigh in at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21290

- Less than four days to go on the auction of the top banner ad space
at Rational Review, and the bidding stands at $500. Interested? Find
out more at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20587

We'll be back tomorrow with the regular email edition.

Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review

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*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 11/27/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 47,891 ... Max - 53,130
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,872
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

**********************************************************************
* RRND is through the valued support of our readers. Forward freely.
*
* To subscribe, unsubscribe, or financially support RRND, visit:
* http://www.rationalreview.com/news
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* To support ISIL's Free-Market.Net Project (tax deductible)
* http://www.isil.org/store/membership.html
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Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher
Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,032
* Friday, November 24th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,060
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
* In cooperation with ISIL:   htp://www.isil.org
**************************************************

Dear readers,

I can't seem to get my fellow editors here at RRND to actually take a
long weekend, but I did get them to take it a little easier than
usual: Today is a "web-only Friday," with 10 news stories and 20
commentaries, at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/news

Best wishes from all of us here, and enjoy YOUR long weekend!

Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review

**************************************************
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*
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* The classic statement on why economic freedom works
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* Get fit FAST!
* http://shannonstyle.com/warriors_way_guide.html
*
**************************************************

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 11/24/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 47,681 ... Max - 52,914
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,871
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

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* RRND is through the valued support of our readers. Forward freely.
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* To subscribe, unsubscribe, or financially support RRND, visit:
* http://www.rationalreview.com/news
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* http://www.isil.org/store/membership.html
**********************************************************************

Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher
Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,031
* Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,061
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
* In cooperation with ISIL:   htp://www.isil.org
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In The News:

0)  Wednesday notes
1)  UN: Iraqi civilian deaths at new high
2)  EU, six others sign fusion accord
3)  Leaders condemn Lebanese minister's slaying
4)  Anarchy comes to European roads
5)  US to require passports for nearly all
6)  Robert Altman, 1925-2006
7)  Linux users slam Microsoft "posturing"
8)  Appeals court hears rare Iraq war objector case
9)  Gitmo prisoner says procedures botched
10) Selective Service: Ready for a draft
11) Bush, Nouri to meet
12) Iraq: Occupation forces abduct militia
13) CA: Teachers emphasize Indians' side
14) AK: School fits gun education into curriculum
15) OR: Camper cleared in shooting of ATV driver
16) Study: Young mothers' firstborn live long
17) TN: MTSU wants Forrest name taken off hall
18) TN: Cops bust alleged drugs-for-sex scheme
19) A bid to bring the female voice to Islamic law
20) VT: Nursing mother's protest grows

Everybody Has An Opinion:

21) Spoilers of the world ... unite!
22) Rangel: Daft on the draft
23) "Cutting and running" is preferable to "staying and praying"
24) Transformers
25) Jefferson and Voltaire
26) Welcome to Founders College
27) Poisonous propaganda
28) Without just compensation
29) Three movies to be thankful for
30) Milton Friedman, archliberal
31) Once more into the breach!
32) Did voting machines steal a Democratic victory?
33) The rise and decline of the neo-cons
34) Having cake and eatin' it too?
35) Corporate secrecy spreads Pharmafakes
36) Arab winter
37) Undo the Military Commissions Act
38) National Mall morphing into monument of monstrosity
39) Listen in to the voters
40) Another doomsday may need to be postponed
41) Go big, go long, or go home
42) Look who's cutting and running now
43) His ideas had consequences
44) Milton Friedman (1912-2006)
45) The draft card
46) CACI: Torture in Iraq, intimidation at home
47) It's Milton Friedman's world: We're just living freely in it
48) Buying the friendly skies
49) Grazed and abused
50) While our backs were turned
51) The fairness of "unequal" exchange
52) John McCain's phony conservatism
53) Thank you, Milton Friedman
54) Unhappy days are here again
55) The LSE's bell curve

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

56) Freedom Rings, 11/27/06
57) Khodorkovsky's Attorney Speaks Out
58) Freedomain Radio #521
59) Free Talk Live, 11/21/06

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

60) Today's events
61) Nigeria: IPPA HQ robbed
62) Auction: Rational Review top banner

WaYbAcK:

63) A death at Dealey Plaza

***************
* In The News
***************

0)  Wednesday notes

This week's symposium is on the legacy of Milton Friedman. Weigh in at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21040

We'll be off tomorrow, and there's a strong possibility that Friday's
edition will be "web-only." Have a great holiday weekend!

-----

1)  UN: Iraqi civilian deaths at new high
Houston Chronicle

"The United Nations said Wednesday that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were
killed in October, the highest monthly toll since the March 2003 U.S.
invasion and another sign of the severity of Iraq's sectarian
bloodbath. The U.N. tally was more than three times higher than the
total The Associated Press had tabulated for the month, and far more
than the 2,866 U.S. service members who have died during all of the
war. The report on civilian casualties, handed out at a U.N. news
conference in Baghdad, said the influence of militias was growing and
torture continued to be rampant, despite the Iraqi government's vow to
address human rights abuses." (11/22/06)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4353551.html

-----

2)  EU, six others sign fusion accord
USA Today

"Physicists have dreamt about it for decades: harnessing the fusion
process that powers the sun to make clean, safe and limitless energy.
A multinational pact signed Tuesday may bring that dream a step closer
to reality. Seven partners representing half the world's population
have agreed to build an experimental fusion reactor in southern France
that could revolutionize global energy use for future generations. Yet
it is also just an experiment -- a bold, long-awaited, $12.8 billion
experiment -- and it will be decades before scientists are even sure
that it works." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y7dok7

-----

3)  Leaders condemn Lebanese minister's slaying
CNN

"World leaders condemned the killing on Tuesday of a Lebanese
Christian Cabinet minister as Western powers vowed to try to prevent
the collapse of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's unsteady government.
Pierre Gemayel, shot dead near Beirut, was the fourth outspoken
anti-Syrian critic to be killed in Lebanon since the 2005
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri sparked a period
of political upheaval in the country." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/wemlf

-----

4)  Anarchy comes to European roads
Der Spiegel

"Are streets without traffic signs conceivable? Seven cities and
regions in Europe are giving it a try -- with good results. ...
European traffic planners are dreaming of streets free of rules and
directives. They want drivers and pedestrians to interact in a free
and humane way, as brethren -- by means of friendly gestures, nods of
the head and eye contact, without the harassment of prohibitions,
restrictions and warning signs. ... 'The many rules strip us of the
most important thing: the ability to be considerate. We're losing our
capacity for socially responsible behavior,' says Dutch traffic guru
Hans Monderman, one of the project's co-founders. 'The greater the
number of prescriptions, the more people's sense of personal
responsibility dwindles.'" (11/16/06)

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,448747,00.html

-----

5)  US to require passports for nearly all
Lufkin Daily News

"Nearly all air travelers entering the U.S. will be required to show
passports beginning Jan. 23, including returning Americans and people
from Canada and other nations in the Western Hemisphere. The date was
disclosed Tuesday by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in
an interview with The Associated Press. The Homeland Security
Department plans to announce the change on Wednesday." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygnzth

-----

6)  Robert Altman, 1925-2006
Digital Spy [UK]

"Acclaimed British director Robert Altman has died at the age of 81.
The filmmaker, who produced hits including MASH, Gosford Park,
Nashville and The Player, died in a hospital bed in Los Angeles on
Monday. His production company announced the news today. Altman had
built a reputation in Hollywood as a maverick who was not afraid to
experiment, and did not win an Oscar, despite five-time best director
nominations, until this year. He was given an honorary Academy Award
for his consistent and ongoing inventive work." (11/22/06)

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds39710.html

-----

7)  Linux users slam Microsoft "posturing"
PC Advisor [UK]

"Business leaders have rejected concerns about potential lawsuits
surrounding the Suse Linux operating system, despite Microsoft
claiming its agreement with Novell is designed to protect corporate
users from such threats. ... After keeping mum about Microsoft and
Novell's tie-up, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer openly
declared last week that he believes the Linux source code infringes
upon Microsoft's intellectual property (IP). And companies that use
Linux, apart from Novell's SUSE distribution, face a latent financial
time bomb that he called an 'undisclosed balance sheet liability.'"
[editor's note: I guess falsely, frivolously and retroactively
claiming ownership of a competing operating system is ONE way of
staying on top ... but I doubt if it's a workable way - TLK] (11/22/06)

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=7672

-----

8)  Appeals court hears rare Iraq war objector case
MSNBC

"An Army medic who fled rather than serve a second tour in Iraq
because he believes war is immoral had his case heard Tuesday before
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. This is
believed to be the first military conscientious objector case of the
Iraq war. It is the first case to come before this court since 1971,
during the Vietnam War. Army Spec. Agustin Aguayo, a U.S. citizen who
was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, has said he was not anti-war when he
enlisted in the Army in 2002." (11/21/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15833631/

-----

9)  Gitmo prisoner says procedures botched
Gainesville Sun

"A detainee at Guantanamo Bay who needs a medical procedure on his
heart said Tuesday he doesn't want it performed there because
operations on other detainees have been botched -- an accusation the
base commander denied. Saifullah Paracha, a multimillionaire Pakistani
businessman held at Guantanamo, 'believes that two prisoners have lost
their vocal cords after routine tonsillectomies, that a prisoner lost
part of his leg because of a surgical sponge left in him which became
infected, and that a prisoner lost a testicle from similar neglect,'
said Gaillard T. Hunt, his attorney." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yltwqr

-----

10) Selective Service: Ready for a draft
CNN

"Although Congress is unlikely to follow calls from a top Democrat to
bring back the military draft, the United States does have a plan, if
necessary, aimed at inducting millions of young men for service. The
Selective Service System, an agency independent of the Defense
Department, says it's ready to respond quickly to any crisis that
would threaten to overwhelm the current all-volunteer military."
(11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yedv2b

-----

11) Bush, Nouri to meet
Chattanooga Times Free Press

"President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will meet
next week in Jordan to discuss the deteriorating security situation in
Iraq. Their meeting Nov. 29-30 comes as various groups contemplate the
direction of the U.S.-led war. A Pentagon committee and the
congressionally chartered Iraq Study Group have been preparing reports
for Bush, and Iran has asked the presidents of Iraq and Syria to meet
in Tehran." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yyr3cs

-----

12) Iraq: Occupation forces abduct militia
Albuquerque Tribune

"U.S. and Iraqi forces raided Baghdad's Sadr City today and detained
seven militia members, including one believed to have information
about an American soldier kidnapped last month, the military said. A
popular comedian who had poked fun at Iraq's security was buried, a
day after he was shot to death driving through Baghdad. Iraq restored
diplomatic relations with Syria as part of a wider regional effort to
clamp off violence in Iraq." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yjuu4k

-----

13) CA: Teachers emphasize Indians' side
Yahoo! News

"Teacher Bill Morgan walks into his third-grade class wearing a black
Pilgrim hat made of construction paper and begins snatching up
pencils, backpacks and glue sticks from his pupils. He tells them the
items now belong to him because he 'discovered' them. The reaction is
exactly what Morgan expects: The kids get angry and want their things
back. Morgan is among elementary school teachers who have ditched the
traditional Thanksgiving lesson, in which children dress up like
Indians and Pilgrims and act out a romanticized version of their first
meetings. He has replaced it with a more realistic look at the complex
relationship between Indians and white settlers." (11/21/06)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061121/ap_on_re_us/teaching_thanksgiving

-----

14) AK: School fits gun education into curriculum
Casper Star-Tribune

"Tom Milliron figures Juneau school children are going to encounter
guns one way or another, whether venturing armed into nearby
wilderness or visiting the home of a friend. 'Better they learn how to
handle a firearm safely than to hurt themselves through ignorance, he
says.' Milliron is principal of one of Juneau's two middle schools.
Sixth-graders under his care last month completed an outdoor education
course that included instruction in safe handling of guns and firing
rounds from .22-caliber rifles. For some children, it was the first
time they'd touched a gun. 'In gun-happy Alaska, teaching children how
to safely handle firearms is just common sense,' Milliron said."
(11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yx44kb

-----

15) OR: Camper cleared in shooting of ATV driver
KGW News

"An Idaho man acted in self-defense when he shot a man who was headed
toward him in an all-terrain vehicle, a Baker County grand jury
decided. Marvin Sauer, 52, of Boise shot Everett Durst, 38, of
Vancouver, Wash., in the left leg following a Labor Day dispute near
Phillips Reservoir. The incident started when Sauer and his wife
arrived to camp in an area where Durst and his party were riding. The
sides had a disagreement and Durst later drove a quad runner to
Sauer's campsite. Durst began spinning the vehicle in circles,
stirring up dust and throwing rocks on Sauer's wife, said Matt
Shirtcliff, the Baker County district attorney. Shirtcliff said Sauer
fired a warning a shot into the air. Durst stopped spinning the
vehicle in circles and started driving in Sauer's direction. 'Once Mr.
Durst drove the quad runner straight at Mr. Sauer, Sauer was entitled
at that point to fire his gun at Mr. Durst to defend himself,'
Shirtcliff said." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yn6ohy

-----

16) Study: Young mothers' firstborn live long
Arizona Republic

"Firstborn children of women younger than 25 are about twice as likely
to surpass the average life span and go on to live beyond 100,
according to a new study. Leonid Gavrilov and his colleagues at the
University of Chicago's Center for Aging have studied a wealth of data
on centenarians to figure out why so many firstborns seem to outpace
their younger siblings in the longevity race. Although there is no
clear answer yet, scientists believe the phenomenon may be related to
the physical youthfulness of young mothers and the eggs they produce.
They found that firstborn children are 1.7 times more likely to live
to a ripe old age. The scientists studied a variety of factors, and
what stood out strongly was the age of the mother." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yfx28e

-----

17) TN: MTSU wants Forrest name taken off hall
Tennessean

"Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's name should be removed from
MTSU's ROTC building, the Student Government Association says. The SGA
voted 19-5 to ask Middle Tennessee State University administrators to
remove the name from Forrest Hall after a student, Amber Perkins,
presented a petition with 205 names seeking the change, said Josh
McKinzie, SGA vice president. The university administration will next
consider the resolution. Forrest is a controversial figure. Some boast
about the success of the cavalry general from Tennessee. For others,
he conjures negative memories of the Old South because he was a slave
dealer before the war and helped form the original Ku Klux Klan after
the war." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yzvf43

-----

18) TN: Cops bust alleged drugs-for-sex scheme
Nashville City Paper

"Approximately 20 women got themselves caught up in a
sex-for-painkillers scheme being run out of a downtown Nashville
pharmacy, Metro Police said Monday as they took into custody the
pharmacist allegedly responsible for masterminding the operation.
Metro Police, along with TennCare representatives and officials with
the state pharmacy board descended upon the Clinic Pharmacy at 1
Hermitage Avenue Monday afternoon and arrested the pharmacist,
61-year-old William Milton of Brentwood on one felony charge of
unlawful delivery of a controlled substance. Milton was taken into
custody directly from the pharmacy, which remained closed for the
afternoon. But police, who first began investigating the pharmacist in
October, said Milton admitted to much more than the one felony. He
implicated himself, police said, in a long-running scheme of
exchanging the prescription painkiller Hydrocodone for sex." (11/21/06)

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?news_id=53351

-----

19) A bid to bring the female voice to Islamic law
Christian Science Monitor

"For centuries, devout Muslims have looked to the fatwa -- an opinion
based on religious reasoning of a learned individual or committee --
for direction on how to resolve moral dilemmas ranging from the
mundane to the sublime. And for centuries, Muslim women have conceded
the ground, for the most part, to the men who issue these opinions.
That's beginning to change. Meeting in New York over the weekend,
Muslim women from 25 countries began laying groundwork for the first
international all-female council formed to issue fatwas. Their idea:
to ensure that women's perspectives on Islamic law become part of
religious deliberation in the Muslim world -- particularly on issues
such as domestic violence, divorce, and inheritance." (11/21/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1121/p01s04-ussc.html

-----

20) VT: Nursing mother's protest grows
Boston Globe

"After waiting five hours at the Burlington, Vt., airport, Emily
Gillette finally boarded a Delta commuter flight and discreetly began
breast-feeding her exhausted toddler. And that's when the trouble
started. 'The flight attendant said, 'You are offending me,'' Gillette
recalled yesterday in a telephone interview from her home in New
Mexico. 'I've always breast-fed my daughter when she wants, where she
wants.' After she, her husband, and 22-month-old daughter were kicked
off the plane last month, Gillette, 27, filed a discrimination
complaint with the Vermont Human Rights Commission. As word of the
case spread on online mothering forums, outrage boiled." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y8rljs

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 11/22/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 47,440 ... Max - 52,642
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,867
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

21) Spoilers of the world ... unite!
CounterPunch
by John V. Walsh

"Let us start with the biggest lie of all, that the Democrats cannot
end the war, are unable to do it, do not have the power to do it. Big,
big, big lie. ... An end to the war is what 60 per cent of the voters
wanted in the election of 2006, and the desire for it grows by the
day. What are we to do, then? Simple. We can work now on mounting a
third party challenge to the Democrats in 2008. The platform of such a
challenge would be simple. We are against war and the police state;
these are the over-arching issues of the moment and we shall not
compromise on them for any reason. The current test of these
principles is Iraq. If all troops are out of Iraq by November, 2008,
then our issue is gone and we cannot expect to win. If the U.S.
remains in Iraq, then we may or may not win ­ but the Democrats will
have to confront us; we may defeat them or we may spoil the election
for them. But either way, we will be a force to be reckoned with. ...
This strategy can only apply to the Democrats since the Republicans in
the person of McCain or Giuliani or Romney are all openly committed to
fight on in Iraq. The Democrats are pretending to be the Party opposed
to the war. Let us take them up on that." (11/21/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/walsh11212006.html

-----

22) Rangel: Daft on the draft
Free Market News Network
by Thomas L. Knapp

"The Democrats have only just secured a new start at political
ascendancy, and their resurgence is at least partially accounted for
by America's rejection of perpetual military misadventurism
accompanied by gross violations of civil liberties. Now, not even two
weeks past the electoral recording of that sea change, we have ... a
(black!) Democratic congressman agitating for the return and
universalization of chattel slavery under government sponsorship!
Odious and nauseating don't even begin to describe that -- and if the
Democrats want their luck to hold, they need to nip this kind of thing
in the bud immediately." (11/21/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/118/6429/tom.asp?nid=6429&wid=118

-----

23) "Cutting and running" is preferable to "staying and praying"
Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland

"General John Batiste, a retired Army major general who was a division
commander in Iraq and called for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation, called
the Democrats' proposal 'terribly naive.' Among other initiatives,
Batiste argues that the United States has to make new efforts to
secure Iraq's borders, weaken or eliminate the Iraqi militias, step up
training of the country's security forces, reduce Iraqi unemployment,
and solicit more cooperation from tribal leaders. To do all of these
things, Batiste recommends increasing the number of U.S. forces in
Iraq. General Anthony Zinni, one of Abizaid's predecessors as Middle
East commander and another critic of administration policy, as well as
Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), agree that more
U.S. troops should be sent. But if the Democratic plan is naive, this
proposal is just plain crazy." (11/21/06)

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1854

-----

24) Transformers
The Libertarian Enterprise
by Chris Claypoole

"So why do so many in the self-described elites in America still think
that the transformation of human nature into the mold they desire can
succeed here when it has failed in countries that had far more of a
stranglehold on the populace than is possible in these United States?
Because it is working. The state-run schools have been indoctrinating
their captive students for decades. The media have, in general,
followed in lock-step with the tenets of the cult of obedience to the
many governments that prey on us." (11/19/06)

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle394-20061119-04.html

-----

25) Jefferson and Voltaire
Libery For All
by Rich Moroney

"Admittedly, we kind of sucked at the first one at the time it was
written. There were slaves. Women couldn't vote. It was a lofty
sentiment that we just weren't quite up to. Things have clearly gotten
better since then. But even way back then, we were ahead of a lot of
other countries. And that's been a beacon of hope to people in other
places. And also a silent, but powerful, indictment of oppressors in
any corner of the globe. Of course, not to rest on our laurels -- we
still fall short of Jefferson's lofty ideal. (In particular, I can't
believe we've allowed it to be so corrupted that the Supreme Court has
ruled that corporations are considered persons with all the
constitutional rights you & I have. But that's a whole other rant.)"
(11/21/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=389

-----

26) Welcome to Founders College
The Free Liberal
by Carl S. Milsted, Jr.

"I doubt that Founders College will be quite as silly as I implied
above. But it is possible. As a longtime libertarian activist, I know
quite a few Objectivists, and some of them can get really silly on
occasion -- in a pointy-eared Vulcan sort of way. In all fairness
there is much to like in Ayn Rand's writings. Capitalism desperately
needed a moral defense, and she provided one. The world is polluted by
bad philosophy and she did a masterful job of tearing apart some of
the worst. Her writings sparkle with acidic wit, and she could deftly
take a socialist cliche down to its logical insane conclusions. On the
down side, she introduced the meme that liberty requires that the
population adopt a limited axiomatic philosophy -- an idea that has
crippled much of the libertarian movement." (11/22/06)

http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002437.html

-----

27) Poisonous propaganda
AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo

"The attempt to portray the Russians as mad poisoners intent on
assassinating their political opponents no matter where they try to
find refuge is a powerful propagandistic theme that, although
unsupported by any facts, winds its way through the media narrative on
the wings of pure supposition. These people don't care about facts:
it's all speculation, unsupported by evidence that passes the most
perfunctory smell test. If ever there was an attempted frame-up, then
the Litvinenko 'poisoning' is it. They won't really ever know what
poisoned Litvinenko, and they can't detect enough thallium in his
system, or indeed much of anything. Here is yet another link in the
long chain of manufactured incidents meant to provoke a confrontation
with Russia. An aggressive propaganda campaign aimed at the Russians
has been in high gear for quite some time, and it appears to be
reaching a crescendo with this Litvinenko nonsense." (11/22/06)

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=10049

-----

28) Without just compensation
Cato Institute
by Timothy Sandefur

"The U.S. Supreme Court's notorious 2005 decision in Kelo v. New
London allowed state and local governments to condemn private land and
transfer it to developers to construct shopping centers or other
private development. The ruling led to a nationwide outcry, and last
week voters in nine states adopted new restrictions on eminent domain
to prevent such abuses. In September, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
signed five bills that he claimed would rein in abuses of eminent
domain in California. Unfortunately, these laws accomplish little --
they simply tinker with procedural details while leaving the state's
abusive redevelopment industry intact." (11/22/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6776

-----

29) Three movies to be thankful for
LewRockwell.Com
by Karen Kwiatkowski

"The first is V for Vendetta. What a refreshing idea, blowing up one's
own parliament. What a cool quote about governments that should be
afraid of their people, not people afraid of their governments. What a
neat enemy of the people, that pseudo-conservative Christian
national/socialist government, with its unitary executive and
faith-based rule, its police state, its cowed and ignorant citizenry.
Could never happen here, of course. People who must wear masks to be
free, that's crazy talk! It's all great entertainment, and fun to
watch. The mainstream fogies in movie review-land didn't like the
movie much. It glorifies terrorism, they said. Stupid plot, they said.
Celebrates destruction and promotes pointless violence, said they. My
goodness, sounds just like our Middle East policy." (11/22/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski166.html

-----

30) Milton Friedman, archliberal
Reason
by Jacob Sullum

"Friedman, who died on November 16 at the age of 94, is no longer
around to insist on his right to describe his own political
convictions. And judging from much of the commentary prompted by his
death, many people agree with Meyerson that the great free market
economist, a staunch foe of conscription, should be drafted into the
conservative movement against his will. But the truth is that Friedman
did not fit comfortably on the right or the left, which says more
about the inadequacy of contemporary political categories than it does
about his own confusion or perversity. Friedman sought to minimize
government and maximize individual freedom." (11/22/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116855.html

-----

31) Once more into the breach!
Unqualified Offerings
by Jim Henley

"Keep in mind that the ISG works for the White House. George Bush is
its sole real customer, certainly not any pious abstraction like 'the
American people.' The Repubs on the panel are going to bow to the
President's will perforce if he puts his foot down. Theoretically the
Dems might not, but you have to consider the official Democratic
Party's proven record of cowardice, befuddlement and dithering on the
topic of Iraq. I figure at least some committee members will feel
duty-bound to sign on to a 'bipartisan' report .... In other words,
the ISG is about to get the Democratic Party to sign onto a bipartisan
plan to install a junta or dictator. Iraq the Model! of covering your
domestic ass politically. Which is important, because who wants
everyone to see your ass when you've got a great big old head jammed
up there?" (11/16/06)

http://highclearing.com/index.php/archives/2006/11/16/5609

-----

32) Did voting machines steal a Democratic victory?
Salon
by Katharine Mieszkowski

"On Monday, Florida election officials named Republican Vern Buchanan
the victor in the race for the House seat that Katherine Harris -- the
Katherine Harris who was Florida's secretary of state during the 2000
recount -- vacated to run for the Senate. The Florida Elections
Canvassing Commission, which is made up of Gov. Jeb Bush and two other
elected Republican officials, said that the results of the recount
showed Buchanan had beaten Democrat Christine Jennings by 369 votes in
a race where nearly 240,000 votes were cast. The commission awarded
the victory to Buchanan despite the fact that the mystery of more than
18,000 missing votes has not been resolved." [subscription or ad view
required] (11/22/06)

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/11/22/florida_13/

-----

33) The rise and decline of the neo-cons
Asia Times
by Jim Lobe and Michael Flynn

"Because their agenda is global in scale, US neo-conservatives remain
important players -- albeit increasingly isolated -- within the US
foreign policy elite. Understanding the neo-cons and how they achieved
their power is critical in divining the course of the world's last
remaining superpower." (11/21/06)

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/HK22Aa01.html

-----

34) Having cake and eatin' it too?
Common Dreams
by Sean Gonsalves

"It's waaay too oversimplified to talk about the mid-term elections as
a referendum on Bush's Iraq policy. Sure, there were people who voted
anti-Bush and who, like me, were opposed to invading Iraq from the
get-go. But there were also lots of voters who just recently came
around to the anti-this-war position -- not because they understand
there's NO military solution to guerrilla insurgencies, short of
genocide, but because it seems like we're not making 'progress.'
There's a huge disagreement between those who want to see a change in
policy and those who think Iraq is merely being 'mismanaged;' that if
someone gets in there and runs things right (maybe the Democrats?), we
can have our war-cake and eat it, too." (11/21/06)

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1121-26.htm

-----

35) Corporate secrecy spreads Pharmafakes
In These Times
by Terry J. Allen

"'The suffering of millions could be eased by issuing public health
warnings from available information that is currently kept
confidential by the pharmaceutical industry,' reporter Robert Cockburn
told the Global Forum on Pharmaceutical Anti-Counterfeiting. The
secrecy concerns the flood of pharmafakes that may comprise 50 percent
of drugs in some developing countries and 10 percent worldwide. Some
experts put the annual toll at 1 million dead and rising. But the real
numbers are hidden. 'Why does the [pharmaceutical] industry continue
to shy away from developing the infrastructure needed to assess the
size of the global problem?' asks PharmaManufacturing.com editor Agnes
Shanley in a 2005 editorial. 'The answer is simple: fears of bad
publicity and impacts on stock prices.'" (11/21/06)

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2905/

-----

36) Arab winter
The American Prospect
by Matthew Yglesias

"Remember the Arab Spring? 'Just recently we have had the Lebanese
revolution, the Egyptian announcement about electoral changes, the
Iraqi elections, the Afghan elections,' wrote Charles Krauthammer in
the spring of 2005. 'Kuwait has just extended suffrage to women, and
Syria has announced, however disingenuously, that they are moving
toward legalizing political parties, purging the ruling Baath Party,
sponsoring free municipal elections in 2007, and formally endorsing a
market economy.' He concluded: 'What we have seen in the last six
months has been simply astonishing -- well, astonishing to the
critics.' Now, to be clear, Krauthammer is very possibly the worst
journalist working in America today, a relentlessly pernicious force,
never right about anything, who feels his commentary should not be
shackled by the small-minded bonds of accuracy or logic. He was,
however, hardly alone in his unabashed enthusiasm for Bush's Arab
Spring." (11/21/06)

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12254

-----

37) Undo the Military Commissions Act
Tom Paine
by Aziz Huq

"The general understanding -- if not the universal practice -- is that
those on Capitol Hill answer to today's voters, but not tomorrow's. On
matters such as global climate change, the consequences are evident.
Today's leaders face too small a reckoning for their disregard of
ethical obligations to our planet and future generations. Pushing back
today's problems, they store up crises for our children. But
environmental issues are not the sole arena in which the future holds
an accounting for short-sighted policies. Perhaps surprisingly,
national security is another. Here Congress seems capable of only
acting in frantic fits of unwise activity. Lawmakers should take
advantage of the recent change in congressional leadership to both
correct recent mistakes and reflect on their bad habit of leaping
before looking." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yfgzuo

-----

38) National Mall morphing into monument of monstrosity
Fox News
by Radley Balko

"Last week, several thousand people gathered on the National Mall for
a 'virtual groundbreaking' for a proposed Martin Luther King, Jr.
memorial. Planners hadn't even obtained the permits, yet. The event
was more a fundraiser than an actual groundbreaking. ... Plans are
also in the works for an African-American History Museum on the
National Mall and a memorial to President Eisenhower. And it's
probably just a matter of time before conservatives in Congress again
begin agitating for a Ronald Reagan Memorial. It's likely that we'll
also get a memorial to Sept. 11, and/or to the victims of, and the war
on, terrorism. The National Mall, originally envisioned by Washington,
D.C.'s planner and architect Pierre L'Enfant ... as a serene place for
public celebration and quiet contemplation, is quickly turning into a
kind of kitchy amusement park for aggrieved parties and special
interests." (11/21/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,230842,00.html

-----

39) Listen in to the voters
Boston Globe
by staff

"Stripping Americans of their Fourth Amendment protection against
government intrusion into private communications will always be
controversial, but never more so than when it is attempted by a
lame-duck Congress after an election that has dislodged the party in
power. It is unwise of President Bush to ask Congress to legalize the
National Security Agency's warrantless interception of telephone calls
between Americans and terrorism suspects overseas. It would be even
worse folly for Republicans in Congress to attempt to push through
such legislation in the few weeks before Democrats take over. After
the election's stinging rebuke to his own leadership, Bush said he
would respect the voters' call for bipartisanship. But he has done
just the opposite in seeking lame-duck action on the nominations of
several judicial candidates whom Democrats had previously rebuffed."
(11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yjquo4

-----

40) Another doomsday may need to be postponed
Classically Liberal
by "CLS"

"The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science has just published
a new research on those 'disappearing' forests we are always hearing
about. And what they found is very important regarding a host of
issues from economic development to global warming. We have frequently
heard it said that the rich nations of the world are plundering the
planet leading to all sorts of bad things. For instance carbon in the
atmosphere is believed to be a greenhouse gas. Trees absorb carbon and
thus reduce the levels of greenhouse gases. So nations with decreasing
forests contribute to global warming while nations with expanding
forests reduce warming." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yafxzs

-----

41) Go big, go long, or go home
The American Spectator
by Jed Babbin

"Maybe we shouldn't listen to Baker, Kissinger, or any of the old
diplo-pols who now dispense wise words. Their words are hollow. If
only Sir Winston were here: 'It is no use saying we are doing our
best,' he once said. 'You have to succeed in doing what is necessary.'
What is necessary is to fight this war in a manner calculated to win
it decisively. Which cannot be done in Iraq alone. There is no victory
in Baghdad. It lies in Tehran and Damascus. Let's make it simple: win
or come home. Every American president has a sacred obligation to our
troops: spend their lives if you have to, but don't waste them."
[editor's note: I don't have to admire it, but I do have to admit it:
Babbin will go down with a ship instead of swimming for a real-world
shore - TLK] (11/21/06)

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10657

-----

42) Look who's cutting and running now
Slate
by Christopher Hitchens

"Taken together with the dismissal of Donald Rumsfeld, the nomination
of Robert Gates, and the holy awe with which the findings of the Iraq
Study Group are now expected, [Kissinger's statement] means that the
Bush administration, or large parts of it, is now cutting if not
actually running, and it is looking for partners in the process. (You
have to admit that it was clever of the president to make it appear
that Rumsfeld had been fired by the electorate rather than by him.) It
seems that Kissinger has been giving his 'realist' advice even to the
supposedly most hawkish member of the administration, namely the vice
president, and at a dinner in honor of the president-elect of Mexico a
few nights ago, I saw him mixing easily with such ISG elders as former
Rep. Lee Hamilton." (11/20/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2154164

-----

43) His ideas had consequences
TCS Daily
by Tim Worstall

"To describe the effect of the free market ideas that changed Britain
so radically in the late 1970s and early 1980s, driven on as they were
by Uncle Milt's advocacy, I'd better give you a highly partial and
probably extremely biased history lesson. One through the eyes of the
freckled and ginger haired boy that was me. Through the 1950s to the
1970s the Keynesian consensus held sway; in fact, in the UK's case it
was really corporatism that did. Big business, Big government and Big
unions would negotiate and work together for the betterment of the
country. This system actually worked to an extent in Germany and does
so, again to an extent, in Sweden now. It never really did in the UK,
despite it being the consensus across both the main political parties
that it should." (11/21/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=112106D

-----

44) Milton Friedman (1912-2006)
The Free Liberal
by Fred E. Foldvary

"Milton Friedman was the greatest advocate of freedom in our times.
His stature brought his influence to President Reagan and Prime
Minister Thatcher, both of them reinvigorated the economies of their
countries. The Friedman prescription was to cut taxes, deregulate,
privatize, and avoid an excessive expansion of the money supply.
Friedman was not a libertarian purist. During World War II, he
designed the system of withholding to pay income tax whenever wages
are earned, which makes the income tax less visible and results in
less political resistance to high taxes. This could be forgiven as an
expedient to finance the war, although this policy has continued ever
since." (11/21/06)

http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002433.html

-----

45) The draft card
National Review
by James S. Robbins

"It's strange to imagine the Democratic party as the party of the
draft. After all, the college radicals who took to the streets the
last time we had conscription grew up to form the ideological bedrock
of the party. But Democrats have a long history of promoting the
draft, from the 1940 Selective Service Act under Roosevelt to Truman's
1948 conscription renewal. When the draft finally ended, it was due to
the efforts of Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater, and took place over
the objections of liberal Democrats like Ted Kennedy. Now along comes
Representative Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.), a Korean War vet and liberal
Democrat in good standing who has been pushing the draft concept for
years." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yl2k5n

-----

46) CACI: Torture in Iraq, intimidation at home
AlterNet
by Joshua Holland

"Think about the image problems a major multinational corporation
faces after becoming inextricably linked with the abuses at Abu
Ghraib, a firm whose employees have contributed to the iconic images
of the occupation of Iraq -- the symbols of American cruelty and
immorality in an illegal war. What can a company like that possibly do
to protect its brand name after contributing to the greatest national
disgrace since the My Lai massacre? CACI's strategy has been two-fold:
its flacks have distorted well-documented facts in the public record
beyond recognition, and its senior management has lawyered up, suing
or threatening to sue just about every journalist, muckraker and
government watchdog who's dared to shine a light on the firm's unique
role as a torture profiteer." (11/21/06)

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/44506/

-----

47) It's Milton Friedman's world: We're just living freely in it
Reason
by Brian M. Doherty

"If you or your children have not been forced into the armed services
in the past three decades -- which you haven't -- thank Friedman. He
was the intellectual sparkplug for the Nixon-era Gates Commission that
convinced Nixon a volunteer army is both workable and the right thing
to do. If the dollars in your pocket are worth somewhere close to what
they were a year ago, not 8 percent or more less, thank Dr. Friedman.
His work as an economist convinced Federal Reserve chiefs, after the
grim late 1970s dominated by stagflation (high inflation combined with
recession), that we should strive to keep money supply growth low to
restrain both inflation and unemployment. While the world's central
banks haven't followed every technical detail of his plan, the old and
destructive belief that government can tax and spend and inflate our
way to prosperity is gone, and Friedman is why." (11/21/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116839.html

-----

48) Buying the friendly skies
The Weekly Standard
by Irwin M. Stelzer

"The alchemists who run America's airlines are at it again, attempting
to turn base metals into gold. US Airways' almost $9 billion hostile
bid for bankrupt Delta, if successful, would create the industry's
largest carrier and might be followed by the long-rumored merger of
United with Continental, and American with bankrupt Northwest. Such
consolidation would be the latest in a long line of proposed solutions
to the industry's perpetual losses: cartel-type regulation,
deregulation, bankruptcy court protection, and government bail-outs."
(11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yeqkoj

-----

49) Grazed and abused
Mother Jones
by Rob Nelson

Interview with Richard Linklater: "Crappy beef is only one of the
subjects of Fast Food Nation, which zooms out from the burger to
reveal its origins. Working from the screenplay he cowrote with
Schlosser, Linklater wanders, somewhat in the roving style of his
debut feature, Slacker, among three loosely connected stories. There's
Don (Greg Kinnear), a burned-out Mickey's marketing executive who's
ordered to get to the bottom of the company's fecal matter; Amber
(Ashley Johnson), a young Mickey's employee who gets a whiff of what
she's cooking and considers taking action; and Sylvia (Catalina
Sandino Moreno), an undocumented worker at the plant who snuck across
the border from Mexico to a job in which she's essentially treated
like meat." (10/27/06)

http://www.motherjones.com/arts/qa/2006/11/linklater_extended.html

-----

50) While our backs were turned
Liberty For All
by Ed Lewis

"Our forefathers warned us that we must be always vigilant and
protective of the freedom they gave us. They knew by the very nature
of man that people put in positions of authority would abuse their
authority. And, so it has been. Not only are we in illegal military
actions around the world, including the well-publicized and illegal
invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, but also are in dozens of countries
illegally." (11/21/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=390

-----

51) The fairness of "unequal" exchange
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Jim Fedako

"Market exchange is not based on the requirement that both parties
appraise the goods about to be exchanged at equal value. Instead,
market exchange is based on both parties benefiting from a two-way,
unequal valuation of the goods to be exchanged. An example from my
youth: During my high school years in the early 1980's, I had
purchased a double-live album of the rock group Rush for $15.
Teenagers can be a fickle lot and I was no different." (11/21/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2382

-----

52) John McCain's phony conservatism
Frontiers of Freedom
by Jim Kouri

"'It's a done deal,' said the smiling Arizona Senator, John McCain,
after he met with the President George W. Bush and got what he wanted:
a ban on interrogation techniques he and other liberals believe are
inhumane or degrading. Earlier this year, President Bush and Senator
McCain finally agreed that CIA interrogators will possess the same
legal rights as enjoyed by members of the military who are accused of
breaking interrogation guidelines. Those rights say accused people can
defend themselves by claiming they were obeying an order and did not
know the actions were unlawful. The government also would provide
counsel for accused interrogators." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y78sry

-----

53) Thank you, Milton Friedman
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Sheldon Richman

"Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who died at 94
last week, told the economics profession and the public many things
they needed to hear. After World War II, thanks to the theories of
John Maynard Keynes, most economists and policymakers believed that
government should manage the economy through broad discretionary
powers over the money supply and the budget. Friedman went against the
grain and showed the dangers that lay in permitting such powers to
fallible government officials." (11/20/06)

http://www.fff.org/comment/com0611g.asp

-----

54) Unhappy days are here again
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Henry I. Miller

"'The American people voted for change and they voted for Democrats to
take our country in a new direction,' said a triumphant Nancy Pelosi
upon becoming the new Speaker of the House. This might well turn out
to be a case of being careful what you wish for, lest it come true.
Not only is Pelosi herself radical, but many of the powerful
Democratic committee chairmen-in-waiting are members in good standing
of what veteran bipartisan presidential advisor David Gergen has
called the 'loony Left.'" (11/21/06)

http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,05629.cfm

-----

55) The LSE's bell curve
America's Future Foundation
by Alvino-Mario Fantini

"Satoshi Kanazawa, a virtually unknown professor of evolutionary
psychology at the London School of Economics (LSE), has published in
the pages of the British Journal of Health Psychology an article
suggesting that ill-health and poverty in less-developed countries in
Africa can be blamed on low IQs. Predictably, student activists have
circulated an electronic petition across Europe calling on the
well-known school to stand up for tolerance and diversity -- by
condemning Kanazawa." (11/20/06)

http://www.affbrainwash.com/archives/021643.php

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*
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* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************

56) Freedom Rings, 11/27/06
Freedom Rings

"Open line" on libertarian talk radio with Kenneth John. 9AM CST on
WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin, Illinois. Webcast available. [live radio or
webcast] (11/27/06)

http://www.freedomrings.net/

-----

57) Khodorkovsky's Attorney Speaks Out
Cato Institute

Cato daily podcast, featuring Robert Amsterdam. [MP3] (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y9ktsh

-----

58) Freedomain Radio #521
Freedomain Radio

"The Business Cycle, Part 1: Booms, busts and depressions -- the
Austrian School explains!" With host Stefan Molyneux. [MP3] (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ybo6n7

-----

59) Free Talk Live, 11/21/06
Free Talk Live

"Libertarians and Elections / Man selling his soul online / Ebay PS3
Oops! / Arrested for critiquing Cheney / Neighborhood Association /
BBC presenter honestly discusses his drug use / Using Psychoactives /
Natural doesn't mean safe / Prescription Drug Abuse / Second Life
pursuing market based solutions to in-game copyright problems /
Germans now talking about banning violent video games." [MP3] (11/21/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-11-21.mp3

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

60) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for upcoming freedom movement events. Don't
see yours? Drop us a line at info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

-----

61) Nigeria: IPPA HQ robbed
Initiative for Public Policy Analysis

From an email from Thompson Ayodele to ISIL's Vince Miller: "Today is
a very sad day for IPPA. Over the night IPPA office was broken into
and took valuable items: My laptop, the hard-disks of all the
computers. The office was forcefully broken into and they came through
the window by pulling out the whole window out in order to get access.
We have lost valuable information and resources." The guys at the
Initiative for Public Policy Analysis have done a lot of hard work for
liberty ... if you're interested in helping them get back on their
feet, drop Thompson a line at thompson at ippanigeria.org.

http://www.ippanigeria.org

-----

62) Auction: Rational Review top banner

It's that time of year! As publisher of Rational Review, one of my
"perks" is ownership of the banner ad space that appears at the top of
each and every page on the site (as well as at the bottom of every
page on my personal blog, Kn@ppster). I auction that space annually.
The auction begins now, and ends at midnight, November 30th, with
payment due by December 15th. Your ad (468x60 pixels and no larger
than 16Kb in file size) begins running on January 1st, 2007, to run
thereafter until midnight of December 31st, 2007. My "reserve price"
is $200. Please email bids (and questions) to me at info at
rationalreview.com. I'll try to answer frequent questions in the
comment form here, and I'll update this entry daily with the high
current bid.

Current High Bid: $500.00
High Bidder's Initials: TBSC

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20587

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

63) A death at Dealey Plaza

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

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Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher
Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,030
* Tuesday, November 21st, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,061
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
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In The News:

0)  Opening notes
1)  Mexico: Obrador sworn as head of "parallel government"
2)  NY: Miniluv says TV is terror
3)  FL: GOP candidate certified, Dem sues
4)  Iraq: New attacks, new deaths
5)  Congo: Gunfire, street fighting erupt
6)  NJ: Mayor threatens land theft for "rehab"
7)  Universal files frivolous suit v. MySpace
8)  Jackson taken off Hobbit film
9)  Costa Rica: Drug thugs kidnap coke submariners
10) IL: Dem patronage chief sentenced
11) MN: Imams removed from flight
12) OH: GOP grifter sentenced to 18 years
13) Marine claims he was denied attorney
14) FBI recovers stolen Goya painting
15) Pentagon review sees three Iraq options
16) EU proposes ban on sale of cat, dog fur
17) Iran invites Iraqi, Syrian presidents
18) Polygamist accused in illegal marriages
19) WA: SAF sues library system over Net censorship
20) FL: Motorist with gun holds down tip thief
21) PA: Robber shot and killed by victim
22) Cuba inches into the Internet Age
23) Fox preps "Daily Show" anti-clone
24) CA Court: ISP not responsible for online libel
25) Royalty checks not in the mail for artists

Everybody Has An Opinion:

26) The next act
27) School funding by the numbers
28) ID theft, Real ID, and the Wizard of ID
29) Freedom to choose is what life is all about!
30) Milnes 2008: Open Letter about Iraq
31) Milton Friedman, RIP
32) Will the middle class please stand up?
33) Gas tax trial balloon
34) The paradox of imperialism
35) Milton Friedman, RIP
36) Junk cinema
37) Milton Friedman, conservative
38) Don't do anything until we get there
39) Milton Friedman and the human element
40) Economic nationalism, enemy of the people
41) A 100-mile Thanksgiving
42) Criminalizing compassion
43) The statist interpretation of the Bill of Rights
44) Raw milk is not crack
45) Senator McCain: When and why did you sell your soul?
46) DoJ quashes wiretapping inquiries
47) Looking for Cheney
48) A race with Obama will boost Hillary's hopes
49) Want world peace? Support free trade
50) The religious divide
51) Why Bill Cosby is wrong
52) Conservatives for killing Terri
53) The temptation to lie
54) The painful object of the verb
55) Getting what we deserve
56) All's not well in Donkeyland
57) The body electric
58) Competition on the brain
59) Wonder-working power
60) Winner's circle
61) Was the CIA involved in RFK's assassination?
62) Milton Friedman's case
63) When legal meets marketing
64) True lies
65) A socialist in the millionaires' club

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

66) Freedom Rings, 11/27/06
67) Free Talk Live, 11/20/06
68) Radio Free Liberty, Episode 54
69) On monetary policy

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

70) Today's events
71) Nigeria: IPPA HQ robbed
72) Auction: Rational Review top banner

WaYbAcK:

73) Bloody Sunday

***************
* In The News
***************

0)  Opening notes

This week's symposium is on the legacy and impact of Milton Friedman
Your two cents welcome at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21040

Bidding on the top banner slot at the Rational Review site (for the
entirety of 2007) stands at $500. See the listing in our "movement
news and events" section if you're interested in a great advertising
opportunity.

-----

1)  Mexico: Obrador sworn as head of "parallel government"
Santa Fe New Mexican

"Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was sworn in as Mexico's
'legitimate' president Monday, launching a parallel government that he
hopes will revive a movement aimed at keeping President-elect Felipe
Calderon from governing." (11/21/06)

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/52484.html

-----

2)  NY: Miniluv says TV is terror
Houston Chronicle

"A man was charged Monday with supporting terrorists by enabling
customers to obtain satellite broadcasts of a Hezbollah television
station, the second person accused in a case that has drawn scrutiny
over how far the government can go in claiming someone is aiding
terrorist groups. Saleh Elahwal, 53, of Matawan, N.J., and Javed
Iqbal, 42, of Staten Island, could each face up to 110 years in prison
if they are convicted of all 11 counts in a rewritten indictment
unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. They pleaded not
guilty." (11/21/06)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4349536.html

-----

3)  FL: GOP candidate certified, Dem sues
Miami Herald

"Vern Buchanan was named the official winner in the battle to succeed
Katherine Harris in Congress, but his Monday victory could be
short-lived now that his Democratic opponent has sued in a case
destined once again to place Florida's elections in the national
spotlight. Moments after Buchanan was certified as Florida's newest
congressman, Democrat Christine Jennings filed a suit that asks a
judge to take him out of office and either declare her the winner or
hold a new election for the Southwest Florida seat. The race was one
of the most expensive in the nation, costing an estimated $14 million.
The suit, which will likely end up before the state Supreme Court
soon, could become a national test case on the validity of ATM-style
voting machines." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y28ejs

-----

4)  Iraq: New attacks, new deaths
Reuters

"At least three people were killed and 11 wounded in a U.S. raid in
Baghdad's Sadr City district, an Interior Ministry source said. Health
Ministry spokesman, Qassem Abdul Hadi, said the dead included a
six-month-old infant .... A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol
wounded nine .... car bomb targeting a police patrol killed a civilian
.... Gunmen killed a policeman on his way to work in the town of
Hawija .... The bodies of 40 unclaimed people were buried in Tikrit
..." (11/21/06)

http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=KAM129371

-----

5)  Congo: Gunfire, street fighting erupt
Forbes

"Gunfire and street fighting erupted in Congo's capital Tuesday and a
fire broke out at the supreme court as a hearing began over fraud
allegations in the country's presidential runoff election. The
shooting outside the court first interrupted the proceedings and
continued for about 45 minutes as U.N. forces arrived in armored
vehicles and people fled for cover. Dozens of fights broke out among
about 200 people who had gathered outside to support losing candidate
Jean-Pierre Bemba." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/tdmcs

-----

6)  NJ: Mayor threatens land theft for "rehab"
Home News Tribune

"After hearing the details of a controversial plan to redevelop the
Witty's Liquors site, the Lincoln School and the Old Eckerd building,
affected property owners last night reiterated what they've been
saying all along: They are absolutely opposed. 'I will not allow this
to happen,' said Charles Fornal, owner of the vacant property
surrounding Witty's Liquors on Old Bridge Turnpike. 'I won't go along
with it one iota,' said Arthur Fritsch Sr., co-owner of the Old Eckerd
site on Main Street. 'No way.' Their stances raise the specter of
eminent domain, a maneuver the borough could use to take property
through condemnation. The mayor [of South River] has said he would
consider the move as a last resort, though the entire council opposes
it. ... The plan calls for creating landscaped 'buffers' to bordering
property, demolishing all existing buildings and helping affected
businesses relocate."

http://tinyurl.com/uvoe5

-----

7)  Universal files frivolous suit v. MySpace
Top Tech News

"Citing rampant copyright infringement among MySpace users, Universal
Music Group has filed a lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court against the
popular social-networking site run by the News Corp. media
conglomerate. According to news reports, the suit charges MySpace with
ignoring the free exchange of music video clips protected by
copyrights and making it easy for subscribers to send such clips to
others or distribute them to other Web sites." (11/20/06)

http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=11100A78HETL

-----

8)  Jackson taken off Hobbit film
The Age [Australia]

"WANTED: feature film director to start immediately. Must have
affinity with small dwarfish beings, taste for epic landscape, and
ability to generate more than $300 million at the box office. Pointy
ears not necessary. Beard optional. The vacancy has arisen after Peter
Jackson, the bearded New Zealand-born director of the The Lord of the
Rings trilogy, was told by a Hollywood studio that his services would
not be required for a film based on the J. R. R Tolkien book The
Hobbit." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/u4rpz

-----

9)  Costa Rica: Drug thugs kidnap coke submariners
Seattle Times

"Tipped off by three plastic pipes mysteriously skimming the ocean's
surface, authorities seized a homemade submarine packed with 3 tons of
cocaine off Costa Rica's Pacific coast. ... Two Colombians, a
Guatemalan and a Sri Lankan were [abducted] and taken to the United
States, because they were captured in international waters ..." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/v3m3d

-----

10) IL: Dem patronage chief sentenced
Chicago Sun-Times

"Although the sentence was lighter than it could have been, U.S.
District Judge David Coar was sharply critical of Robert Sorich,
saying Sorich sat at the top of a corrupt operation. ... Sorich lawyer
Tom Durkin argued for no prison time, saying his client didn't take
bribes or otherwise gain anything personally. ... A jury convicted
Sorich, McCarthy and two others -- who are still to be sentenced later
this afternoon -- in a scheme to award jobs and promotions to city
applicants who were politically connected." (11/21/06)

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/143013,sorich112006.article

-----

11) MN: Imams removed from flight
International Herald Tribune [France]

"Six Muslim imams were removed from a US Airways flight at
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and questioned by police
for several hours before being released, a leader of the group said.
The six were among passengers who boarded Flight 300, bound for
Phoenix, around 6:30 p.m. Monday, airport spokesman Pat Hogan said.
... The six Muslim scholars were returning from a conference in
Minneapolis of the North American Imams Federation, said Shahin,
president of the group. Five of them were from the Phoenix-Tempe area,
while one was from Bakersfield, California, he said. Three of them
stood and said their normal evening prayers together on the plane, as
1.7 billion Muslims around the world do every day, Shahin said. He
attributed any concerns by passengers or crew to ignorance about
Islam." (11/21/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y4ynet

-----

12) OH: GOP grifter sentenced to 18 years
USA Today

"A former GOP fundraiser at the center of a scandal-plagued state
investment in rare coins that helped Democrats seize power in the
midterm elections was sentenced Monday to 18 years in prison. Tom Noe,
a prominent coin dealer accused of taking at least $2 million, was
convicted last week of theft, corrupt activity, money laundering,
forgery and tampering with records. 'Based on a review of the record,
a short prison term would demean your conduct,' Lucas County Common
Pleas Judge Thomas Osowik told Noe." (11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yccoqt

-----

13) Marine claims he was denied attorney
Philadelphia Inquirer

"A Marine charged with helping to kidnap and murder an Iraqi civilian
said Monday that government officials violated his basic rights when
they interviewed him about the incident -- claims military prosecutors
denied. Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington, 22, made the allegations as
part of an effort to discredit some of the key pieces of evidence
against him: statements he gave in which prosecutors say he admits
wrongdoing. Pennington testified at a hearing Monday that when Naval
Criminal Investigative Service agents interviewed him after the April
26 death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, they threatened him with the death
penalty and told him it would be a mistake to ask for an attorney."
(11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ydzyjk

-----

14) FBI recovers stolen Goya painting
Miami Herald

"The FBI said Monday that it has recovered a 1778 painting by the
Spanish artist Francisco de Goya that was stolen as it was being taken
to an exhibition earlier this month. 'Children with a Cart,' which
disappeared en route from the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio to the
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City and was valued at about
$1.1 million, appeared to be unharmed, said Les Wiser, agent in charge
of the Newark FBI office." (11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ymyta9

-----

15) Pentagon review sees three Iraq options
MSNBC

"The Pentagon's closely guarded review of how to improve the situation
in Iraq has outlined three basic options: Send in more troops, shrink
the force but stay longer, or pull out, according to senior defense
officials. Insiders have dubbed the options 'Go Big,' 'Go Long' and
'Go Home.' The group conducting the review is likely to recommend a
combination of a small, short-term increase in U.S. troops and a
long-term commitment to stepped-up training and advising of Iraqi
forces, the officials said." (11/20/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15773985/

-----

16) EU proposes ban on sale of cat, dog fur
MSNBC

"The European Union's executive commission proposed Monday to extend a
ban on the sale, import and production of dog and cat fur to all 25 EU
nations, saying the measure was taken a response to an overwhelming
public outcry. The European Commission said it found cat and dog fur
in some clothing, personal accessories and soft toys for children
being sold on the European market, either falsely labeled as another
kind of fur, or hidden within the product." (11/20/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15816158/

-----

17) Iran invites Iraqi, Syrian presidents
Johnson City Press

"In an apparent bid to counter U.S. influence in the region, Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad invited his Iraqi and Syrian
counterparts to a weekend summit in Tehran to tackle the chaos in
Iraq, Iraqi lawmakers said Monday. The diplomatic gambit coincided
with a groundbreaking visit to Baghdad by Syrian Foreign Minister
Walid Moallem, who was challenged over Damascus' role in supporting
the Sunni insurgency. The Iraqi government said diplomatic relations
between the two countries -- severed nearly a quarter-century ago --
would be restored by Tuesday." (11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y734j6

-----

18) Polygamist accused in illegal marriages
Albany Democrat-Herald

"Room 15 at the Caliente Hot Springs Motel seems like an unlikely
place for a wedding. There are no flower-covered arbors, pews or
candles. It is an apartment-style room with a kitchenette, a bed, a
dresser, a table and a couch. But it was in Room 15 that dozens of
weddings took place between underage girls and men from a polygamist
sect, church insiders say. The sect's charismatic leader, Warren
Jeffs, has been charged with rape as an accomplice for his alleged
role in arranging one of those marriages -- that of a 14-year-old girl
who claims she was forced to wed her older first cousin in 2001."
(11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yx58wq

-----

19) WA: SAF sues library system over Net censorship
Liberty For All

"The Second Amendment Foundation and three Washington State residents
have filed a federal lawsuit against a north-central Washington
regional library system for denying them access to websites that
include information on firearms and publications dealing with guns.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District
of Washington in Spokane. Joining SAF in the lawsuit are Sarah
Bradburn of Republic, Ferry County; Pearl Cherrington of Twisp and
Charles Heinlen of Okanogan, both towns in Okanogan County." (11/20/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=387

-----

20) FL: Motorist with gun holds down tip thief
Sarasota Herald Tribune

"A would-be robber found out the hard way Friday afternoon that
restaurant workers aren't easily parted from their tips. The
unidentified man grabbed about $20 from the countertop tip jar at the
Chinese restaurant Chung Shing without saying a word, employees said.
'I said, 'Hey, that's my money,'' said restaurant manager Diane Lin.
'He didn't care.' He also didn't have a chance. Employees chased him
outside into the parking lot of the strip mall on U.S. 301 and behind
the stores. A passerby with a concealed weapons permit stopped and
pulled his gun on the man, witnesses said. Minutes later, a Manatee
County Sheriff's Office patrol car drove by and a deputy arrested the
tip thief." (11/19/06)

http://tinyurl.com/u3pwe

-----

21) PA: Robber shot and killed by victim
Philadelphia Inquirer

"A 19-year-old Philadelphia man was shot and killed after he tried to
rob another man early yesterday in the 1600 block of West Susquehanna
Street, police said. The robber approached from behind as the man left
a bar near 15th Street, police said. The robber stuck a gun in the
man's back, and demanded money. The man began to comply, then shot the
robber in the head, shoulder, chest and right arm with a registered
handgun, police said." (11/19/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ylqvpw

-----

22) Cuba inches into the Internet Age
Los Angeles Times

"In this most literate of Latin American nations, where free higher
education is one of the proudest achievements of Fidel Castro's
revolution, Cubans are being left in the dust as the rest of Latin
America surges ahead on the Internet's information highway. The Cuban
government has long sought to shield its citizens from outside sources
of news and other information. Cubans are prohibited from having
personal computers at home without official authorization, and PC use
is closely monitored in schools and workplaces. Less than 2% of the
country's 11.4 million citizens have Internet access. But in apparent
recognition of the risks of being left on the sidelines of the global
cyber-revolution, the state-owned telecommunications monopoly in
recent months has expanded Internet access points, allowing broader
use of the Web, or at least its ideologically vetted venues." (11/19/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y3w59m

-----

23) Fox preps "Daily Show" anti-clone
Hollywood Reporter

"Fox News Channel might air two episodes of a 'Daily Show'-like
program with a decidedly nonliberal bent on Saturday nights in late
January, with the possibility that it could become a weekly show for
the channel. The half-hour show is executive produced by '24's' Joel
Surnow and Manny Cota and creator Ned Rice, who previously wrote for
'Politically Incorrect' and 'Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson'
through This Just In Prods. It would take aim at what Surnow calls
'the sacred cows of the left' that don't get made as much fun of by
other comedy shows. 'It's a satirical news format that would play more
to the Fox News audience than the Michael Moore channel,' Surnow said.
'It would tip more right as 'The Daily Show' tips left.'" [editor's
note: This could be interesting, but how do you lampoon the present
situation, when you've been part-and-parcel of creating it for the
last 5+ years? - SAT] (11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y7lcxv

-----

24) CA Court: ISP not responsible for online libel
San Francisco Chronicle

"People who claim they were libeled on line can't sue the Internet
service providers that carried the messages, the California Supreme
Court ruled today. The unanimous ruling reversed an October 2003
decision by a state appellate court in San Francisco that would have
held carriers like Google and Yahoo to the same legal standard as
newspapers and book publishers. They can be sued for the contents of a
libelous message if they knew, or had reason to know, that the message
was defamatory and failed to remove it. The state's high court said
today that Internet service providers were immunized by a 1996 federal
law that said providers of chat rooms or news groups are not
considered the publishers of information furnished by others. That
means they're not responsible for the content, even if they knew it
was harmful, the court said." (11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ydc4vb

-----

25) Royalty checks not in the mail for artists
Nashville City Paper

"Attention, heirs to Sheb Wooley and Grandpa Jones. There are digital
music royalty checks waiting for you, set to expire if you don't
register with a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit by Dec. 15. It has
the ring of an email scam, but the company, SoundExchange, Inc., was
created to collect and distribute royalties from digital music. A
trial currently underway before the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board could
result in SoundExchange being named the sole company permitted to do
so, and performing artists and their advocates -- as well as a
SoundExchange competitor -- are taking issue. SoundExchange was
created in 2000 as an unincorporated division of the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 1998, RIAA was named by the
U.S. Copyright Office as a designated party to collect and distribute
royalties for music played on Internet, digital and cable radio
stations -- downloads and other Internet music transactions adhere to
a different royalty structure. SoundExchange became independent of the
RIAA in 2003." (11/20/06)

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?news_id=53331

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 11/21/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 47,345 ... Max - 52,543
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,866
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

26) The next act
New Yorker
by Seymour Hersch

"A month before the November elections, Vice-President Dick Cheney was
sitting in on a national-security discussion at the Executive Office
Building. The talk took a political turn: what if the Democrats won
both the Senate and the House? How would that affect policy toward
Iran, which is believed to be on the verge of becoming a nuclear
power? At that point, according to someone familiar with the
discussion, Cheney began reminiscing about his job as a lineman, in
the early nineteen-sixties, for a power company in Wyoming. Copper
wire was expensive, and the linemen were instructed to return all
unused pieces three feet or longer. No one wanted to deal with the
paperwork that resulted, Cheney said, so he and his colleagues found a
solution: putting 'shorteners' on the wire -- that is, cutting it into
short pieces and tossing the leftovers at the end of the workday. If
the Democrats won on November 7th, the Vice-President said, that
victory would not stop the Administration from pursuing a military
option with Iran. The White House would put 'shorteners' on any
legislative restrictions, Cheney said, and thus stop Congress from
getting in its way." (11/27/06 issue, posted 11/20/06)

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/061127fa_fact

-----

27) School funding by the numbers
The Choice Channel
by Matthew A. Givens

"It is difficult to read a newspaper, listen to the radio, or watch TV
news without hearing somebody tell us that our schools are badly
under-funded. For the moment, the State will be satisfied with a $160
million tax increase, but indications are that they will soon pursue a
$1.4 billion tax increase in order to 'make schools adequate.' School
systems around the state are also seeking local tax increases to
bolster their budgets. We are told that schools need the money because
buildings are in disrepair, students don't have textbooks, teachers
are underpaid, and some schools have to request donations so that
students will have toilet paper to use." (11/19/06)

http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/5644

-----

28) ID theft, Real ID, and the Wizard of ID
from Reason to Freedom
by Garry Reed

"In today's Peeping Tom Dystopia, government datacrats at all levels
are fixated on finding out everything about us. They track us with
spycams and RFID chips and warrantless wiretaps and computer
stealthbugs and black boxes in our autos and covert email intercepts
and mandatory snitching from our bankers and doctors and telephone
firms and credit card companies. They need this massive database of
birthdays and divorces and pay raises and colonoscopies and vaginal
wart prescriptions because they are from the government and they are
here to protect us. But protect us how? And from what?" (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ybycon

-----

29) Freedom to choose is what life is all about!
Liberty For All
by Donna Mancini

"Regarding the 'War on Drugs,' it seems to me that no one 'important'
ever asks the obvious question: Why do people take drugs in the first
place? I think we should interview every person who takes illegal
drugs (who will admit it), and ask him or her why did you risk, life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness to smoke, snort, eat or inject a
forbidden substance into your body? I think the answer might be that
the person wants to feel good or get high." (11/20/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=388

-----

30) Milnes 2008: Open Letter about Iraq
Rational Review
by Robert Milnes

"I am, among several others, presently exploring and pursuing an
interest in the Libertarian Party's nomination for President of the
UNITED STATES in 2008. Like most concerned Americans I have been
following developments there over the years. Recent developments
include the American midterm elections and the anticipation of a
Memorandum opinion by the bipartisan Baker/Hamilton Iraq Study Group.
Quite a while ago I formulated a proposal/plan for Iraq. It is on my
campaign website and remains substantially little changed with perhaps
some alterations/additions." (11/21/06)

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21098

-----

31) Milton Friedman, RIP
Free Market News Network
by Jim Babka

"The 'miracle,' according to Friedman, was that a military
dictatorship would adopt such policies. Friedman was proud of the
result even though vindication wouldn't even begin to arrive for more
than 15 years. He believed that sound economic policy would lead to
political liberation and prosperity. Chile became a democracy in 1990.
Chile's economy has outgrown those of its Latin American neighbors,
and the 1990s saw a boom. It took time, but Friedman was proven right.
But Friedman wasn't perfect. He disrespected gold as a storehouse of
value and endorsed the use of a central bank issuing paper money. He
clung to the modern notion that a government can manage money
properly. His theories had great influence over past Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan and current Fed Chair Bernanke. The cycle of
boom and bust continues. The dollar is a shadow of its former self.
Friedman was also responsible for one of the worst Big Government
innovations of the 20th century -- income tax withholding." (11/20/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/64/6422/milton.asp?nid=6422&wid=64

-----

32) Will the middle class please stand up?
LewRockwell.Com
by Andrew S. Fischer

"I, for one, hope the draft is reinstated. Not because I agree with
Rangel, but because I'm hopeful that such legislation will finally
cause our complacent middle class to wake up and say 'NO!' I've been
telling acquaintances (and anyone else who'll listen) for many years
that there will be no meaningful change until the middle class riots.
Yes, riots -- with pitchforks and axe handles, and even guns --
screaming in rage, finally understanding its status as mere victim of
the whims of the state. For several years now I've seen a military
draft as the only thing that might get the members of the middle class
off their contented-cow asses, get them to stop wasting countless
dollars on playthings at the nearby mall, and slash their hours spent
hypnotized by the never-ending stream of valueless Hollywood drivel."
(11/21/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/fischer/fischer20.html

-----

33) Gas tax trial balloon
Cato Institute
by Alan Reynolds

"As taxes go, a tax on motor fuels (including ethanol) is not one of
the worst. Mr. Mankiw thus argues, 'An increased reliance on gas taxes
over income taxes would make the tax code more favorable to growth.'
Yet he does not propose reduced reliance on income taxes. A
tax-induced rise in the cost of transportation of goods, workers and
shoppers is surely not favorable to economic growth. Whether or not a
dollar increase in the gas tax would be less damaging to the economy
than, say, raising the minimum income tax rate from 10 percent back to
15 percent is not obvious." (11/21/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6779

-----

34) The paradox of imperialism
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Hans-Hermann Hoppe

"Conventionally, the state is defined as an agency with two unique
characteristics. First, it is a compulsory territorial monopolist of
ultimate decision-making (jurisdiction). That is, it is the ultimate
arbiter in every case of conflict, including conflicts involving
itself. Second, the state is a territorial monopolist of taxation.
That is, it is an agency that unilaterally fixes the price citizens
must pay for its provision of law and order." (11/20/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2383

-----

35) Milton Friedman, RIP
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G. Hornberger

"I will leave it to others to remind people of the enormous
contributions that Milton Friedman, who died yesterday, made to
economics and liberty during his long life. I thought instead that I
would relate three times that my life intersected with Friedman, all
of which were big personal highlights for me. In 1988, when I was
serving as program director at The Foundation for Economic Education,
I attended a Mont Pelerin Society meeting in Indianapolis. At an
evening outdoor barbecue, I just happened to bump into Friedman and
introduced myself. He spent the next 20 minutes or so talking with me
as if he and I were equals." (11/17/06)

http://www.fff.org/comment/com0611e.asp

-----

36) Junk cinema
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Peter Suderman

"Fast Food Nation kicks off with a suit-clad fast food chain boss
telling one of his executives to investigate a meat packing plant
rumored to be allowing fecal matter to infect the beef. But the only
thing that's contaminated here is director Richard Linklater's
meandering, unfocused movie, which has an unmistakable whiff of
Causeitis -- a compulsive inability to avoid taking up any of the many
issues in the lefty activist canon." (11/17/06)

http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,05615.cfm

-----

37) Milton Friedman, conservative
America's Future Foundation
by Timothy P. Carney

"Milton Friedman would have liked to call himself a liberal if that
term hadn't been appropriated by the Left. He settled for 'small 'l'
libertarian,' as he put it. But he was also a conservative. I have no
evidence he was a 'social conservative,' but it's clear he was a
philosophical conservative. That is, Friedman always demonstrated a
deep-seeded humility based in an understanding of man's inherent and
inevitable imperfections." (11/20/06)

http://www.affbrainwash.com/archives/021644.php

-----

38) Don't do anything until we get there
Mens News Daily
by John Longenecker

"But many crime emergencies are blocked by an armed citizen, and they
often go unreported according to the FBI and diligent scholars. This
is an invisible solution often ignored by officials, even thwarted by
them. Throughout the history of 911, problems with 911 have been
belligerence of operators, operator skepticism of reporting parties
and repeat pranksters, unclear calls without precise locations,
various policies on 911 hang-ups, an over-burdening and overwhelming
of the system, and general burn-out of operators remaining on the job.
As I mentioned in my last piece, some 911 operators have even been
found asleep at the console. For many citizens, a placed 911 call
simply goes unanswered or is met with a busy signal." (11/18/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ttlts

-----

39) Milton Friedman and the human element
Acton Institute
by Robert A. Sirico

"A great champion of freedom passed from this life on November 16 at
the age of 94. He was Milton Friedman, an economist and a moral
thinker whose life and work deserves to be celebrated. In the 1970s,
when I was still enamored by the claims of socialist ideas, someone
gave me a number of books that would change the entire course of my
life. Among those books was Milton Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom.
In Friedman I found the same goals I aspired to attain for society,
namely freedom of thought and association, participation and economic
prosperity; the means, however, were radically different from the
various distribution schemes." (11/17/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yx8w7o

-----

40) Economic nationalism, enemy of the people
Foundation for Economic Education
by Sheldon Richman

"Free traders -- those who reject the bogus idea of a 'national
economy' -- should be nervous. This is not to say that the pure
free-trade principle has ever been big with the public or Congress.
The benefits of free trade are rarely recognized as such, so it gets
no credit. On the other hand, the temporary disruptions and
adjustments are highly visible and easily featured on television news.
When many people think 'free trade,' they don't picture stores full of
inexpensive products and new industries emerging. They pictured closed
factories." (11/17/06)

http://www.fee.org/in_brief/default.asp?id=930

-----

41) A 100-mile Thanksgiving
Seattle Times
by Neal Peirce

"This November, celebrate a 100-mile Thanksgiving. Prepare a feast of
turkey or choice meat, vegetables and desserts, with ingredients all
raised within 100 miles of your dinner table. That's the message from
a coalition of 'eat local,' sustainable agriculture groups including
100MileDiet.org, Local Harvest and EatLocalChallenge.com. And they
have an attractive pitch. It's that a Thanksgiving of local
ingredients will put fresher and healthier food on your table than
lots of industrial-scale, long-distance produce." (11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/tmehm

-----

42) Criminalizing compassion
CounterPunch
by Katherine Hughes

"Since the events of 9/11 the government has implemented powerful new
prosecutorial tools to gain convictions in its War on Terror. In an
article entitled, 'Terrorist Financing,' Jeff Breinholt, Deputy Chief
of the Department of Justice's Counterterrorism Section, explains
these tools and how they are being used to win convictions. ...
Prosecutors armed with the statutes listed in Breinholt's paper are
further empowered by using them in conjunction with the 'material
support of terrorism' laws, Executive Order 13224, and civil asset
forfeiture laws .... E.O. 13224 was issued on September 23, 2001, and
introduced a blacklist of organizations and individuals suspected of
terrorism, materially aiding terrorism, or associating with
terrorists. IEEPA and international law permit humanitarian assistance
for these suspects, including food, clothing and medicine, but this
humanitarian aid is outlawed under the E.O. 13224.[7] The penalty, for
an IEEPA violation, for organizations that knowingly engage in
terrorist financing already carries a sentence of twenty years to life
in prison." (11/20/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/hughes11202006.html

-----

43) The statist interpretation of the Bill of Rights
The Libertarian Enterprise
by Darien Worden

"As the New American Century marches forth, it is essential that our
children understand the principles that New America was founded on.
Therefore, all eighth-graders shall be required to take a national
standardized test based upon the following historical information.
Preamble: The Constitution is a living document, so we can change what
it means whenever we feel like it. Therefore, the Constitution does
not mean what it says; it needs to be interpreted by intellectuals
according to today's social constructions and random phallic
references. This is the only way we can make sense of the Bill of
Rights, which outlines privileges the government may bestow upon us at
its leisure." (11/19/06)

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle394-20061119-05.html

-----

44) Raw milk is not crack
Strike the Root
by Retta Fontana

"Overzealous government thugs intoxicated with power, with nothing
better to do, were willing to leave the man stranded, empty handed, on
the side of the road. This image is a universal one painted by
government thugs everywhere, from third-world dictators to the U.S.A
-- the world's largest bureaucratic, debt-ridden, corrupt empire. With
confiscatory taxes, inflation, fiat currency, manipulation of economic
data, and pork barrel spending, what taxpayer has not been left
stranded and empty-handed on the side of life's road?" (11/20/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/fontana/fontana12.html

-----

45) Senator McCain: When and why did you sell your soul?
Strike the Root
by Doug Herman

"Senator McCain, you and I are about the same age. We both served
during the Vietnam War. We both have been Arizonans for many years. Do
you really serve the best interests of the American people by
requesting more troops and many more billions for the war in Iraq? I
wonder how a foreign war based on lies can suddenly become more
truthful by escalation." (11/20/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/herman/herman4.html

-----

46) DoJ quashes wiretapping inquiries
In These Times
by Onnesha Roychoudhuri

"Though Maine resident Doug Cowie just celebrated his 75th birthday in
October, it was only this past January that he retired from the Maine
Public Utility Commission (PUC) where he worked for 18 years. It would
be easy to think of Cowie as an innocuous grandfatherly type --
particularly after his response when I told him some of his e-mails
ended up in my spam folder: 'Your what folder?' -- but he is one of a
growing number of Americans who are acting, in lieu of Congress, as
the only check and balance on the Bush administration's domestic
spying program. When USA Today published an article on May 11 alleging
that the National Security Agency (NSA) had teamed up with major
telecommunications companies to obtain access to Americans'
communication records, Cowie sent an e-mail to Verizon CEO Ivan
Seidenberg, asking if the company was taking part in this program.
After ambiguous responses from Verizon, Cowie filed a complaint with
the Maine PUC." (11/20/06)

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2889/

-----

47) Looking for Cheney
The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner

"In the 10 days since President Bush fired Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld, one figure is eerily missing from public view and public
accounts of what occurred: Vice President Dick Cheney. As usual,
America's de facto prime minister is either literally or
metaphorically in an undisclosed location. With Rumsfeld, Cheney was
responsible for the 180-degree reversal in Bush's professed foreign
policy -- remember, Bush was the candidate who didn't believe in
getting U.S. troops involved in 'nation-building.' As much as
Rumsfeld, Cheney was architect of both the Iraq war and the deeper
doctrine behind the war -- neo conservative assertion of America's
unilateral military might. Cheney, along with Rumsfeld, signed the
1997 manifesto of the so-called Project for a New American Century,
calling for the United States to police the world in the name of
democracy." (11/20/06)

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12250

-----

48) A race with Obama will boost Hillary's hopes
Fox News
by Susan Estrich

"Impressive as she was last week in her acceptance speech, New York's
re-elected Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton now has real competition
for the Democratic presidential nomination. Barack Obama is not only
topping the bestseller lists; he is also, almost overnight, since
announcing his possible interest in a presidential bid, running second
to the New York senator in the latest round of public opinion polls
for the 2008 Democratic nomination, having already passed the 2004
nominee, John Kerry, the 2000 nominee, Al Gore, and the 2004 vice
presidential nominee, John Edwards, in the early standings for the
2008 race. Is it bad news for Hillary? Not if you ask me. ... Real
competition is exactly what Hillary needs. Without Obama, what kind of
competition does Hillary really face? If her opponents are that weak,
how much do you gain by beating them?" (11/20/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,230610,00.html

-----

49) Want world peace? Support free trade
Christian Science Monitor
by Donald J. Boudreaux

"Everyone knows that a key to the Democrats' big electoral win was
their opposition to the Iraq war. But also, as the Wall Street Journal
reported recently, 'Democrats' stances against free trade helped build
the party's success at the polls and could tip the balance on trade
matters. The new dynamic could put a definitive end to the already
troubled effort to reach a global agreement to reduce tariffs and open
markets.' Protectionists (of whatever party) believe that consumers
who buy goods and services from foreigners cause domestic employment
-- and wages -- to fall. Economists since before Adam Smith have shown
that this belief is mistaken, largely because foreigners sell things
to us only because they either want to buy things from us or invest in
our economy." (11/20/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1120/p09s02-coop.html

-----

50) The religious divide
Boston Globe
by Cathy Young

"Behind the political divide in America, there is also a religious
divide. The split is not just between people who believe and people
who do not; it is between those who see religious faith as society's
foundation and those who see it as society's bane. ... In the most
recent volley in the faith wars, British pop star Elton John has said
that if it were up to him, he would 'ban religion completely' because
it promotes anti-gay bigotry and hate. A look at recent best-selling
books illustrates the divide. Ann Coulter's Godless: The Church of
Liberalism excoriates liberals for being, well, godless. ... For the
other side, there's Letter to a Christian Nation by philosopher Sam
Harris, who calls all religion 'obscene' and 'utterly repellent,' and
The God Delusion by biologist Richard Dawkins, a tome whose title
speaks for itself. Both sides in the debate traffic in simplistic
stereotypes." (11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yemqgp

-----

51) Why Bill Cosby is wrong
Tom Paine
by Algernon Austin & Jared Bernstein

"For decades, scholars and opinion makers have been seduced by
cultural explanations for economic problems. Recently, comedian Bill
Cosby has caught the bug, leading him to inveigh against aspects of
black culture he views as intimately linked to problems among
African-Americans, from poverty to crime and incarceration. Mr. Cosby
is merely the latest and most visible in a long chain of cultural
critics. Researcher Charles Murray (before turning to genetic
explanations) and columnist Thomas Sowell have been making the 'bad
culture' argument about African-Americans for decades. David Brooks
has a long-running column in The New York Times linking culture and
economic outcomes. ... One key to the success of the cultural argument
is the omission of inconvenient facts about social and economic
trends. For example, people arguing that African-Americans are
suffering from a culture of poverty stress that blacks are much more
likely to be poor than whites. True, but this fact misses the most
important development about black poverty in recent years: Its steep
decline during the 1990s." [editor's note: This analysis, while
obviously slanted, does raise questions about the assumptions of the
aforementioned sources - SAT](11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y4kzfe

-----

52) Conservatives for killing Terri
Free Market News Network
by Ilana Mercer

"Upholding rights to life, liberty, and property is a government's
primary -- some would say only -- duty. But, bless their cruel little
hearts, this cast of conservative characters is at least consistent.
It relished the launch of a bloody war in contravention of fact, law,
and morality, and now, fittingly, it's atoning for its incongruent
attempts to forestall a killing. In a pre-election postmortem in the
Washington Post, former House majority leader Dick Armey, in
particular, castigated Republican lawmakers for taking up trivia such
as Terri [Schiavo], which he lumped with the ban on horsemeat and the
attempted bans on same-sex marriage and flag burning." (11/20/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/56/6414/ilana.asp?nid=6414&wid=56

-----

53) The temptation to lie
Rebirth of Reason
by Tibor R. Machan

"OK, so LP candidates should know by now that the time hasn't come yet
that most voters recognize that stealing is wrong. Sure, they usually
don't steal in their circle of neighbors but when it comes to stealing
from strangers across the country, they definitely believe stealing is
just fine. And all of this is happening in a supposedly Christian
country, with the clear commandment from God that prohibits stealing.
But despite the facts speaking a clear message, even LP candidates
predict victory. Why? I suspect the reason is that people believe they
have a duty to tell others only what will please them, what will
appear to benefit them. This altruistic outlook -- namely, never bring
bad news to people even if that's the truth of it -- is encouraging
millions of people to be liars." (11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yjz7fc

-----

54) The painful object of the verb
The Power of Narrative
by Arthur Silber

"I note that one of the newer delusions that has taken hold among our
ruling class, especially among Democrats, is that if we announce a
date certain for our departure (or more accurately, a date very
reluctantly approximate), such an announcement will suddenly cause
Iraqis to 'take responsibility' for creating a political miracle to
save Iraq from the catastrophe we have created. Aside from the deeply
sickening paternalism and condescension underlying this notion, given
that we have been unable to dictate events for the last few years and
since we are unable to do so now, why will that announcement suddenly
cause the required miracle to occur?" (11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yggxfo

-----

55) Getting what we deserve
The Price of Liberty
by Lady Liberty

"I don't know that there was anybody who knew much of anything about
politics who didn't expect Republicans to get spanked on November 7.
But as much as I expected the backlash generated by unpopular policies
and broken promises, even I was taken aback at the extent of that
backlash. The Democrats now control both the House and the Senate, and
George W. Bush's remaining years in his 'lame duck' presidency are
likely all but crippled. While I certainly understand the reaction,
I'm inclined to see it as an overreaction and not a pleasant one. It's
akin in my mind to the dieter who errs in eating a piece of cheesecake
and then determines to punish himself for his mistake by eating the
remainder of the cheesecake." (11/20/06)

http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/06/11/20/ladylib.htm

-----

56) All's not well in Donkeyland
Human Events
by Chuck Muth

"Republicans surely have the bigger problem. They're back in the
minority after a dozen years running the show on Capitol Hill. And
they've compounded the problem by making what appears to be an
Hispanic affirmative action pick for the new boss of the Republican
National Committee (Sen. Mel 'Guest Worker' Martinez), by bringing
world-class pork-barreler Trent Lott back into the leadership ranks of
the United States Senate, and by keeping the same top two leaders in
the House (Rep. John Boehner and Rep. Roy Blunt) who oversaw the
November 7 debacle which gave the nation 'Speaker' Pelosi. If
inside-the-beltway Republicans ever learn lessons, it seems they learn
the wrong ones. But it's not all cookies-and-cream over on the
Democrat side of the aisle by any stretch." (11/20/06)

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18127

-----

57) The body electric
Slate
by Meaghan O'Neill and treehugger.com

"Renewable power sources such as biomass, wind, and solar currently
account for just 0.6 percent of electricity production. Hydroelectric
power, however, provides 7 percent of our electricity, and nuclear
power nearly 20 percent. These sources have other drawbacks, but throw
off little or no CO2. If your electricity comes from a dirtier source
(you can find out here), then the energy used in your household may
amount to more than twice the greenhouse-gas emissions of an average
car. Which leaves trimming CO2 pounds from electricity partially up to
you." (11/20/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2151798/

-----

58) Competition on the brain
The Free Liberal
by Paul Jacob

"Competition works as a side-constraint training us to cooperate
better. Except when we get sucked into political games of regulation
and taxation. Then everything goes whacko, as governments make it
harder to cooperate through trade. And worse is what happens next, to
offset this: Politicians 'compete' for the biggest businesses by
giving special deals and subsidies. The overall effect? Corruption.
Grinding inefficiency. Economic chaos. That's what happens when
governments compete for business. It's an international epidemic."
(11/20/06)

http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002428.html

-----

59) Wonder-working power
Reason
by Daniel McCarthy

"Christian conservatives no longer feel so despondent about democracy.
The president has assiduously cultivated their support, an effort
rewarded in 2004 when nearly 80 percent of evangelical Protestant
voters and 52 percent of Catholics voters cast their ballots for Bush.
In the wake of that election we've seen an avalanche of literature
purporting to explain the revival of the religious right and its
implications for the country. Patrick Hynes' In Defense of the
Religious Right celebrates Christian conservatives' power, even while
claiming Christian conservatives are harried and besieged, ever on the
defensive against an encroaching liberalism. Damon Linker, on the
other hand, argues in The Theocons that it's the religious right, and
the First Things coterie in particular, that's doing the encroaching."
(for publication 12/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116786.html

-----

60) Winner's circle
National Review
by Jonathan Martin

"Just because it's a cliche doesn't make it untrue. Washington, it's
often said, is a city run on 'personal relationships.' Or, to drop the
Beltway-speak and cut to the quick, it's all about who you know. Steny
Hoyer, Roy Blunt, and Trent Lott, with their 67 years of combined
service in Congress, know a lot of people in and around the Capitol
and that, more than anything else, is why all were elected to
leadership posts last week." (11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yffo6b

-----

61) Was the CIA involved in RFK's assassination?
AlterNet
by Shane O'Sullivan

"At first, it seems an open-and-shut case. On June 5 1968, Robert
Kennedy wins the California Democratic primary and is set to challenge
Richard Nixon for the White House. After midnight, he finishes his
victory speech at the Ambassador hotel in Los Angeles and is shaking
hands with kitchen staff in a crowded pantry when 24-year-old
Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan steps down from a tray-stacker with a 'sick,
villainous smile' on his face and starts firing at Kennedy with an
eight-shot revolver. As Kennedy lies dying on the pantry floor, Sirhan
is arrested as the lone assassin. He carries the motive in his
shirt-pocket (a clipping about Kennedy's plans to sell bombers to
Israel) and notebooks at his house seem to incriminate him. But the
autopsy report suggests Sirhan could not have fired the shots that
killed Kennedy." (11/20/06)

http://www.alternet.org/story/44551/

-----

62) Milton Friedman's case
TCS Daily
by Arnold Kling

"Milton Friedman often was praised as a great debater, which can be a
backhanded compliment. After all, a lawyer might be very persuasive
using an emotional argument for a weak case. Instead, I contend that
Friedman won on merit, because his basic position was correct." (11/20/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=112006D

-----

63) When legal meets marketing
Reason
by Jesse Walker

"Last summer, as the explosive popularity of YouTube became obvious to
the older media companies, the marketing department at the Cartoon
Network decided to use the site to promote its shows. So it posted
some video clips there, hoping the promos would get forwarded in
emails, linked on blogs and MySpace pages, and otherwise spread
through the Internet, strengthening the channel's fan base and drawing
in new viewers. Happily, people noticed the videos. Unhappily, some of
the people who noticed the videos worked for the Cartoon Network's
legal department, who mistook their colleagues' new marketing tactic
for an unauthorized appropriation of the firm's intellectual property.
They promptly sent cease-and-desist letters demanding that the clips
come down." (11/20/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116826.html

-----

64) True lies
The Weekly Standard
by Bill Whalen

"Granted, Schwarzenegger's re-election last week is the stuff of
big-tent dreams. In coasting to a 17 percent victory, exit polls gave
Arnold 27 percent of the black vote, 39 percent of Latinos and 62
percent of Asians. Schwarzenegger won among all education groups
except high school drop-outs and all income groups except those below
$30,000. As for party affiliation, Arnold held on to 93 percent of the
Republican vote, picked off 22 percent of the Democratic vote, and
dominated the middle (59 percent among independents). But when it
comes to bridging the partisan divide in Washington, is it as simple
as picking up Sacramento's moving parts and exporting them east? Not
really." (11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yzlr23

-----

65) A socialist in the millionaires' club
Mother Jones
by James Ridgeway

Interview with US Senator-elect Bernie Sanders of Vermont: "Mother
Jones: What's your first-100-days agenda? Bernie Sanders: The first
thing I want to do is to force reality onto the floor of the Senate so
that we can end this stupid discussion about how great the American
economy is. The economy is not great. The economy is a disaster for
the middle class. Second, I want to focus on an issue that is almost
never talked about on the floor -- that is the power of big money."
(11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yh7dcm

*******************************************************************
* RRND MEDIA SHELF -- Tchotchkes from today's edition
*
* Lord of the Rings, DVD set
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000GTLR2A/rationalrev08-20
*
* The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618260307/rationalrev08-20
*
* 24, DVD set
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000JJ6K1A/rationalrev08-20
*
* Fast Food Nation, movie showtimes and DVD notification
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JP5M/rationalrev08-20
*
* Capitalism and Freedom, by Milton Friedman
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0226264211/rationalrev08-20
*
* Godless, by Ann Coulter
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400054206/rationalrev08-20
*
* Letter to a Christian Nation, by Sam Harris
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307265773/rationalrev08-20
*
* The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618680004/rationalrev08-20
*
* In Defense of the Religious Right, by Patrick Hynes
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1595550518/rationalrev08-20
*
* The Theocons, by David Linker
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385516479/rationalrev08-20
*
* True Lies, DVD
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6305364648/rationalrev08-20
*
* Note: Affiliate links generate commissions for RRND's editors.
*******************************************************************

*****************************
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************

66) Freedom Rings, 11/27/06
Freedom Rings

"Open line" on libertarian talk radio with Kenneth John. 9AM CST on
WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin, Illinois. Webcast available. [live radio or
webcast] (11/27/06)

http://www.freedomrings.net/

-----

67) Free Talk Live, 11/20/06
Free Talk Live

"Lauren Canario Update / Michael Richards' Racial Tirade / Bad Words /
FSP Demographics / Law Worshippers / 'V' Protest Update / Ignoring the
Constitution / Ron Paul Sells Out? / FL 8th graders now required to
choose majors! / Anti Smoking Busybody Kids / Return to the Draft?"
[MP3] (11/20/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-11-20.mp3

-----

68) Radio Free Liberty, Episode 54
Radio Free Liberty

"Too late for ballots, too early for bullets ... What's a patriot to
do? / Cato talks with Dr. Kevin Van Horn, an advocate for non-violent
resistance / Will you be a totally free American by 2025? It's your
choice / Come to the Beyond Bullets and Ballots conference to learn
more / We'll keep you posted on all the developments." [MP3] (11/06)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/radiofreeliberty/Episode_054.mp3

-----

69) On monetary policy
Cato Institute

Cato daily podcast, featuring Robert J. Barro. [MP3] (11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/wpx96

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

70) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for upcoming freedom movement events. Don't
see yours? Drop us a line at info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

-----

71) Nigeria: IPPA HQ robbed
Initiative for Public Policy Analysis

From an email from Thompson Ayodele to ISIL's Vince Miller: "Today is
a very sad day for IPPA. Over the night IPPA office was broken into
and took valuable items: My laptop, the hard-disks of all the
computers. The office was forcefully broken into and they came through
the window by pulling out the whole window out in order to get access.
We have lost valuable information and resources." The guys at the
Initiative for Public Policy Analysis have done a lot of hard work for
liberty ... if you're interested in helping them get back on their
feet, drop Thompson a line at thompson at ippanigeria.org.

http://www.ippanigeria.org

-----

72) Auction: Rational Review top banner

It's that time of year! As publisher of Rational Review, one of my
"perks" is ownership of the banner ad space that appears at the top of
each and every page on the site (as well as at the bottom of every
page on my personal blog, Kn@ppster). I auction that space annually.
The auction begins now, and ends at midnight, November 30th, with
payment due by December 15th. Your ad (468x60 pixels and no larger
than 16Kb in file size) begins running on January 1st, 2007, to run
thereafter until midnight of December 31st, 2007. My "reserve price"
is $200. Please email bids (and questions) to me at info at
rationalreview.com. I'll try to answer frequent questions in the
comment form here, and I'll update this entry daily with the high
current bid.

Current High Bid: $500.00
High Bidder's Initials: TBSC

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20587

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

73) Bloody Sunday

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

**********************************************************************
* RRND is through the valued support of our readers. Forward freely.
*
* To subscribe, unsubscribe, or financially support RRND, visit:
* http://www.rationalreview.com/news
*
* To support ISIL's Free-Market.Net Project (tax deductible)
* http://www.isil.org/store/membership.html
**********************************************************************

Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher
Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,029
* Monday, November 20th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,059
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
* In cooperation with ISIL:   htp://www.isil.org
**************************************************

Dear readers,

It's "web-only Monday" at RRND -- the day's news, as well as
commentaries from L. Neil Smith, Vin Suprynowicz, Roderick Long,
Matthew R. Holmes, Becky Akers, Justin Raimondo, Michael Gaddy, David
Boaz, Doug Bandow, George Squyres, Art Carden, George Reisman, Richard
M. Ebeling and Sheldon Richman, Joe Cobb, Iain Murray, Arthur Silber,
Martin Fridson, Bob Smith, Alexander Tabarrok, Ronald Bailey, David J.
Theroux, Thomas E. Woods, Jr., Catherine Komp, Jim Davies and others,
awaits at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/news

Notes:

- As I mentioned last week, the Nigeria office of the Initiative for
Public Policy Analysis was burglarized, resulting in the loss of
expensive computer equipment. Those of you who follow ISIL's reports
know that the IPPA folks have done a lot of good work, on a shoestring
budget, for freedom. Let's keep the fight for liberty going in Africa
-- if you'd like to help IPPA get back on its technological feet, drop
from Thompson Ayodele a line at thompson at ippanigeria.org.

- This week's symposium is on the legacy and impact of Milton
Friedman. Our commentary section is full of encomium and eulogy ...
share YOUR thoughts at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/21040

- Bidding on the top banner ad slot at Rational Review still stands at
$500. That's a good price from my point of view, but it's also a good
deal. This is for a whole YEAR of prime advertising space. If you're
looking for exposure, have a look at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20587

- Our "year-end fundraiser" is still in the "low-impact" stage, but
the thermometer will probably come out after Thanksgiving if things
don't pick up ... see the sidebar of any page at Rational Review, or
the ISIL store if you prefer tax deductibility, to support RRND and FND.

We'll be back tomorrow with the regular email edition. Have a great day!

Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review

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*
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* RRND is through the valued support of our readers. Forward freely.
*
* To subscribe, unsubscribe, or financially support RRND, visit:
* http://www.rationalreview.com/news
*
* To support ISIL's Free-Market.Net Project (tax deductible)
* http://www.isil.org/store/membership.html
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Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher
Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,028
* Friday, November 17th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,058
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
* In cooperation with ISIL:   htp://www.isil.org
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**************************************************
* SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS
*
* THE WARRIOR'S WAY
* Get fit FAST!
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*
* BIRD FLU: REAL OR JUST MORE HYPE?
* Boost your immune system naturally!
* http://www.shopnutronix.com/freetexas
*
* NEW LIBERTARIAN MANIFESTO -- BACK IN PRINT!
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**************************************************

In The News:

1)  Milton Friedman, 1912-2006
2)  Explosions, clashes shake Iraq
3)  Pelosi up, Murtha down
4)  DeLay fill-in wants resigned staffers probed
5)  Report: US to deploy thousands more in Iraq
6)  NJ: Town takes eminent domain off map
7)  CA: Idiot hoplophobes go after toys
8)  Santorum: No Oval Office run
9)  Undelivered tax refunds worth $92 million
10) Coalition forces probe hijacking in Iraq
11) Soldier gets 90 years in Iraq rape case
12) CA: Judge blocks city's Know-Nothing law
13) Massachusetts gears up for marriage showdown
14) E-voting glitch turns up in Texas
15) China: Wikipedia unblocked after ban
16) UK: Traders protest plans to demolish mall
17) CA: Student tasered for not showing ID
18) TX: No charges filed in shooting
19) OR: Gunfire follows house blaze
20) Voodoo practitioner tries to jinx Bush
21) CA: Golden Gate Bridge may seek corporate sponsors
22) TN: Alexander spins leadership loss
23) New Congress vows to clean up act
24) Philip Morris is camera shy
25) MA: Imams arrested in alleged visa scheme

Everybody Has An Opinion:

26) Milton Friedman, 1912-2006
27) Tennis with Milton
28) Phillies 2008: An Open Letter to Libertarians
29) The pagan cult of voting
30) The mugging of Murtha
31) Where are we?
32) Condi's Iraq surprise
33) Reductionism, science and reason
Free Market News Network
34) Righting the Republican ship
35) Dump Pelosi?
36) Don't have a cow
37) Enough with the '08 presidential "buzz" already
38) Rumors of neocon death are highly exaggerated
39) Milton Friedman, 1912-2006
40) From Breslau to Morningside Heights
41) Woof!
42) Is war necessary?
43) Milton Friedman RIP
44) Libertarian Realism exposes government's criminality
45) A warm and fuzzy feeling
46) There ought not to be a law
47) Statement on the life of Milton Friedman
48) Erosion of freedom
49) Some plain truths about Iraq
50) The neocons' last stand
51) The right's denial
52) Nuns' food offer isn't up to prosecutor's palate
53) A way out of Iraq
54) Now is the time to lead America
55) GOP cloaked in Martinez, Pelosi in Armani
56) Did Arizona voters get the (decimal) point?
57) The same old George
58) War has changed; laws of war must, too
59) Waging peace
60) New media offensive to prolong the Iraq war

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

61) Honoring Milton Friedman
62) Freedomain Radio #512
63) Free Talk Live, 11/16/06

Weekly Symposium:

64) Whither the flying horse?

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

65) Today's events
66) Nigeria: IPPA HQ robbed
67) Auction: Rational Review top banner

WaYbAcK:

68) "I am not a crook"

***************
* In The News
***************

1)  Milton Friedman, 1912-2006
MSNBC

"Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who advocated an
unfettered free market and had the ear of three U.S. presidents, died
Thursday at age 94. Friedman died in San Francisco, said Robert
Fanger, a spokesman for the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation in
Indianapolis. His daughter, Janet Martell, told the Wall Street
Journal the cause of death was heart failure." (11/16/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15750712/

-----

2)  Explosions, clashes shake Iraq
Market Day

"A U.S. air raid has killed nine gunmen near Al Yusifiya in Iraq while
nine other suspected militants were arrested. ... gunmen attacked a
bakery in Baghdad's Zayuna Neighborhood, killing 12 workers .... a car
bomb detonated on Palestine Street near Al Sadr court, killing two
civilians ... a motorcycle bomb exploded in the city's Al Amel
neighborhood, killing one civilian. The U.S. military said two
soldiers have been killed in separate missions in Baquba and Baghdad
..." (11/17/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxmvd5

-----

3)  Pelosi up, Murtha down
Coeur d'Alene Press

"Democrats embraced Rep. Nancy Pelosi as the first female House
speaker in history on Thursday, then quickly snubbed her, selecting
Steny Hoyer of Maryland as majority leader against her wishes. 'Let
the healing begin,' Pelosi, D-Calif., said after Hoyer had eased past
her preferred candidate, Rep. John Murtha, a prominent opponent of the
war in Iraq. The secret-ballot vote for Hoyer was 149-86. She was
chosen by acclamation." (11/17/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yz34kq

-----

4)  DeLay fill-in wants resigned staffers probed
Chicago Tribune

"The newest member of Congress, who is temporarily filling former
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's Texas seat, wants an investigation
into the destruction of computer files in her office by staffers she
inherited from DeLay. Rep. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (R-Texas) said the
staffers resigned en masse and walked out Tuesday, a day after she was
sworn in to fill DeLay's seat for the next seven weeks. A Capitol Hill
newspaper, Roll Call, reported that the staffers did not like the way
she was treating them. Sekula-Gibbs said the walkouts were
'suspicious' in that the seven took the time to delete files before
leaving without notice." (11/17/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y52xkc

-----

5)  Report: US to deploy thousands more in Iraq
Ynetnews [Israel]

"'Big push' before withdrawal? The British daily The Guardian revealed
on Thursday that instead of a speedy retreat from Iraq, US President
George W. Bush is planning to increase America's forces by up to
20,000 soldiers, this according to senior sources within the US
administration. According to the report, President Bush told advisers
that the US and its allies must make 'a last big push' to win the war
in Iraq." (11/16/06)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3329009,00.html

-----

6)  NJ: Town takes eminent domain off map
Gloucester County Times

"The [Harrison] township planning board inserted language specifically
opposing eminent domain in an open space and recreation plan Thursday,
after hearing concerns over a map of proposed greenways along
environmentally sensitive areas included in the plan. ... Mayor Phil
Rhudy, who sits on the planning board, suggested the inclusion of
language in the open space that eminent domain would not be used to
preserve any properties included in the greenway map." (11/17/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y2wksl

-----

7)  CA: Idiot hoplophobes go after toys
San Diego Union-Tribune

"Ice-cream vendors in San Diego who sell toy guns out of their trucks
should probably think about getting rid of their nondairy inventory. A
City Council committee, at the behest of law enforcement, wants to
make it illegal for them to sell anything but food. It seems the
number of children taking the weapon look-alikes to school has been
increasing over the past several years. San Diego City Schools police
Chief Don Braun said many of the replicas were bought from ice-cream
vendors who congregate near schools. 'Student access to these weapons
must be limited by reducing availability from mobile ice cream
vendors,' he said." (11/17/06)

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20061117-9999-2m17toy.html

-----

8)  Santorum: No Oval Office run
Philadelphia Inquirer

"Don't expect to see Sen. Rick Santorum's name on the 2008
presidential ballot. 'Absolutely, positively not. Absolutely not,'
Santorum said yesterday on The Michael Smerconish Show on WPHT-AM
(1210). 'My wife would throw me out of the house if I do anything in
'08.' Even though he lost his Senate seat last week by 18 points to
Democrat Bob Casey Jr., some supporters hoped he would still fill the
social conservative niche on the Republican ticket." [editor's note:
Apparently Santorum is smarter than his supporters - TLK] (11/17/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y3qwzo

-----

9)  Undelivered tax refunds worth $92 million
USA Today

"Nearly 100,000 taxpayers are missing out on income tax refunds
because the checks sent by the Internal Revenue Service were returned
as undeliverable. The IRS said Thursday that the average refund for
the 95,746 taxpayers whose checks were returned was $963. The checks,
worth $92.2 million, can be claimed as soon as the owners update their
addresses with the agency. The IRS directed people who never got
expected checks to the 'Where's My Refund?' page of the www.irs.gov
site. They can also call 1-800-829-1954." (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygbt2d

-----

10) Coalition forces probe hijacking in Iraq
Scranton Times-Tribune

"U.S. and British forces were seeking information Friday about the
hijacking of a convoy containing up to 14 civilians in southern Iraq.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said preliminary
reports suggested the convoy attacked Thursday included about 19
vehicles. An official familiar with the incident said preliminary
reports being checked by the military indicated that the attack
occurred at a checkpoint near Nasiriyah and that four Americans were
believed to have been taken captive." (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/tsdfj

-----

11) Soldier gets 90 years in Iraq rape case
Shreveport Times

"A soldier was sentenced Thursday to 90 years in prison with the
possibility of parole for conspiring to rape a 14-year-old Iraqi girl
and kill her and her family. Spc. James P. Barker, one of four Fort
Campbell soldiers accused in the March 12 rape and killings, pleaded
guilty Wednesday and agreed to testify against the others to avoid the
death penalty." (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y2pwpj

-----

12) CA: Judge blocks city's Know-Nothing law
Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel

"A federal judge temporarily blocked the city of Escondido on Thursday
from enforcing a law that punishes landlords for renting to illegal
immigrants. U.S. District Judge John Houston said that he had serious
questions about whether the law would survive legal scrutiny and that
it may inflict 'irreparable harm' on tenants and landlords. The law
had been scheduled to take effect Friday in the suburb 30 miles north
of San Diego, where Hispanics make up 42 percent of the 142,000
residents." (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y27ow6

-----

13) Massachusetts gears up for marriage showdown
CNN

"Gov. Mitt Romney plans to appear at a rally Sunday to demand that
lawmakers, who have largely ignored him on the matter, vote on a
proposed ballot question that would end same-sex marriage in
Massachusetts. Last week, the Legislature again refused to take up the
question at a joint session, voting instead to recess until January 2,
which all but killed the measure because a vote then is unlikely.
Romney's spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, said the fight won't be over
until the people vote." (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yhg2lf

-----

14) E-voting glitch turns up in Texas
News.com

"As elections officials continue their post-mortems on last Tuesday's
race, another irregularity in electronic voting machine tallies has
surfaced.In Williamson County, Texas, located just north of Austin,
elections officials are blaming a software glitch in the region's
touch-screen machines for counting each electronically-cast vote not
just once, but three times, the Austin American-Statesman
(registration required) reported in its Wednesday edition. " (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y68zta

-----

15) China: Wikipedia unblocked after ban
Yahoo! News

"Online enyclopedia Wikipedia was accessible again in China on
Thursday after being blocked for more than a year, a move hailed by
free media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders.The main page of
the Chinese-language version of Wikipedia (zh.wikipedia.org) could be
displayed and searches for apolitical terms turned up results, but
searches for subjects taboo to China's Communist leadership, such as
'June 4,' remained blocked. June 4, 1989, was the date that China's
military crushed a student-led movement for political change centered
on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds and possibly
thousands." (11/16/06)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061116/wr_nm/china_internet_dc

-----

16) UK: Traders protest plans to demolish mall
Independent [UK]

"Oriental City is probably the most unusual shopping centre in
Britain, a self-contained purpose-built mall specialising in goods and
foods from south-east Asia and attracting between 8,000 and 10,000
visitors a week, drawn mostly from the Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese,
Thai, Malay and Filipino communities in London as well as further
afield. Some have called it London's 'Real Chinatown' -- because the
one in the West End is being swamped by tourists. Now its new owner,
the property company Development Securities, which bought the complex
last year, is planning a massive £200m redevelopment of the site,
which has met with strong opposition from many of the shopkeepers and
restaurant owners, who want the local authority to reject the plans."
(11/16/06)

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article1990385.ece

-----

17) CA: Student tasered for not showing ID
Fox News

"A UCLA police officer shocked a student with a stun gun at a campus
library after he refused repeated requests to show student
identification and wouldn't leave, police said. The student, Mostafa
Tabatabainejad, was shocked Tuesday at about 11 p.m. as police did a
routine check of student IDs at the University of California, Los
Angeles Powell Library computer lab. 'This is a long-standing library
policy to ensure the safety of students during the late-night hours,'
said UCLA Police Department spokeswoman Nancy Greenstein. She said
police tried to escort Tabatabainejad, 23, out of the library after he
refused to provide identification. Tabatabainejad instead encouraged
others at the library to join his resistance, and when a crowd began
to gather, police used the stun gun on him, Greenstein
said.Tabatabainejad was arrested for resisting and obstructing a
police officer and later released on his own recognizance." (11/16/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229942,00.html

-----

18) TX: No charges filed in shooting
Texarkana Gazette

"Preliminary findings indicate Tuesday's shooting death of Stacey
Condit, a Texarkana attorney's ex-wife, was self-defense, and no
charges have been filed. ... Condit, 39, was the ex-wife of attorney
Bruce Condit. The shooting happened about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday at Bruce
Condit's Wake Village home. Bruce Condit, his two grown children and
two of their friends were at the house at the time of the incident.
... Schutte said Stacey Condit went to the home with a rifle,
apparently intending to hurt her ex-husband, and entered the house.
She was shot with a shotgun that belonged to someone in the house, he
said. She was pronounced dead at the scene." (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ybfjec

-----

19) OR: Gunfire follows house blaze
Salem Statesman-Journal

"A two-alarm fire damaged a Salem home Tuesday night, displacing the
family of a National Guard sergeant who told police that he exchanged
gunshots with an intruder inside his house the morning after the
blaze. Brian Mumey, who was not home when the fire broke out, told
police that he returned to his house at 225 Stark St. N after the
blaze to check his damaged possessions and saw an unidentified man
inside his bedroom Wednesday morning. Mumey, 43, said the intruder,
described as a white male in his 50s, fired a shot at him, prompting
him to fire five to six rounds back. After another exchange of
gunfire, the unidentified man reportedly fled." (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykhlve

-----

20) Voodoo practitioner tries to jinx Bush
Yahoo! News

"A renowned black magic practitioner performed a voodoo ritual
Thursday to jinx President George W. Bush and his entourage while he
was on a brief visit to Indonesia. Ki Gendeng Pamungkas slit the
throat of a goat, a small snake and stabbed a black crow in the chest,
stirred their blood with spice and broccoli before he drank the
'potion' and smeared some on his face. 'I don't hate Americans, but I
don't like Bush,' said Pamungkas, who believed the ritual would
succeed as, 'the devil is with me today.' He said the jinx would
sen[d] spirits to possess Secret Service personnel guarding Bush and
[leave] them in a trance, leading them into falsely thinking the
President was under attack, thus eventually causing chaos in Bogor
Presidential Palace, where the American leader was scheduled to meet
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday." (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/womdd

-----

21) CA: Golden Gate Bridge may seek corporate sponsors
San Francisco Chronicle

"The Golden Gate Bridge district's board of directors is expected to
hire a consultant Friday to seek corporate sponsors for San
Francisco's revered landmark to help lower the district's $87 million
deficit. The consultant's recommendations could include installing
signs at the south visitors area or on benches and sidewalks at the
ends of the bridge. 'This is not a naming rights deal,' cautioned
bridge spokeswoman Mary Currie. 'It's more of a behind-the-scenes,
low-key corporate partnership, much like the Proud Partners Program in
the national parks.' Currie said board members have been adamant that
corporate-sponsored signs not go directly on the bridge or
tollbooths." (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y6c7jr

-----

22) TN: Alexander spins leadership loss
Nashville City Paper

"After a last-minute and surprise loss in his bid to become the No. 2
Republican in the U.S. Senate, an upbeat Lamar Alexander on Wednesday
tried to spin his stunning loss to former Senate Majority Leader Trent
Lott as good for Tennessee. Despite going into Wednesday morning's GOP
conference leadership elections confident that he had secured more
than a majority of the votes necessary to succeed Sen. Mitch
McConnell, R-Ky., as Republican whip, Alexander lost by one vote to
Lott, who had announced his intention to run for the leadership post
only a week-and-a-half ago. 'Senator Lott conclusively proved he's a
better vote counter than I,' Alexander said in a Wednesday afternoon
conference call with reporters." [editor's note: I wouldn't call
myself a fan of Alexander's, but I've never understood why he doesn't
seem to do well in intra-party elections (including presidential
primaries). That's especially true this time. With the selection of
Lott as whip, the GOP isn't doing itself any favors - TLK] (11/16/06)

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?news_id=53285

-----

23) New Congress vows to clean up act
Christian Science Monitor

"The midterm elections that ended GOP control of both House and Senate
turned on two overriding themes: the war in Iraq and corruption in
Congress. Now, beginning with leadership elections this week, both
parties are out to show voters they got the message. For Democrats,
united in a keen desire not to slip back into the minority in 2008, a
first step is the promise of a new style of leadership on Capitol
Hill: open, bipartisan, and above reproach -- and an agenda anchored
in the needs of the average American family. 'Voters rejected the Bush
agenda, but they haven't yet embraced us,' said Sen. Charles Schumer
of New York, who was elevated Tuesday to No. 3 in the Democratic
leadership after chairing the party's senatorial campaign committee to
a victory few of his colleagues believed would happen. 'What we have
here could vanish if we don't do the job.'" [editor's note: End the
war, and bring the troops home; repeal the USA PATRIOT Act; end the
War on SOME Drugs; restore the Bill of Rights ... then we'll talk! -
SAT] (11/16/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1116/p01s01-uspo.html

-----

24) Philip Morris is camera shy
Fox News

"The nation's largest cigarette maker is asking Hollywood not to put
its products on the big screen, citing studies that have shown
cinematic portrayals of tobacco use can entice children to smoke.
Richmond-based Philip Morris USA said Wednesday that it will run
advertisements in Daily Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and other
trade publications imploring moviemakers: 'Please Don't Give Our
Cigarette Brands a Part in Your Movie.' The ad campaign begins this
week and will last several months, Philip Morris spokesman David
Sutton said. He said the initiative was conceived after meetings with
entertainment industry representatives. But Matt Myers, president of
the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the industry has been unmoved
by previous appeals to shield children from smoking scenes. 'Hollywood
has ignored the very serious problem that smoking in the movies
contributes to youth tobacco use,' said Myers, adding that 'the
problem goes beyond which brands are shown.'" [editor's note: If
you've seen the wonderful satire, Thank You for Smoking, you're
probably giggling uncontrollably in reading this one - SAT] (11/16/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229963,00.html

-----

25) MA: Imams arrested in alleged visa scheme
Boston Globe

"Federal immigration agents arrested imams from two Boston-area
mosques yesterday on charges they were involved in a scheme that
provided religious worker visas to immigrants who used them to enter
the United States and work instead as gas station attendants, truck
drivers, and factory laborers. Hafiz Abdul Hannan, imam, or leader, of
the Islamic Society of Greater Lowell in Chelmsford, and Muhammed
Masood, imam of the Islamic Center of New England in Sharon, were
among 33 people taken into custody nationwide after a multi-year
investigation led by agents in Boston and New York, said Paula
Grenier, a spokeswoman for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement."
(11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y89rcf

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 11/17/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 47,184 ... Max - 52,349
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,863
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

26) Milton Friedman, 1912-2006
Classically Liberal

"Dr. Friedman was not just an advocate of economic freedom. He was an
advocate of freedom across the board. He was a vocal advocate of the
legalization of drugs arguing that the regulations only made the harm
greater and did little to protect people. As an adviser to Richard
Nixon he was a major proponent of abolishing military conscription in
the United States. He was a great advocate of school vouchers,
something he proposed in his book Capitalism and Freedom in 1962. And
to this purpose he established the Milton and Rose D. Friedman
Foundation to promote competition in the field of education. He was a
president of the American Economic Association and a founding member
and president of the Mont Pelerin Society, an international
organization of free market academics. In 1988 he was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom." (11/16/06)

http://freestudents.blogspot.com/2006/11/milton-friedman-dies.html

-----

27) Tennis with Milton
TCS Daily
by Ralph Kinney Bennett

"I was 29 years younger than the great economist. I played a lot of
tennis then, and was in pretty good shape. Milton Friedman didn't look
frail, but he didn't look particularly athletic either. I sized up his
spindly legs, his glasses. Even in tennis whites he really looked the
whole egghead thing. But I noticed that his racket looked ominously
well used." (11/17/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=111706C

-----

28) Phillies 2008: An Open Letter to Libertarians
Rational Review
by George Phillies

"We have glorious prospects before us. The Democratic and Republican
parties shot themselves in the feet. With hand grenades. Our national
debt increases a half a trillion dollars per year. Congress debates
flag burning. Income of nonsupervisory workers is stagnant. Congress
debates gay marriage. The trade deficit approaches eight hundred
billion dollars a year. Congress renamed French fries. Twice! The cost
of energy soars. Congress tried nationalizing the Schiavo family. The
War On Iraq drags on. Congress banned internet gambling. It's time for
a change. The libertarian change. It's time to elect grown-ups to
Federal office. I urge you to consider two questions. First, how
should we choose our next Presidential candidate? Second, who should
you choose as that candidate?" (11/16/06)

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20885

-----

29) The pagan cult of voting
Strike the Root
by Angelo Mike

"We just have a state religion which is that of democracy itself:
Religion with a fallible god, that of the majority. As an
anarcho-capitalist, I've believed this for a while. However, last
week's elections were the first ones I experienced as an anarchist,
and despite not voting (and even trying to un-register to vote, though
no one in the government responded to my request), I was fully
immersed in the religion of democracy. ... People have been walking
around wearing 'I Voted' stickers, like Catholics with ashes on their
forehead for this most holy of all days around which we all gather in
fellowship." (11/16/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/mike/mike3.html

-----

30) The mugging of Murtha
AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo

"Back when the Democrats were AWOL on the Iraq issue, Murtha changed
the debate over the war by coming out for a rapid American withdrawal.
His stance caused a sensation: here was a conservative Democrat, a
veteran Marine, whose campaign chest is heavy with cash from the
defense sector, surely no Dennis Kucinich -- and he wants us out now!
Close to the military establishment, Murtha is seen to reflect opinion
in the senior ranks that this war is unwinnable and likely to spread,
stretching the fighting capacity of the world's last superpower to the
breaking point. His high-profile stance represented a threat and had
to be smashed -- as it was. It is instructive to observe how readily
supposedly 'liberal' groups stabbed the antiwar movement in the back
by fueling the 'Murtha = corruption' meme ..." (11/17/06)

http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=10025

-----

31) Where are we?
The American Spectator
by Lawrence Henry

"In the 1970s, when Larry King hosted an overnight radio program, he
used to indulge in a conversational riff about how everybody really
was a liberal. In an elementary sort of way, it made sense. Everybody
liked Social Security, he said, and that was a liberal idea. Everybody
liked having the ability to join a union, everybody appreciated the
idea of a minimum wage, of a 40-hour workweek, and so on. He did not
mention abortion, as I recall, or gun control, and so-called 'gay'
marriage had not even appeared on the political horizon. Still, within
limits, King was right then and he is right now. Most people are
comfortable with the kind of government essentially defined by
Franklin Roosevelt, the most popular president the country has ever
had. We still fight our elections between the 40-yard lines, as one
pundit put it recently, and not in desperate goal-line stands, like
parliamentary democracies, and it's a good thing, too, a legacy
bequeathed to us by the incredible wisdom of our founders." [editor's
note: Henry thinks the founding fathers wanted our politics to
"represent a simple midfield swing between FDR and Eisenhower."
Shudder - TLK] (11/17/06)

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10644

-----

32) Condi's Iraq surprise
Salon
by Mark Benjamin

"In late 2005, three Washington insiders with foreign policy expertise
were summoned to a meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice --
a little-known event that may end up changing the course of the war in
Iraq. The three men were working to help Rep. Frank Wolf, who wanted
to create an independent panel to overhaul the Bush administration's
strategy in Iraq, after a recent trip there left the Virginia
Republican worried that the war was headed from bad to worse. The
three men, to their surprise, were asked to attend a meeting on Nov.
29, 2005, with Rice, who had been among the core defenders of the Bush
administration's war in Iraq." (11/17/06)

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/11/17/iraq_study_group/

-----

33) Reductionism, science and reason
Free Market News Network
by Tibor R. Machan

"Is reductionism credible? Depends on the criteria of credibility. If
one goes by our experiences with the world, it is not -- there are too
many things that are vastly different from each other. Apples, shoes,
cars, clouds, symphonies, dogs, bacteria, etc., and so forth. One
reason there are all those different departments at universities is
the fact that so many different kinds of things need to be understood
to be an educated person, educated about the world. But for a
reductionist it would be enough to just study subatomic physics. We'd
know everything from such study alone." (11/16/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/117/6398/tibor.asp?nid=6398&wid=117

-----

34) Righting the Republican ship
National Review
by Peter Ferrara

"The political focus now shifts from the Republican defeat on Tuesday
to the even more critical and historic election of 2008. And the
Republicans can turn things around quick if they focus on bringing
about meaningful and substantive reforms -- just as their forbears did
during the Reagan revolution." (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykzpog

-----

35) Dump Pelosi?
Slate
by Timothy Noah

"I'll admit my timing could be better, since the incoming House
Democrats, on a unanimous voice vote, just made Nancy Pelosi,
D-Calif., speaker of the House. But I think her party should give
serious thought to dumping her. The proximate reason, of course, is
that she tried (and, thankfully, failed) to install as House majority
leader Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa." [editor's note: Interesting. My own
reason is that she wasn't willing to put her speakership on the line
by making it a package deal -- no Murtha, no Pelosi. By choosing Hoyer
over Murtha, the Dems are tacitly announcing that it will be "business
as usual" where Iraq is concerned - TLK] (11/16/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2153939

-----

36) Don't have a cow
The Weekly Standard
by Victorino Matus

"Those of us who enjoy a thick, juicy steak know full well how it got
to our plate. We know that at some point in time, a cow was fed, then
slaughtered, and finally shipped to our local grocer or restaurant.
But how often do we think about the process by which that cow is
turned into a steak or ground beef? Eric Schlosser thinks the answer
is, Not often enough. The author of the 2001 bestseller Fast Food
Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal not only visited a
meatpacking plant, but also toured the infamous killing floor .... As
difficult as that may be to read, watching it in a movie theater is
worse." (11/17/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ym3vey

-----

37) Enough with the '08 presidential "buzz" already
AlterNet
by Matt Taibbi

"The man sighed. 'Okay, buddy, look,' he said. 'I don't have a cousin.
I just need some money. Can you give me six dollars or can't you?' I
frowned. 'Wait a minute. Don't I know you from somewhere?' 'Oh, God,'
the man in the suit said, shaking his head. 'Yes, you might have seen
me before.' 'Hey, yeah,' I said, snapping my fingers. 'I saw you in
USA Today, right?' 'Okay, you got me,' he said. 'I'm Tom Vilsack's
buzz.' 'Tom Vilsack? The Governor of Iowa?' 'Right.' 'But you can't be
Tom Vilsack,' I said. 'Tom Vilsack has no lips and a saggy neck and he
looks like a roadie for a Lawrence Welk tribute band. But you're bald,
for one thing, and --' 'No, no, you don't understand,' the man
snapped. 'I'm not Tom Vilsack. I'm Tom Vilsack's buzz.'" The bathroom
was silent for a moment except for the dripping of the faucet.
'Impossible,' I said finally. 'Tom Vilsack has a buzz already? A 2008
buzz?'" (11/17/06)

http://www.alternet.org/story/44338/

-----

38) Rumors of neocon death are highly exaggerated
LewRockwell.Com
by Leon Hadar

"It's not surprising that in this new political environment,
neoconservative pundits and thinkers are hoping to lead a bureaucratic
and ideological counterinsurgency. As expected, many of them are now
defending their support for the Iraq War by arguing that the plan they
had envisioned -- establishing a prosperous democracy in Iraq and
using it as 'model' to remake and reform the Middle East -- was great,
but those who carried it out -- the Bush administration -- screwed it
up. Until recently, neoconservatives have pointed the finger mainly at
Rumsfeld, the military, the CIA, and other allegedly incompetent and
disloyal members of the Bush administration. But now they seem to be
ganging up on Bush himself." (11/17/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/hadar/hadar76.html

-----

39) Milton Friedman, 1912-2006
Reason
by Brian M. Doherty

"Undoubtedly the most successful and influential proponent of
libertarian thought in the 20th century, Milton Friedman, died last
night at age 94. His successes as both a technical economist and
libertarian polemicist are enormous. We can thank him, in large part,
for happy events from the elimination of the draft to the conquest of
inflation." (11/17/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116778.html

-----

40) From Breslau to Morningside Heights
The American Conservative
by Philip Weiss

Review of Five Germanies I Have Known: "Fritz Stern was supposed to
follow in the family calling of three generations and become a doctor
in the German city of Breslau (now Wroclaw in Poland). Events
interceded. In 1932, when he was 6, his parents gave him a typewriter,
and then next year Hitler came to power. Five years after, the family,
who were Christians but of Jewish stock, fled for America. The boy had
by then become the family's secretary and was hoarding pieces of
writing that interested him, down to scraps of newspaper. He grew up
to be a historian, publishing several important volumes about German
and Jewish history, of which this beautifully-written memoir is the
most soulful. In a sense Stern never abandoned the family profession:
at 80, he is trying to heal himself and heal Germany -- and even heal
the Jews." (for publication 11/20/06)

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_11_20/review.html

-----

41) Woof!
Mother Jones
by James Ridgeway

"Steny Hoyer's victory as House Majority leader not only signals an
embarrassing defeat for Nancy Pelosi, but underscores the importance
of the conservative Blue Dog bloc in the Democratic party. The Blue
Dogs supported Hoyer over John Murtha, and Pelosi had gone out of her
way to shut these party conservatives out of leadership posts ....
With the leadership battle, the 44 Blue Dogs may well have established
themselves as the crucial swing vote for both parties on Capitol
Hill." (11/16/06)

http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2006/11/blue_dogs.html

-----

42) Is war necessary?
Liberty For All
by Harry Browne

"I have managed to live on this planet for 70 years without ever
striking another human being. There have been a dozen or so times when
someone wanted to fight me. I managed to talk my way out of a fight in
most of those cases. In the few times I didn't succeed in avoiding a
fight altogether, I managed to end the scuffle without hitting the
other person and without suffering any noticeable damage to myself."
(written 01/19/04; posted 11/16/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=382

-----

43) Milton Friedman RIP
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Walter Block

"Milton Friedman died today at age 94. May he rest in peace. I don't
want to discuss the Reagan and Thatcher 'revolutions' he supposedly
inspired. Nor his 'Free to Choose' series, his many years with the
University of Chicago and the Hoover Institution, or his Nobel Prize
in Economics. These will be covered, I expect, by others, and in great
detail. Nor in this recollection do I want to touch upon his
monetarism, his championing of school vouchers, the negative income
tax, flexible exchange rates, anti-trust laws, his opposition to the
gold standard and to privatizing roads and oceans. Libertarians have
long disagreed with him on these issues, and this is not the time to
delve into such longstanding controversies." (11/16/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2393

-----

44) Libertarian Realism exposes government's criminality
Frontiers of Freedom
by Rex Curry

"Criminology and criminal justice are areas of fascinating research.
Critical criminology has evolved over the past two decades and a
number of new sub-branches have developed. Most popular research would
be improved by greater emphasis on the branch of criminology known as
'Minarchist Realism' or 'Libertarian Realism.' Libertarian realism
attempts to reconcile critical views with the social realities of
crime and its impact on all individuals. It questions the common
perception of government as a 'crime fighter,' and examines the many
ways in which government aids and abets crime and criminality." (11/17/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y59vvr

-----

45) A warm and fuzzy feeling
FreedomWorks
by Richard W. Rahn

"Yes, the world is getting warmer, but the Earth does this roughly
every 1,500 years, and we cannot stop it. The good news is humans and
most other species tend to do better during the warm periods. There is
a wonderful new book, 'Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years,'
by distinguished climate physicist Fred Singer and award-winning
environmental economist Dennis Avery. The conclusion of their book in
a nutshell is that, yes, the world is getting a bit warmer, but this
is just the natural cycle." (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yfdmto

-----

46) There ought not to be a law
Foundation for Economic Education
by Clarence B. Carson

"Premier Georges Clemenceau of France is supposed to have remarked,
probably out of exasperation, about Woodrow Wilson's peace settlement
proposals after World War I: 'That man Wilson has fourteen points when
God Almighty had only ten.' Clemenceau's sentiments probably have been
shared by generations of students who have had the onerous task of
memorizing or trying to remember Wilson's Fourteen Points. It must be
admitted, however, that by comparison with the multiplicity of laws,
regulations, restrictions, prescriptions, court orders, and what not
that Americans live under today Wilson's points were brevity and
conciseness itself." (written 06/76; posted 11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygvovy

-----

47) Statement on the life of Milton Friedman
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Fred L. Smith, Jr.

"The war to advance economic liberty will last forever. The effort is
frustrating and often discouraging. Many freedom fighters burn out,
retire from the field, become disillusioned, even cynical. Most people
grow tired when their efforts are demonized, attacked and ignored.
We're all human and we can do only so much. But one individual never
retreated, never retired from the war of ideas -- the war to advance
individual and economic liberty. A great advocate of liberty, Milton
Friedman, died today at 94." (11/16/06)

http://www.cei.org/gencon/003,05613.cfm

-----

48) Erosion of freedom
Liberty For All
by Ben Smith

"As a person who values his freedom and as an active participant in
the political system since before I reached the age to vote I can no
longer quietly protest the erosion of freedoms suffered by American
citizens on a daily basis. Most people in this country will agree that
there have been slow erosions of our freedoms for years. While most
people recognize this fact, many do not do anything about it. Loss of
liberty is quickly approaching the point of no return and something
must be done to take back those liberties we hold dear." (written
03/05/01; posted 11/16/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=381

-----

49) Some plain truths about Iraq
Asia Times
by Ehsan Ahrari

"The US government is conducting endless appraisals of its failed
policy in Iraq, independent of the bipartisan Baker-Hamilton Iraq
Study Group. But how many more reviews and commissions will the US
need before it faces the ugly possibility that it simply will have to
withdraw from Iraq and face the consequences of defeat?" (11/17/06)

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HK17Ak02.html

-----

50) The neocons' last stand
Guardian [UK]
by Sidney Blumenthal

"James Baker -- the elder Bush's campaign manager and secretary of
state, charged for decades with cleaning up family messes -- is now
chairman of the Iraq Study Group (ISG) and has assumed the aura of a
regent. He is burdened with more tasks than those specified in his
commission's brief about Iraq. Not only is he developing a whole new
US foreign policy, he is trying to salvage whatever can be retrieved
from the wreckage of Bush's presidency for its last two years and to
prevent the Republican party, having lost the crown jewel of the
Congress, from being permanently tainted." (11/16/06)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1948667,00.html

-----

51) The right's denial
The American Prospect
by Harold Meyerson

"On their journey through the stages of grief, conservatives don't yet
seem to have gotten past denial. Republicans may have lost,
conservatives argue, but only because they misplaced their ideology.
'[T]hey were punished not for pursuing but for forgetting
conservatism,' George F. Will, conservatism's most trenchant champion,
wrote in The Washington Post last week. Their mortal sin, in this
gospel, was their abandonment of fiscal prudence. They doffed their
green eyeshades and gushed red ink. 'The greatest scandal in
Washington, D.C., is runaway federal spending,' said Indiana
congressman Mike Pence, the true-blue conservative who is challenging
Ohio's John Boehner for the post of House Republican leader."
[editor's note: This should be must reading for every would-be
"conservative" who thinks their struggle was only with the neocons,
and not the theocrats - SAT] (11/16/06)

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12222

-----

52) Nuns' food offer isn't up to prosecutor's palate
Denver Post
by Marie Carman

"As a stand-up comic, Robert Brown makes a great deputy U.S. attorney.
Then again, for everyone but a prosecutor, the threat of federal
prison is usually not very funny. On Wednesday, Brown met on the
sidewalk outside his Denver office with the three media darlings who
have haunted him for four years -- the anti-nuke nuns. 'You look
great,' he teased. 'Prison was good for you.' The Dominican sisters,
Ardeth Platte, 70, Carol Gilbert, 59, and Jackie Hudson, 72, had come
to town in yet another attempt to fulfill the gnarliest part of the
sentences imposed on them by U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn when
they were convicted of damaging government property and obstructing
the national defense in 2003. They are trying to pay off $3,082 in
restitution to the U.S. Air Force -- in canned goods." (11/16/06)

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_4668314

-----

53) A way out of Iraq
Tom Paine
by US Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI)

"On Election Day, the American people weighed in at the ballot box:
They want to get our troops out of Iraq. Voters rejected the
president's failed Iraq policy, putting Democrats in charge of
Congress and responsible for setting a new direction for Iraq, and,
most importantly, for our national security. Democrats agree that we
should begin redeploying troops, but some do not want to set a target
deadline for the majority of troops to be withdrawn. That is a
mistake. Without a target date, redeployment could drag on
indefinitely. The president consistently refused to set a target date
for withdrawal, and Democrats shouldn't follow in his footsteps.
Democrats should move forward with a new Iraq policy that includes a
target date for the redeployment of U.S. troops so that we can refocus
on defeating global terrorist networks." (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yfh62v

-----

54) Now is the time to lead America
Nashville City Paper
by staff

"For the last year, the national media and political pundits have been
obsessed with the prospects of which political party would win the
2006 elections. Now, one party has risen to the top, and it is time to
govern. ... At the center of the country's political debate is the war
in Iraq. Democrats campaigned largely on the need for a change in
President George W. Bush's Iraq strategy. After GOP losses on Nov. 7,
Bush appeared to acquiesce to the new order and proceeded to sack
Defense Sect. Donald Rumsfeld. But, the American people appear to
remain unconvinced national Democrats have any more answers to Iraq
than the president. An Associated Press/Ipsos poll released this week
shows some 57 percent of Americans do not believe Democrats have a
plan for Iraq." (11/16/06)

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?news_id=53291

-----

55) GOP cloaked in Martinez, Pelosi in Armani
Fox News
by Susan Estrich

"This is probably the last thing my conservative friends want to hear,
but I think you folks have a problem. I'm not an expert in winning,
but I know a thing or two about losing, and it generally helps to try
to figure out why it was that you lost before you go marching right
into the abyss. Again. Take the choice of Mel Martinez as the chairman
of the Republican National Committee. Nothing personal against Mel,
because this isn't personal, Mel wasn't chosen for personal reasons.
Dare I suggest that the one Hispanic in the United States Senate might
have been chosen for reasons having something to do with ... that?
Which is a bad start, the sort of tokenism I'm more accustomed to
seeing on my side, maybe because you haven't had enough tokens to play
the game until now." (11/15/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229764,00.html

-----

56) Did Arizona voters get the (decimal) point?
Arizona Republic
by E. J. Montini

"Following a hard-fought campaign over Proposition 203, the cigarette
tax, all that remains is what I'd call a smoldering 'but.' Now that
the tax proposal has passed, we're left to ask ourselves if the price
of smokes will increase by 80 cents per pack or by only eight-tenths
of a cent. The people behind the First Things First initiative (Prop.
203) believe that it will be 80 cents per pack. That's what they
proposed. That's what they wanted. That's what they believe people
voted on. But ... that's not what the ballot said. The language on the
actual ballot did not claim that the proposition would increase the
tax by 80 cents per pack but by '.80 cents/pack,' or a measly
eight-tenths of 1 cent. If that wording is enforced, the decimal-point
error could cost those hoping to fund early education programs $186
million." [editor's note: No, no, NO, EJ! You know better than that.
Going with the lower number that was actually voted on will "cost" the
thieves nothing. Denying a would-be thief part of his ability to steal
is not a "cost" to the thief - TLK] (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxw8dz

-----

57) The same old George
Truthout
by William Rivers Pitt

"The first rumblings of the
wow-nothing-has-changed-at-all-in-the-White-House phenomenon started
last week, when Bush's people intimated that the lame-duck GOP
Congress would be tasked to ram through some highly dubious
legislation before they get shoved into the minority seats come
January. First off, Bush wanted John Bolton, now serving a temp job as
UN ambassador, to be permanently confirmed. If any time was available,
Bush also wanted Congress to pass blanket approval for his highly
controversial and almost certainly illegal warrantless wiretapping
program. To wit, he was hoping his pals in Congress would paper over
this particular set of broken FISA laws before the new chairmen come
in with subpoena power." (11/16/06)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111606R.shtml

-----

58) War has changed; laws of war must, too
Christian Science Monitor
by Scott Holcomb & Mark Ribbing

"One of the most striking developments of the post-cold war era has
been the shift in our understanding of war itself. This most ancient
of human behaviors has literally taken on a new definition. The 1985
edition of Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary described war as
'a state of usu. open and declared armed hostile conflict between
states or nations.' How shopworn that formulation seems today. Warfare
in the 21st century is increasingly the domain of non-state actors --
of tribes, cells, clans, and networks. As the nature of war undergoes
significant change, so, too, must the laws of war. Of course, the very
notion that warfare -- an activity that necessarily entails
premeditated homicide and the intentional destruction of property --
could be channeled or civilized by statute has always been a bit
problematic. Yet there is a long and distinguished history of such
legislation, and it has made a difference." (11/16/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1116/p09s01-coop.html

-----

59) Waging peace
Boston Globe
by Marianne Williamson

"The FBI recently reported that the United States is facing a wave of
murders and gun violence. Cities across the country are seeing
significant increases in violent crime. In Boston, the number of
homicides is threatening to eclipse last year's numbers, which were
already the worst in a decade. These statistics prove that the current
approach to reducing violence isn't working. ... A bill before
Congress would establish a US Department of Peace. This measure would
provide practical, nonviolent solutions for the problems of domestic
and international conflict. It would apply the institutional heft of
the US government to a serious effort not merely at avoiding war or
waging war more effectively. It would take America to the next
evolutionary step: It would proactively wage peace." [editor's note:
Yeek! Even the wise Ms. Williamson seems to be drinking the Kool Aid
now! One would think she of all folks would know that creating another
federal bureaucray, with its own agenda of self-preservation, is not a
viable road to promoting peaceful behavior. Consider what the Depts.
of Education, Energy et alia have done for their respective issues:
WORSE education, and more politicization of fuel issues. May the Peace
Alliance thrive and prosper, WITHOUT another damned government program
to hinder its good work! - SAT] (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/u97wq

-----

60) New media offensive to prolong the Iraq war
CounterPunch
by Norman Solomon

"The American media establishment has launched a major offensive
against the option of withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. In the latest
media assault, right-wing outfits like Fox News and the Wall Street
Journal editorial page are secondary. The heaviest firepower is now
coming from the most valuable square inches of media real estate in
the USA -- the front page of the New York Times. The present situation
is grimly instructive for anyone who might wonder how the Vietnam War
could continue for years while opinion polls showed that most
Americans were against it. Now, in the wake of midterm elections
widely seen as a rebuke to the Iraq war, powerful media institutions
are feverishly spinning against a pullout of U.S. troops." (11/16/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/solomon11162006.html

*******************************************************************
* RRND MEDIA SHELF -- Tchotchkes from today's edition
*
* Thank You For Smoking, DVD
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000H0MKOC/rationalrev08-20
*
* Capitalism and Freedom, by Milton Friedman
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0226264211/rationalrev08-20
*
* Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060838582/rationalrev08-20
*
* Fast Food Nation, movie showtimes and DVD notification
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JP5M/rationalrev08-20
*
* Five Germanies I Have Known, by Fritz Stern
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374155402/rationalrev08-20
*
* Free to Choose, by Milton and Rose Friedman
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0156334607/rationalrev08-20
*
* Unstoppable Global Warming, by Fred Singer and Dennis Avery
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0742551172/rationalrev08-20
*
* Note: Affiliate links generate commissions for RRND's editors.
*******************************************************************

*****************************
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************

61) Honoring Milton Friedman
Cato Institute

Cato daily podcast, featuring Edward H. Crane. [MP3] (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y9bj2u

-----

62) Freedomain Radio #512
Freedomain Radio

"The myth of a robber baron: The victors wrote the history, and they
weren't consumers!" With host Stefan Molyneux. [MP3] (11/16/06)

http://www.freedomainradio.com/Traffic_Jams/FDR_512_Robber_Baron.mp3

-----

63) Free Talk Live, 11/16/06
Free Talk Live

"Student tazered for not showing ID / City preparing most draconian
smoking ban ever / Milton Friedman Dies / Automatons / Standing Armies
/ People Lining Up for PS3 / Console Hardware Costs / Consoles vs. PCs
/ Bush administration plans to toss immigrants into detention camps /
Obscenity Prosecution for Classic Porn! / Canadian college professors
can now smoke weed on campus! / Cops just love to take cash." [MP3]
(11/16/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-11-16.mp3

********************
* Weekly Symposium
********************

64) Whither the flying horse?

Tired of politics, especially after a two-week election thread? Sorry
... instead of switching to a philosophical topic this week, I'm going
political again. The brief message below is from David Nolan, founder
of the Libertarian Party. Nolan invites debate. If not now, when? And
if not us, who?

     From: David F. Nolan
     Subject: Once Again, The Horse Did Not Fly

     When are we going to learn? In Tuesday's elections, a grand total
of eight Libertarians, out of more than 600 running, were elected to
office -- all at the state legislature level or lower.
[www.lp.org/index_2006.html]

     This is a success rate of about 1.3%. It is fairly typical of how
we do, year after year. And yet a vociferous faction within the LP
continues to say that our "primary mission" is to elect people to office.

     This, I will submit, is stupid. When you define your mission as
something you're not good at, people stop taking you seriously after
awhile. They conclude that you are either delusional or dishonest.

     It is time for us to recognize, as we once did, that for the
foreseeable future the primary mission of the Libertarian Party is NOT
electing people to office.

     In my 1971 article "The Case for a Libertarian Political Party," I
made this point very clear.
[elfsoft.home.mindspring.com/politics/nolan.htm]

     I reiterated this point in a speech I made to the 2006 convention
of the Ohio Libertarian Party. You can read a summary of that speech
(and listen to it in its entirety, if you are so inclined) at
www.ernesthancock.com/archive/?2006-06-18-Bonus

     I believe it is time for a wide-open, no-holds-barred debate on
the role of the LP within the U.S. political system. We can continue
pretending that we are going to teach the horse to fly (see Ohio
speech), and watch our membership dwindle as people get frustrated and
burn out, or we can redefine our mission as building a strong network
of libertarians.

     The choice is ours -- but we can't have it both ways.

     Please relay this message to every libertarian you know. Post it
on blogs and chat boards. Until this question is settled, the future
of the LP will remain cloudy at best.

     Yours for Liberty,
     David F. Nolan

Go for it!

[Symposium format note: I've given up tinkering with forum software.
One reason is that I haven't been able to find a forum package that
integrates with WordPress from a username/password standpoint --
everyone would have to register all over again to use it. There are
other issues of formatting for the same look, etc., as well. If the
historical trend proves out, Rational Review will undergo an entire
remodel some time in the next year or so, and I've already added
integrated forums to the "requirements doc" in my head for that
upgrade - TLK]

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20701

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

65) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for upcoming freedom movement events. Don't
see yours? Drop us a line at info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

-----

66) Nigeria: IPPA HQ robbed
Initiative for Public Policy Analysis

From an email from Thompson Ayodele to ISIL's Vince Miller: "Today is
a very sad day for IPPA. Over the night IPPA office was broken into
and took valuable items: My laptop, the hard-disks of all the
computers. The office was forcefully broken into and they came through
the window by pulling out the whole window out in order to get access.
We have lost valuable information and resources." The guys at the
Initiative for Public Policy Analysis have done a lot of hard work for
liberty ... if you're interested in helping them get back on their
feet, drop Thompson a line at thompson at ippanigeria.org.

http://www.ippanigeria.org

-----

67) Auction: Rational Review top banner

It's that time of year! As publisher of Rational Review, one of my
"perks" is ownership of the banner ad space that appears at the top of
each and every page on the site (as well as at the bottom of every
page on my personal blog, Kn@ppster). I auction that space annually.
The auction begins now, and ends at midnight, November 30th, with
payment due by December 15th. Your ad (468x60 pixels and no larger
than 16Kb in file size) begins running on January 1st, 2007, to run
thereafter until midnight of December 31st, 2007. My "reserve price"
is $200. Please email bids (and questions) to me at info at
rationalreview.com. I'll try to answer frequent questions in the
comment form here, and I'll update this entry daily with the high
current bid.

Current High Bid: $500.00
High Bidder's Initials: TBSC

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20587

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

68) "I am not a crook"

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

**********************************************************************
* RRND is through the valued support of our readers. Forward freely.
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* http://www.rationalreview.com/news
*
* To support ISIL's Free-Market.Net Project (tax deductible)
* http://www.isil.org/store/membership.html
**********************************************************************

Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher
Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,027
* Thursday, November 15th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,057
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
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In The News:

0)  Symposium/Auction/Special Plea
1)  Parties begin "leadership" selection
2)  Ex-Bush aide to explore presidential run
3)  Iraq: US claims 9 al Qaeda killed
4)  Nicaragua plans big dig to rival Panama Canal
5)  ME: Activist cited for Bin Laden stunt
6)  NJ: Idiot pols want casino smoking ban
7)  Abizaid: Early withdrawal of US troops bad
8)  Flying couple busted for "overt sexual activity"
9)  Marine gets 18 months in Iraqi's death
10) Sweden: Drunken elk terrorises school
11) UK: Watchdog warns vs. extended detentions
12) UK: Peace activist mourns loss of son
13) Ted Nugent's signature guitar doubles as gun
14) TN: Pol foils robbery, holds suspects
15) CA: County wants sweet alcohol drinks taxed
16) TN: Farmers assist one of their own
17) TN: "Choose Life" tags set for distribution
18) TX: Pee Wee coach may face assault charges
19) MA: Hopes dim for plan to remove Pike tolls
20) PA: Man shoots intruder, jailed on drug charges

Everybody Has An Opinion:

21) Ask Dr. Know-It-All
22) An open letter on Iraq
23) So, who are the heartless ones?
24) Third parties play spoilers for Dems, GOP
25) The gun in the room
26) The coup: Arms and arguments
27) Americans want to have security at home
28) 911 busy signal? Try Congress
29) The wake-up call
30) Ethnic cleansing in Russia
31) Peace movement
32) Democrats, don't wimp out
33) Gay marriage is still evil?
34) Equal drug crimes need equal (and lesser) jail times
35) Democracy and same-sex marriage
36) Behaving like a super power in Iraq
37) First, re-open the libraries
38) Why intellectuals still support socialism
39) Some advice for his own
40) The education debate we're not having
41) The return of Trent Lott
42) What did Mr. Murtha mean?
43) Pay it forward
44) The wedge issue that wasn't
45) Liberally flouting the voters in Michigan
46) So you think you want to impeach?
47) Lifestyles of the ethical consumer
48) Natural law and the Protestant moral tradition
49) In defense of "Borat"
50) Unpatriotic patriotism
51) Nuclear neighbors might thwart North Korea
52) The gospel according to Bush
53) Positively K Street
54) New challenges for the anti-war movement
55) Market anarchy, Christianity make bad bunkmates

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

56) Freedomain Radio #510
57) Free Talk Live, 11/15/06
58) FMNN eRadio: Gridlock
59) Consenting cadavers

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

60) Today's events
61) Nigeria: IPPA HQ robbed
62) Auction: Rational Review top banner

WaYbAcK:

63) Pizarro v. Atahuallpa

***************
* In The News
***************


0)  Symposium/Auction/Special Plea

Yesterday, ISIL's Vince Miller received an email from Thompson Ayodele
of the Iniative for Public Policy Analysis. IPPA's Nigerian
headquarters has been broken into, their computers (and/or significant
parts of their computers) and other things stolen. If you follow
ISIL's reports, you know that IPPA is doing a lot -- on a very small
budget -- to bring libertarian ideas into popularity and practice
around Africa, and to introduce an entire generation to those ideas.
If you'd like to help get IPPA-Nigeria back in the saddle please drop
Thompson an email at thompson at ippanigeria.org.

This week's symposium continues: What is the proper role of a
libertarian political party? Weigh in at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20701

Finally, the auction of Rational Review's top banner ad slot
continues, with the bidding at $500 from bidder "TBSC." Looks like the
kids might get that obsolete game console for Christmas after all! If
you're interested in a heck of an advertising opportunity, see the
description and bidding information at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20587

-----

1)  Parties begin "leadership" selection
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

"Presumptive House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faces a major leadership test
today, barely a week into her new role, as Democrats vote on her
choice for
majority leader. She's supporting a lawmaker once caught up in a
bribery
scandal and known more recently for trading votes for pork projects.
In the
Senate, Republicans rewarded Trent Lott, R-Miss., with their No. 2
post,
four years after the White House helped push him out of his job
running the
Senate for making remarks interpreted as endorsing segregation.
Pelosi's
prestige is on the line after endorsing longtime ally John Murtha of
Pennsylvania to be the No. 2 Democrat in place of her longtime rival
Steny
Hoyer of Maryland. ... Pressured to step down from the
Senate’s top spot
in 2002, Lott returned to the Republicans' second-ranking position by
nosing out Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who had made an 18-month bid for
the
post. Lott promised to defer to Minority Leader-to-be Mitch McConnell,
R-Ky." (11/16/06)

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/16026493.htm

-----

2)  Ex-Bush aide to explore presidential run
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

"Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who served as Health and Human
Services Secretary in President Bush's first term, said Wednesday he
intends to form a committee to explore a possible run for the White House
in 2008. 'I intend to do so after the first of the year,' the
Republican
said in reference to establishing an exploratory committee."
(11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ycqfku

-----

3)  Iraq: US claims 9 al Qaeda killed
Bismarck Tribune

"U.S. forces killed nine suspected al-Qaida in Iraq insurgents during
a
raid in a rural area south of Baghdad on Thursday, and more than
1,000
Iraqi soldiers launched a military operation in northern Iraq with
American
air and artillery support. Deadly attacks continued in the capital,
with
suspected insurgents and militias using guns, bombs and mortar shells
to
kill 15 Iraqis. And the U.S. Army announced that four soldiers had
died in
combat this week." (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yjg93o

-----

4)  Nicaragua plans big dig to rival Panama Canal
Christian Science Monitor

"The southern part of Ometepe Island is barely touched by modernity.
On the
single dirt road that flanks Lake Nicaragua, pigs are left
undisturbed to
cool off in puddles. But if planners in the nation's capital,
Managua, have
their way, people here will bear witness to the day's most advanced
technology, with boats the length of five soccer fields plodding from
the
Atlantic to the Pacific, passing Ometepe along the way. Amid news
that the
Panama Canal will be expanded to accommodate the growing size and
number of
ships traversing the globe, Nicaragua has announced its own plan for
an
interoceanic canal, which planners say would be the world's largest."
(11/15/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1115/p01s03-woam.html

-----

5)  ME: Activist cited for Bin Laden stunt
Houston Chronicle

"A Democratic activist who was arrested after he was spotted on a
highway
overpass dressed as Osama bin Laden on Halloween faces additional
charges
for the stunt. Tom Connolly was charged Wednesday with terrorizing
and
reckless conduct, in addition to the original charge of criminal
threatening, prosecutor Stephanie Anderson said. All three charges
are
misdemeanors. 'Halloween or not, in this day and age you do not get
to
dress as an international terrorist and wave what appears to be an
AK-47 at
rush hour traffic,' Anderson said. ... Connolly's lawyer, Daniel
Knight,
said Wednesday there was no mistaking Connolly for a terrorist on
Halloween. 'His protest involved a plastic squirt gun that was not
used in
any menacing manner ...' Knight said. Furthermore, he said, Connolly
was
holding a sign with a political statement about the Taxpayer Bill of
Rights
.... Police said at least one person who saw a sign held by Connolly
thought it said 'Taliban.' Connolly, 49, a defense lawyer, made
headlines
when he divulged President Bush's drunken-driving arrest days before
the
2000 election. During the Democratic Convention, Connolly passed out
'W is
for Wiener' buttons. He also has been known to don a George W. Bush
mask
and dance for passing motorists." (11/16/06)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4337144.html

-----

6)  NJ: Idiot pols want casino smoking ban
Press of Atlantic City

" City Council introduced a measure to ban smoking in local
workplaces at
its Wednesday night meeting. It passed 9-0, sponsored by all council
members. Council scheduled additional hearings at its Nov. 29 and
Dec. 13
meetings and planned a final vote at its Dec. 29 meeting. The
proposed law
would take effect 30 days after it is approved by council and signed
by
Mayor Bob Levy. The measure is designed to close a loophole in state
anti-smoking legislation that took effect in April. The law banned
smoking
in most workplaces, but exemptions allowed smoking to continue in
tobacconists, cigar bars and on the resort's casino floors."
(11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ybqq35

-----

7)  Abizaid: Early withdrawal of US troops bad
Yankton Press & Dakotan

"The top U.S. commander in the Middle East warned Congress Wednesday
against setting a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq,
rejecting the arguments of resurgent Democrats who are pressing
President
Bush to start pulling out. Gen. John Abizaid instead urged quick
action to
strengthen Iraq's government, predicting that the vicious sectarian
violence in Baghdad would surge out of control within four to six
months
unless immediate steps were taken." (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yfrphj

-----

8)  Flying couple busted for "overt sexual activity"
MSNBC

"A California couple faces federal charges after allegedly refusing
to stop
'overt sexual activity' on a flight to Raleigh. Carl Warren Persing,
of
Lakewood, California, and Dawn Elizabeth Sewell, of Huntington Beach,
California, were indicted on charges of interfering with flight crew
members during their Sept. 15 Southwest Airlines flight from Los Angeles.
According to court documents, flight attendants saw Persing and
Sewell
kissing, embracing and 'acting in a manner that made other passengers
uncomfortable' while the plane was stopped in Phoenix." (11/15/06)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15730672/

-----

9)  Marine gets 18 months in Iraqi's death
Hannibal Courier-Post

"A Marine private who pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the
killing of
an innocent Iraqi civilian was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in
custody.
'You have a very fortuitous pretrial agreement,' the judge, Lt. Col.
David
Jones, told Pfc. John J. Jodka III. Jodka III was part of a squad of
seven
Marines and a Navy corpsman accused of kidnapping 52-year-old Hashim
Ibrahim Awad in the town of Hamdania, taking him to a roadside hole,
shooting him and then trying to cover up the incident." (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxkbv9

-----

10) Sweden: Drunken elk terrorises school
Ananova

"Pupils at a school in Sweden are being terrorised -- by a drunken
elk.
Police say the animal has probably been eating fermented apples in a
garden, reports Sky News. Jan Caiman, a police officer in Molndal,
said:
'That could be the problem. We could be dealing with a boozy elk.'
Elk can
weigh as much as 1,100 lb and personnel at the school described the
erratic
male as 'completely mad.'" (11/15/06)

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2078926.html

-----

11) UK: Watchdog warns vs. extended detentions
Guardian

"The government's anti-terror law watchdog, Lord Carlile, warned
ministers
yesterday not to 'rush to judgment' on any decision to attempt to
extend
the detention without charge of terror suspects beyond the current 28
days.
As the independent reviewer of Britain's counter terror laws, the
Liberal
Democrat peer said he had yet to see the evidence needed to 'fully
support'
the claim made by the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Ian
Blair, that
it was 'time to examine the case for longer.'" (11/16/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y9svq9

-----

12) UK: Peace activist mourns loss of son
Independent

"The prospect of war with Iraq has long since concerned the veteran
peace
protestor Anni Rainbow. In October 2002, she galvanized dozens to
join a
protest in Yorkshire which, she declared, was, 'not something just
for
activists and campaigners but for everyone who is concerned about
what we
are being dragged into.' Now, Ms Rainbow is experiencing at first
hand the
sense of personal loss wrought by the conflict which she dreaded. She
has
lost her eldest son, Corporal Matthew Cornish, 29, to the conflict
and is
being treated in a Leeds hospital for a stroke she suffered soon
after
hearing of his death." (11/16/06)

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article1987619.ece

-----

13) Ted Nugent's signature guitar doubles as gun
Roadrunner Records

"Ed Roman's Quicksilver Guitars, the world's largest guitar store &
builder
of custom guitars, today announced that the company has completed the
custom design, development and construction of a new custom guitar
for
world famous rocker, hunter and statesman Ted Nugent. Nugent, known
for his
hard hitting rock 'n' roll, as well as his strong support for the
right to
bear arms, his conservative lifestyle and love of his country, is one
of Ed
Roman's primary influences. 'We are proud to have had the opportunity
to
work with Ted again and to produce this truly unique instrument and
piece
of rock 'n' roll history,' said Ed Roman, founder of Ed Roman
Guitars. 'Not
only is this a top-of-the-line guitar, it is a precision firearm."
(11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykku8p

-----

14) TN: Pol foils robbery, holds suspects
WVLT-TV [Knoxville, TN]

"Over the weekend county commissioner Greg Lambert foiled a robbery
by
drawing his gun on a suspect and Wednesday that scenario happened
again to
a state lawmaker. Volunteer TV has just learned that State Senator
Tim
Burchett had to draw his gun on four people as they were leaving his
warehouse on Ball Camp Pike Wednesday morning. Senator Burchett had
three
motorcycles stolen out of the warehouse in recent weeks and had been
staking it out. He called 911 after catching the burglars in the act,
but
told us he had to draw his gun to prevent them from escaping. Knox
County
deputies took three juveniles and one adult into custody. And the
suspects
led deputies to his stolen motorcycles." (11/15/06)

http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/4658781.html

-----

15) CA: County wants sweet alcohol drinks taxed
San Francisco Chronicle

"Santa Clara County today sued the state agency responsible for
charging
and collecting taxes in the hopes of forcing it to raise tariffs on
so-called 'alcopops' -- sweet-tasting alcoholic drinks like Smirnoff
Ice
and Mike's Hard Lemonade that county officials contend are too
readily
available and are improperly marketed toward underage girls. The
lawsuit,
filed in San Francisco Superior Court, alleges that the state loses
more
than $40 million a year in revenue because the State Board of
Equalization
improperly taxes the drinks as if they were beer, at 20 cents per
gallon,
rather than as distilled spirits, which are taxed at $3.30 per
gallon. That
misclassification allows the drinks to be sold cheaply and broadly,
including in convenience stores, despite containing 'significant
amounts of
distilled spirits,' county officials said." (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/wmjt2

-----

16) TN: Farmers assist one of their own
Tennessean

"Jimmy Flippo had to bury his torched barn, but he won't have to sell
his
cows. He and his wife, Mary Ann, should be able to get their 60 head
of
cattle through the winter with hay that farmers from several counties
donated. The Flippos lost 290 bales, two farm trucks, two tractors, a
cattle wagon, a hay baler, a fertilizer spreader, a grain driller and
a
pontoon boat in a fire someone set on purpose last month. 'We had
just put
everything in the barn for winter,' Jimmy Flippo said. The fire was
one of
at least seven lit within a short time of one another the night of
Oct. 26
and early morning Oct. 27, an investigator said." [editor's note:
Blessedly, this story is about the support of neighbors, not the
initial
criminals that set the fires. For once, "if it bleeds" didn't lead
here
-SAT] (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yjtjnd

-----

17) TN: "Choose Life" tags set for distribution
Nashville City Paper

"The controversial 'Choose Life' license plates will be available for
Tennesseans to put on their vehicles by Dec. 1. The final placement
of the
license plates comes more than three years since the specialty plate
received the initial go-ahead from the state Legislature. Since first
passing the state Legislature in 2003, the 'Choose Life' license
plate has
been embattled in court case after court case. The plates received
their
final go-ahead in June when the U.S. Supreme Court decided to not
take up
the case about whether they were constitutional. Now, by Dec. 1,
those that
have pre-ordered the specialty plates can pick up their tags at their
local
county clerk’s office, according to the state Department of
Revenue.
Starting Dec. 1, they can be purchased by any properly registered
driver."
[editor's note: As for me, when I get a car again, it will sport a
large "I
CHOOSE LIBERTY" bumpersticker across the back, just above the
conventional
license plate - SAT] (11/15/06)

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?news_id=53259

-----

18) TX: Pee Wee coach may face assault charges
Fox News

"Authorities are considering charges against a Pee Wee football coach
who
was caught on videotape attacking a referee after being told to stop
cursing on the sidelines in front of his 5- and 6-year-old players,
police
said. The amateur video of the Nov. 4 incident shows the coach
charging
onto a field and tackling the 18-year-old referee, who police Capt.
John
Houston said was briefly knocked unconscious. 'The coach had been
warned
several times about cursing on the sidelines. When the referee
ejected him
from the game, that's when he rushed him,' Houston said. A crowd of
parents
ran onto the field and surrounded the pair, he said, ...  assault on
a game
official is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a
$4,000
fine." (11/15/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229586,00.html

-----

19) MA: Hopes dim for plan to remove Pike tolls
Boston Globe

"Governor Mitt Romney's plan to dismantle turnpike tolls is running
into a
series of political, financial, and legal barriers that are all but
certain
to doom the effort. Top Romney administration officials conceded
yesterday
that the final decision will probably be made by the leaders of the
Democrat-controlled Legislature and the incoming Democratic governor,
Deval
L. Patrick, who have expressed reservations about the plan that would
end
tolls on the 120-mile stretch of the turnpike from the New York line
to
Weston. 'If the Legislature and Deval Patrick want to keep the tolls
up,
then there's no question they will find a way to do it,' said Eric
Fehrnstrom, Romney's director of communications." [editor's note:
Were the
funds raised from tolls going to maintain and repair the Turnpike
itself,
their continuation would make ample sense.' Since most of the money
has
either been poured into the Big Dig scams, or used to subsidize the
MBTA,
ending them seems only fair and just - SAT] (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ylxsly

-----

20) PA: Man shoots intruder, jailed on drug charges
KDKA News

"A homeowner shot a person apparently trying to break into his house
overnight in Knoxville. ... Homicide detectives interviewed a
20-year-old
male and, a 17-year-old female who were inside the residence with
their
two-month-old son when two black males entered the apartment. The
intruder
showed a handgun and demanded money from the 20-year-old man. The man
retrieved a handgun and shot the intruder. The 20-year-old male was
interviewed and has been charged with possession of marijuana,
possession
with intent to distribute marijuana and possessing an illegal
firearm. He
is currently in the Allegheny County Jail." (11/14/06)

http://kdka.com/topstories/local_story_318064739.html

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 11/16/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 47,131 ... Max - 52,273
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,859
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

21) Ask Dr. Know-It-All
Rational Review
by David M. Brown

"According to a recent finding even more credible than Green Peace
press
releases and cruddy movies, if we don't act now to tone down
industrial
activity by making it too expensive to do we'll possibly end up with
a $9.6
trillion price tag for the devastation which 'unchecked' global
warming
'could' cost us. This is the message of a recent 'hard-hitting
British
study' by official Brit economist Sir Nicholas Stern, who spends more
than
700 pages toting up the numbers and advocating taxes on carbon
emissions to
forestall the warming (we're learning that you can make a giant
weather-control machine out of cogs and taxes). As Prime Minister
Blair
puts it, 'If the science is right, the consequences for our planet
are
disastrous.' They're so worried, in fact, that the British government
is
hiring Al Gore as a consultant. He starts Monday." (11/16/06)

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20629

-----

22) An open letter on Iraq
Rational Review
by Steve Kubby

"Dear fellow Libertarians, Since I declared my candidacy for our
party's
2008 presidential nomination back in August, one of the most
frequently
asked questions of me has been 'where do you stand on the war in
Iraq?'
Some of you have found my answers unsatisfactory. I apologize. I've
been
thinking through a problem and haven't found an answer ... so I'm
just
going to bring it to you. We need to talk about it. First, let me
make my
own position on the US war in Iraq crystal clear: I oppose it. I
opposed it
when it was proposed, I opposed it when it began, and I oppose it
now. If
the American people put me in the White House, I'll end it
immediately with
a unilateral and unconditional withdrawal of US forces from that
country.
But that's the easy part." (11/15/06)

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20826

-----

23) So, who are the heartless ones?
Liberty For All
by Sean Haugh

"Those of us who want to reduce the size of government are often
accused of
being heartless. Somehow, millions of poor people are going to die
horribly
due to lack of government benefits if we Libertarians actually manage
to
reduce a dime of spending. The statists who make these arguments are
the
truly heartless ones, and now I have proof. Not only are they
heartless,
they are colder and crueler than any movie villain." (written
11/28/03;
posted 11/15/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=379

-----

24) Third parties play spoilers for Dems, GOP
Washington Examiner
by Brian M. Doherty

"Ralph Nader was widely derided for 'spoiling' the election for Al
Gore in
the 2000 presidential race .... Senator-elect Jim Webb's supporters
surely
would've blamed Green Party candidate Glenda Gail Parker -- and her
26,000
votes -- if he hadn't edged out Sen. George Allen. A similar belief
about
spoiling follows the Libertarian Party. The image of Republicans as
the
major party that stands for smaller government leads many to believe
that a
Libertarian vote really ought to have been a GOP vote. In 2000,
libertarians cost Republican Slade Gorton in Washington state a
Senate seat
and the GOP clear control of the U.S. Senate. And in 2002
libertarians
prevented the GOP from picking up a U.S. Senate seat in South Dakota.
Such
outcomes shouldn't surprise them. The Republicans had a careless
belief in
their rightful sovereignty over the whole idea of limited government,
dating back to the colorful anti-state rhetoric of past standard
bearers
Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. They have taken the libertarian
vote for
granted, and they have lost the Senate because of it." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y3vp66

-----

25) The gun in the room
LewRockwell.Com
by Stefan Molyneux

"One of the most difficult -- and essential -- challenges faced by
libertarians is the constant need to point out 'the gun in the room.'
In
political debates, it can be very hard to cut through the endless
windy
abstractions that are used to cover up the basic fact that the
government
uses guns to force people to do what they do not want to do, or
prevent
them from doing what they do want to do. Listening to
non-libertarians, I
often wish I had a 'euphemism umbrella' to ward off the continual
oily
drizzle of words and phrases designed to obscure the simple reality
of
state violence. We hear nonstop nonsense about the 'social good,' the
'redistribution of income,' the 'education of children' and so on --
endless attempts to bury the naked barrel of the state in a mountain
of
syrupy metaphors. It is a wearying but essential task to keep
reminding
people that the state is nothing but an agency of violence."
(11/16/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/molyneux/molyneux29.html

-----

26) The coup: Arms and arguments
Backwoods Home
by Claire Wolfe

"Well, the first thing that happened was that the new 'police chief'
left
town. I don't know exactly how he left town. Did he hightail it off
to live
for a while on his confiscated loot? Did he enjoy a vigorous ride on
a
tarry rail? Or did he perhaps get no farther than the Hardyville Pet
Cemetary (strongly suspected also to be the cozy retirement home of
the
only IRS agent who ever ventured into town)? That remains a closed
book.
For now. The second thing that happened is that the padlock on the
Goodin's
store was mysteriously blown off with a 12-gauge. Windows and doors
were
repaired. About half the confiscated merchandise reappeared -- and
Will and
Monique Goodin were back in business.This time, there was always a
discreetly armed customer on the premises -- even at 3:00 a.m. Carty
and
his impromptu militia saw to it." (11/15/06)

http://www.backwoodshome.com/columns/wolfe061115.html

-----

27) Americans want to have security at home
Wilson County News
by US Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

"For most Americans, guns are not a political issue. People buy and
own
guns to protect their families, not to commit crimes. The truth is
that
even millions of Americans who support and vote for gun control own
guns
themselves, because deep down they share the basic human need to feel
secure in their homes. The gun control movement has lost momentum in
recent
years. The Democratic Party has been conspicuously silent on the
issue in
recent elections because they know it's a political loser. In the
midst of
declining public support for new gun laws, more and more states have
adopted concealed-carry programs. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and
last
year's hurricanes only made matters worse for gun control proponents,
as
millions of Americans were starkly reminded that we cannot rely on
government to protect us from criminals." (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxdfcv

-----

28) 911 busy signal? Try Congress
Mens News Daily
by John Longenecker

"In Long Beach, California, several girls were beaten viciously by a
group
of people. The girls are white and they were reminded of that during
the
beatings. Some of the girls and bystanders reportedly got a busy
signal
when trying to call Police. A lot of that going around. In her
November 8,
2006 piece in the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Councilwoman Rae
Gabelich
encourages readers to 'Trust the process and know that the safety of
all
Long Beach citizens is our No. 1 priority.' As many liberty
enthusiasts
understand, hers is an after-the-fact solution and not especially
respectful of during-the-fact authority. In the interest of the
constituents, this is counter-productive. No, oppositional."
(11/15/06)

http://mensnewsdaily.com/2006/11/15/911-busy-signal-try-congress/

-----

29) The wake-up call
Boston Globe
by Derrick Z. Jackson

"Ron Dellums rattled off why he thought America gave control of the
House
and the Senate to the Democrats. He said the reason most underplayed
by the
media was Hurricane Katrina. 'This election was about scandal, it was
about
checks and balances, about Iraq,' Dellums said. 'Also about Katrina.
Because at a time that this country was saying that we're in a
foreign
country for the purposes of security and safety, when it hit home,
our
response was inept, inadequate, insincere and lacking in compassion.
Here's
the wealthiest nation in the world -- gave a Third World response to
a
major catastrophe. In my opinion, Katrina was a metaphor for
everything
wrong in urban America. What Katrina did was expose the stark reality
of
the vulnerability of urban life ... the winds of Katrina blew through
the
television all of the pain of urban life.'" [editor's note: Although
this
analysis is simplistic, this is indeed another factor that played a
role -
SAT] (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ylbqnm

-----

30) Ethnic cleansing in Russia
In These Times
by Fred Weir

"It started out as geopolitical bullying, with the Kremlin applying
an
economic headlock to pressure an obstreperous little neighbor,
Georgia, to
return to Moscow's fold. But a related campaign against 'Georgian
interests' in Russia, involving mass arrests of alleged illegal
immigrants
and a crackdown on Georgian-owned businesses, has dangerously fuelled
xenophobia in Russia's streets and buoyed the country's rising
neo-fascist
movement. President Vladimir Putin personally triggered the
anti-Georgian
frenzy by complaining, in a televised meeting, that non-Slavs from
the
Caucasus region dominate farmer's markets in most cities, incurring
the
wrath of native Russians." (11/15/06)

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2887/

-----

31) Peace movement
The American Prospect
by Tara McKelvey

"At first, Chris Hedges seems pretty mellow -- especially for a
former New York Times war correspondent. ... Here, the author of War
Is a Force
That
Gives Us Meaning and What Every Person Should Know About War
describes why
war is wrong, the military misguided, and some veterans' groups fall
short
of their moral duty. In your introduction to a book called Afterwar,
you
write, 'War, at least the mythic version, is wonderful
entertainment.' How
is the Iraq war being marketed? It's not being marketed anymore. Now
that
the war has gone sour, the people who sold it to us -- FOX News and
CNN --
are ignoring it. They couldn't get enough of it when it was great.
Now that
the mythic narrative of war cannot be sustained, they don't even talk
about
it." [editor's note: It must be noted that the elected Democrats in
Congress, who claim to be against the war, have done very little to
end it,
either - SAT] (11/15/06)

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12213

-----

32) Democrats, don't wimp out
Tom Paine
by Paul Waldman

"All over Washington, the sage barons of the establishment media are
warning Democrats not to get cocky. Don't move too fast, they say.
Don't
push a bunch of wacky, left-wing ideas. Seek compromise, give ground,
hew
to the center, for only there lies the greatest prize of all: the
praise of
David Broder and Joe Klein, the nodding approval of the Washington
Post
editorial page, the admiration the Beltway cognoscenti reserve for
those
who know their place and know whose rings they should be kissing.
Bull.
What Democrats need to do is spend the next two years crushing their
opponents like bugs. It's not about mercy, it's not about manners,
it's
about three fundamental goals: limiting the damage the Bush
administration
can do, passing whatever legislation they can in the short term to
help the
American public and laying the foundation for future progressive
victories." [editor's note: No, you moron! What Democrats need to do,
before launching into their "progressive" agendas (like such trivia
as
raising the mythical minimum wage?), is: (a) repeal the USA PATRIOT
Act;
(b) end the war in Iraq, and bring the troops home; (c) repeal the
MCA and
other clear violations of the Bill of Rights; (d) end the War on
(Some)
Drugs; and (e) otherwise act like the "civil libertarians" they have
always
claimed to be. Once that's done, most of the rest of your concerns
will
have managed themselves, as by leaving them to sort themselves out,
they
have done so! - SAT] (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y72ytw

-----

33) Gay marriage is still evil?
San Francisco Chronicle
by Mark Morford

"Which reminds me, I still have yet to hear it. Despite all the
right-wing
puling, all the Bible-humping and the anti-gay marriage campaigning
in all
those states that just banned it and how everyone in the nation has
apparently been deeply contemplating what hot gay sex must really be
like
because, oh my God, it sure has been in the news a lot lately
(thanks,
Pastor Ted!), I still, as of this writing, to this very day, I still
have
yet to hear a single coherent and comprehensive explanation from the
nation's homophobes as to what, exactly, is so wrong about gay love.
Oh,
make no mistake, I've heard the theories. ... It's all just a bit
cute, in
a grossly ignorant sort of way. And yet, one by one, each and every
one of
these silly ideas has been rather effortlessly disproved, blown to
spiritual or intellectual smithereens, discredited to death and/or
laughed
into oblivion much the way a true scientist shoots wine through his
nose at
the mention of creationism. And so still I wait for a real answer.
[editor's note: This bottom-line challenge should be handed to every
stiff-necked homophobe you meet! - SAT] (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygqxja

-----

34) Equal drug crimes need equal (and lesser) jail times
Christian Science Monitor
by Eric E. Sterling

"One of our most infamous contemporary laws is the 100-to-1
difference in
sentencing between selling crack cocaine and selling powder cocaine.
Under
federal drug laws, prison sentences are usually tied to the quantity
of
drugs the defendant trafficked. For example, selling 5,000 grams of
powder
cocaine (about a briefcase full) results in a mandatory 10-year
prison
sentence, but so does selling only 50 grams of crack cocaine (the
weight of
a candy bar). Working for the House Judiciary Committee in 1986, I
wrote
the House bill that was the basis for that law. We made some terrible
mistakes. Those mistakes, aggravated by the Justice Department's
misuse of
the penalties, have been a disaster. Conventional wisdom is that the
100-to-1 ratio needs to be repealed. But that's an inadequate fix."
[editor's note: Correct ... though for libertarians, Mr. Sterling
stops
short of the real solution. While he advocates not prosecuting
user-level
quantities of cocaine, he shies away from outright decriminalization
of the
issue. But then again, if he did that ... he might be a libertarian!
- SAT]
(11/15/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1115/p09s02-coop.html

-----

35) Democracy and same-sex marriage
Boston Globe
by Jeff Jacoby

"Matt Foreman, the executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian
Task
Force, was celebrating Arizona's defeat of a proposed constitutional
amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. 'It is
always wrong to put basic rights up for a popular vote,' he said,
'and it
is nearly impossible for any minority to protect itself when that
happens.
But today in Arizona the impossible happened.' Constitutional
democracy is
incompatible with the rights of minorities? That would have come as
news to
champions of American liberty from John Adams to Martin Luther King
Jr.
They would have been even more taken aback, to use no stronger term,
by the
suggestion that there is a 'basic right' to homosexual marriage,
something
American law has never permitted." [editor's note: Foreman didn't say
that
constitutional democracy is incompatible with the rights of
minorities --
he said that any wortwhile constitutional democracy would exclude
democratic consideration of abrogating those rights. And yes, Mr.
Jacoby,
there is a "basic right" of people to associate, on whatever terms
they
deem right and proper (including "marriage"), with others - TLK]
(11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yz5y96

-----

36) Behaving like a super power in Iraq
Truthout
by Larry C. Johnson

"One critical dilemma we confront in Iraq is the burden of our status
as
the Superpower. All people in the region -- Sunnis, Shia, Kurds and
Persians -- assume that we have a secret plan that we are pursuing
unilaterally. The majority of these folks cannot accept that the
sectarian
violence unleashed in Iraq is a consequence of US incompetence. They
assume
that the rising sectarian violence is something we want because we
are a
Superpower. By virtue of our status as a Superpower it is
inconceivable
that we would allow such violence unless it suited our 'hidden'
purposes.
The fact that Baghdad still suffers from chronic shortages of
electricity,
polluted water, broken sewers, and incompetent police is viewed by
many in
the region as prima facie evidence that we are deliberately and
purposefully dismantling every vestige of what was the most secular
Arab
state in the Middle East. How could it be otherwise? We are a
Superpower
and a Superpower, like any super hero, can do anything it wants."
(11/15/06)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111506D.shtml

-----

37) First, re-open the libraries
Truthout
by Kelpie Wilson

"It never got down to actual book-burning, but the Republican
choke-hold on
government would clearly have taken us there. In August, under the
guise of
fiscal responsibility, the Bush Environmental Protection Agency began
closing most of its research libraries, both to the public and to its
own
staff." (11/15/06)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111506R.shtml

-----

38) Why intellectuals still support socialism
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Peter Klein

"Intellectuals, particularly academic intellectuals, tend to favor
socialism and interventionism. How was the American university
transformed
from a center of higher learning to an outpost for socialist-inspired
culture and politics? As recently as the early 1950s, the typical
American
university professor held social and political views quite similar to
those
of the general population." (11/15/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2318

-----

39) Some advice for his own
FreedomWorks
by Dick Armey

"You've been railing against your brethren of late. What's changed?
First
of all, I've been critical of my party for almost two years. My own
view is
they became more interested in saving the majority than they were in
making
good policy. They became insecure. They showed a lack of commitment
to the
priorities of the American people. They need to get back to being
small-government conservatives so they can win the confidence of the
people
like Ronald Reagan did. Reagan was right. People will understand and
reward
good policy when we move forward on substantive issues." (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y7wtap

-----

40) The education debate we're not having
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Scott McPherson

"My adopted state of New Hampshire may be at a crossroads. The state
supreme court has commanded the legislature to find a new way of
funding
public schools by next summer, or else the justices will impose a
solution
of their own. Many people here fear that a directive from the court
will
require so large a funding increase that a statewide sales tax or
income
tax would become inevitable -- a radical departure from New
Hampshire's
historic low-tax mentality." (11/15/06)

http://www.fff.org/comment/com0611c.asp

-----

41) The return of Trent Lott
Slate
by John Dickerson

"Once again in the U.S. Senate, the man with the better hair has won.
Wednesday, Trent Lott beat Lamar Alexander by a single vote to become
minority whip, the No. 2 spot in the Republican Senate leadership.
The
victory was an extraordinary comeback for the Mississippi lawmaker
who four
years ago was forced out as majority leader after praising former
segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond. Lott's cascade of apologies,
including
on BET, didn't save him then. But with time, politicians can
sometimes live
down boneheaded statements -- which should come as good news to
George
Allen and John Kerry." (11/15/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2153856

-----

42) What did Mr. Murtha mean?
TCS Daily
by Ralph Kinney Bennett

"Cong. 'Jack' Murtha is a sort of local legend here in Western
Pennsylvania. He delivers the goods, as they say. The pork. He has
steered
plenty of money into his district. He's from just over the mountain
from
me, in Johnstown. Local boy makes good and all that. We forgive him
for
'going native' a bit after all these years in Washington's corridors
of
power. He's smoothed off a lot of his Allegheny mountain
'frontier-coal-steel' coarseness. Carefully cut business suits. That
white
hair. A very studied establishment look. Great stuff. And now he's in
line
to be Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. A lot of
people
around here are rubbing their hands because they figure that then old
Jack
will really be able to ladle out the pork. I'm impressed with how far
Jack's come. But I just have a question." (11/15/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=111506C

-----

43) Pay it forward
Reason
by Ronald Bailey

"While leaders like Kenyan Environment Minister Kivutha Kibwana may
be
sincere when they express fear that poor nations will 'bear the brunt
of
nature's wrath,' they also are very eager to get their hands on funds
that
they believe will generated when rich countries impose limits on CO2
emissions on themselves and begin trading emissions permits. Those
markets
will channel funds into clean development projects in poor countries
as a
way to offset CO2 emissions at home. Kofi Annan predicted that
'international carbon finance flows to developing countries could
reach
$100 billion per year.' Is this plausible? Currently, total overseas
development aid amounts to $80 billion per year. Although the new
funds
would be devoted to projects to offset CO2 emissions, the experience
of
foreign aid over the past 50 years is sobering." (11/15/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116751.html

-----

44) The wedge issue that wasn't
National Review
by Yuval Levin

"At first glance, the election results may seem to confirm the
intuition
that stem-cell research was an effective issue for Democrats. The
race in
which it played the most prominent role, the Missouri Senate race,
ended
with a narrow Democratic victory, and the human-cloning referendum in
that
state also passed by a (nearly identical) slim margin. Several other
races
in which stem cells played a role also went for the Democrats. But a
closer
look belies this simple reading of the outcomes. For all of their
transformative potential, embryonic stem cells do not seem to turn
voters
into Democrats or non-voters into voters." (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/wqt5c

-----

45) Liberally flouting the voters in Michigan
Center For Individual Freedom
by staff

"Michigan voters provided conservatives a silver lining for some of
the
dark clouds of the 2006 midterm elections. By an overwhelming margin
of 16
points, the state's voters passed a proposition known as the Michigan
Civil
Rights Initiative, which is supposed to end racial discrimination
that has
masqueraded as 'affirmative action' for far too long. While the
President
of the University Michigan was listening, she didn't care what the
voters
had to say -- at least not if it wasn't what she wanted to hear."
(11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yj65pg

-----

46) So you think you want to impeach?
AlterNet
by Tim Dickinson

"The articles of impeachment write themselves. In the case of
Articles of
Impeachment Against George W. Bush, it seems, the book has as well.
The
same charge might be levied against The Case for Impeachment, The
Impeachment of George W. Bush, and the raft of other contemporary and
largely indistinguishable impeachment tomes now flooding the shelves
of the
nation's independent booksellers. ... In this undistinguished crowd,
John
Nichols' nervy, acerbic, passionately argued history-cum-polemic, The
Genius of Impeachment, stands apart. It concerns itself far less with
the
particulars of the legal case against Bush and Cheney, and instead
combines
a rich examination of the parliamentary roots and past use of the
'heroic
medicine' that is impeachment with a call for Democratic leaders to
'reclaim and reuse the most vital tool handed to us by the founders
for the
defense of our most basic liberties.'" (11/15/06)

http://www.alternet.org/story/44252/

-----

47) Lifestyles of the ethical consumer
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Isaac Post

"Conscientious or ethical consumption is the new frame through which
we are
asked to view our economic decisions. For instance, the New York
Times
suggests asking 'How Green is My Conscience?' while the Washington
Post
argues that it is  guilt that leads us to worry about the ethical
content
of our purchasing decisions in the first place. So it seems that
finding a
low-priced, good quality product is not enough, you should 'feel
good'
about your purchase, in a Good Samaritan-type of way. But do we
really?"
(11/13/06)

http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,05605.cfm

-----

48) Natural law and the Protestant moral tradition
Acton Institute
by Stephen J. Grabill

"More than any other Reformer, John Calvin is appealed to for his
insight
on natural law. This is probably due to the stubborn persistence
among
scholars to single him out as the chief early codifier of Protestant
doctrine. While this approach is understandable given the force of
habit,
the discussion should be widened beyond Calvin to include those
Reformers
who either preceded him or were contemporaries of his and the later
representatives of Protestant orthodoxy." (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/upywg

-----

49) In defense of "Borat"
Independent Institute
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa

"Critics say 'Borat' is anti-American. In fact, the U.S. government
could
not begin to match Borat's contribution to the image of the United States
abroad if it increased the budget of the under secretary for public
diplomacy and public affairs by a factor of 10. The most important
thing
the movie has done for America is to show that it is a society
capable of
laughing at itself." (11/15/06)

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1851

-----

50) Unpatriotic patriotism
Liberty For All
by Kevin Joseph Tull

"I'm always amazed at the logic of people who oppose others
exercising
their right to freedom of speech when the message is perceived as
unpatriotic. We all have the right to express unpopular opinion. We
didn't
get that right from our government or even from the brave men and
women who
died defending that right. One common example of the absurdity being
passed
as rational thought against war protesters is the statement: 'People
have
shed blood so that you could have the right to protest!'" (written
03/02/03; posted 11/15/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=378

-----

51) Nuclear neighbors might thwart North Korea
Cato Institute
by Ted Galen Carpenter

"Kim Jong Il's regime is counting on the United States to prevent
Japan and
South Korea from even considering the option of going nuclear. That
would
mean that Pyongyang would have the luxury of a nuclear monopoly in
northeast Asia (except for its ally, China). Instead of putting a
leash on
Japan and South Korea, U.S. officials should inform Pyongyang -- and
Beijing -- that if the North insists on wielding nuclear weapons,
Washington will urge Tokyo and Seoul to make their own decisions
about
whether to acquire strategic deterrents. The mere possibility that
South
Korea and Japan might do so would come as an unpleasant surprise to
both
North Korea and China." (11/15/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6772

-----

52) The gospel according to Bush
The American Conservative
by Daniel Larison

"In traditional Christianity, the motif of liberation and deliverance
is a
strong one -- so strong that the story of Israel's freedom from
bondage in
Egypt and the spiritual liberation of humanity from sin through
Christ's
death and resurrection can easily become confused with ideas of
earthly,
political liberty from which they are clearly and sharply distinct.
We have
seen this sort of conflation of spiritual and earthly emancipation in
the
liberation theology of Latin American Catholics, who give their
preaching
of the Gospel a steady dose of Marxism and vague endorsements of
revolutionary violence, but lately here in America we have started to
see a
similar blurring of the lines between Christian spiritual liberty and
political liberty, the latter of which assuredly has its historical
roots
in the lands and traditions of Christian civilization. The latest
proponent
of the idea of a divinely bestowed 'universal freedom' has been none
other
than President George W. Bush." (for publication 11/20/06)

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_11_20/article1.html

-----

53) Positively K Street
Mother Jones
by Daniel Schulman

"The mid-term elections were, in part, a referendum on congressional
corruption. With Jack Murtha's ties to lobbyists well documented,
does
Nancy Pelosi's pick for Majority Leader signal a return to business
as
usual?" (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ugs5p

-----

54) New challenges for the anti-war movement
CounterPunch
by Walden Bello

"So it comes down to the anti-war movement. The movement is to be
congratulated for its role in the titanic struggle to turn the tide
of
American public opinion on Iraq. Cindy Sheehan's campout at Bush's
ranch in
Crawford, Texas, the many acts of protest and civil disobedience
engaged in
by so many others, the big protest rallies and demonstrations, all
this
made a difference -- a big difference. But the movement cannot even
think
about relaxing for a second. The moment is critical. Now -- the
immediate
post-election period -- is the time to raise the ante. Now is the
time for
the U.S. anti-war movement to escalate its efforts-to mount
demonstration
after demonstration -- to effect immediate withdrawal." (11/15/06)

http://counterpunch.org/bello11152006.html

-----

55) Market anarchy, Christianity make bad bunkmates
Strike the Root
by Francois Tremblay

"eligion is the worst enemy of Anarchy. This is not surprising, given
that
statism and religion are both collectivist belief systems which reify
an
abstraction (God/the state) as a concrete social agent with dogmatic
rules
to be imposed on all (doctrines/monopoloid law) by the principle of
'might
makes right' (God's infinite power/the state's guns) as justified by
the
assumption that man is inherently corrupt ('original sin'/selfishness
and
individualism)." (11/14/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/tremblay/tremblay2.html

*******************************************************************
* RRND MEDIA SHELF -- Tchotchkes from today's edition
*
* War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning, by Chris Hedges
*http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400034639/rationalrev08-20
*
* What Every Person Should Know About War, by Chris Hedges
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743255127/rationalrev08-20
*
* AfterWar, by Lori Grinker, Robert Pledge, eds.
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0970576870/rationalrev08-20
*
* Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush, by CCR
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1933633085/rationalrev08-20
*
* The Case for Impeachment, by Dave Lindorff
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312360169/rationalrev08-20
*
* The Impeachment of George W. Bush, by E. Holtzman and C.L. Cooper
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/156025940X/rationalrev08-20
*
* The Genius of Impeachment, by John Nichols
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1595581405/rationalrev08-20
*
* Borat, movie showtimes and DVD notification
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JPBS/rationalrev08-20
*
* Note: Affiliate links generate commissions for RRND's editors.
*******************************************************************

*****************************
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************

56) Freedomain Radio #510
Freedomain Radio

"Put down the gun, then we'll talk ..." With host Stefan Molyneux.
[MP3]
(11/15/06)

http://www.freedomainradio.com/Traffic_Jams/FDR_510_Drop_The_Gun.mp3

-----

57) Free Talk Live, 11/15/06
Free Talk Live

"Fed Up Listener Joins the FSP / Impotent Libertarians / Why bother
running
to another country? / Big Government Americans / Assassinating Free
State
Project Members / Michael Moore spews forth on a variety of issues /
Second
Life In Jeopardy? / That Cryptic Jesus! / Questionable Claims About
WWII /
True Believers / A conspiracy theorist believes we're fools and
idiots!"
[MP3] (11/15/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-11-15.mp3

-----

58) FMNN eRadio: Gridlock
Free Market News Network

"Now that the Democrats have an equal amount of power with
Republicans,
FMNN Philosopher Tibor Machan feels that's great news for America."
[MP3 or
stream] (11/15/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/eRadioLaunch.asp?rid=813

-----

59) Consenting cadavers
Cato Institute

Cato daily podcast, featuring Sigrid Fry-Revere. [MP3] (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y7pjkx

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

60) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for upcoming freedom movement events.
Don't see
yours? Drop us a line at info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

-----

61) Nigeria: IPPA HQ robbed
Initiative for Public Policy Analysis

From an email from Thompson Ayodele to ISIL's Vince Miller: "Today is
a
very sad day for IPPA. Over the night IPPA office was broken into and
took
valuable items: My laptop, the hard-disks of all the computers. The
office
was forcefully broken into and they came through the window by
pulling out
the whole window out in order to get access. We have lost valuable
information and resources." The guys at the Initiative for Public
Policy
Analysis have done a lot of hard work for liberty ... if you're
interested
in helping them get back on their feet, drop Thompson a line at
thompson at
ippanigeria.org.

http://www.ippanigeria.org

-----

62) Auction: Rational Review top banner

It's that time of year! As publisher of Rational Review, one of my
"perks"
is ownership of the banner ad space that appears at the top of each
and
every page on the site (as well as at the bottom of every page on my
personal blog, Kn@ppster). I auction that space annually. The auction
begins now, and ends at midnight, November 30th, with payment due by
December 15th. Your ad (468x60 pixels and no larger than 16Kb in file
size)
begins running on January 1st, 2007, to run thereafter until midnight
of
December 31st, 2007. My "reserve price" is $200. Please email bids
(and
questions) to me at info at rationalreview.com. I'll try to answer
frequent
questions in the comment form here, and I'll update this entry daily
with
the high current bid.

Current High Bid: $500.00
High Bidder's Initials: TBSC

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

63) Pizarro v. Atahuallpa

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac
at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

**********************************************************************
* RRND is through the valued support of our readers. Forward freely.
*
* To subscribe, unsubscribe, or financially support RRND, visit:
* http://www.rationalreview.com/news
*
* To support ISIL's Free-Market.Net Project (tax deductible)
* http://www.isil.org/store/membership.html
**********************************************************************

Thomas L. Knapp ..... Publisher
Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,026
* Wednesday, November 15th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,056
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
*
* On the Web: http://www.rationalreview.com/news
* In cooperation with ISIL:   htp://www.isil.org
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In The News:

0)  Flying horses and banner bids
1)  Abramoff to begin six-year sentence
2)  White House sued over global warming
3)  Iraq: Four US troops killed
4)  South Africa approves same-sex marriage
5)  Iran: IAEA finds traces of plutonium
6)  WA: Lawsuit aims to halt logging
7)  Marine pleads not guilty in Iraqi civilian's death
8)  Near-silent start in US for Al-Jazeera
9)  AP-Ipsos Poll: Majority doubts Dem war plan
10) CA: Bad economics reaches LA voters
11) Detainee lawyers set sights on Rumsfeld
12) AZ: Maverick dairyman fights lobbyists, lawmakers
13) Lynn: Religious right's agenda endangers liberty
14) Woman kicked off flight for breast-feeding baby?
15) It heats. It powers. Is it the future of home energy?
16) Nation acts to enshrine a dream
17) New Zealand: Father disgusted at gun shop charge
18) SC: Murder or self-defense?
19) Nations that censor the Net
20) China: Thousands riot over land seizure

Everybody Has An Opinion:

21) Who is a libertarian?
22) The coming sellout
23) Bisecting the Bureaubrain
24) Pulling the plug on the state
25) Worshipping the state: Why they die
26) Two kinds of stereotyping
27) The bums rush (a vote)
28) Forget it, Rudy
29) Pelosi's power play
30) Is democracy like sex?
31) How about some left wing fundamentalism?
32) Pathetic Republicans ...
33) The High Court goes courting
34) Restoring the Reagan revolution
35) Microsoft Linux
36) Carbon reduction or poverty reduction, not both
37) Democrats' first step forward? School choice
38) Ideology has consequences
39) Hype vs. hope
40) Investing in the arts
41) Slice-and-dice follies
42) Releasing juvenile records not acceptable
43) Democrats "will not disappoint"
44) Fixing the 2008 election
45) Freedom from religion
46) Rubin's tax gambit
47) Free money against "inflation bias"
48) Good day for Democrats? Bad day for conservatives?
49) Rumsfeld resigns: Who is Robert Gates?
50) What will we do when America's lights go out?
51) Now they're all for bipartisanship
52) Congress must investigate administration crimes
53) Impeaching Bush to preserve the Constitution
54) Oaxaca fights back
55) Dreams of the ordinary citizen

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

56) Joel Winters victory speech
57) Free Talk Live, 11/14/06
58) Freedomain Radio #509

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

59) Today's events
60) Auction: Rational Review top banner

WaYbAcK:

61) A man, a plan, an intern, a cigar

***************
* In The News
***************

0)  Flying horses and banner bids

Is the reasonable goal of the Libertarian Party (or any third party or
libertarian organization) to "elect people to public office," or is
there something else? Read David Nolan's take on things, and throw in
your own two cents at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20701

Check out the auction on Rational Review's top banner ad space in our
"movement news and events" section. The bidding is now at $200 ... but
it would be cheap at twice that amount. A full year of top-shelf
advertising ... and you set the price.

-----

1)  Abramoff to begin six-year sentence
CNN

"Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist known for lavishing politicians with
football tickets or whisking them away on exotic golf junkets, will
start life Wednesday with a new identity: federal inmate No.
27593-112. Abramoff is to report to federal prison to begin serving a
nearly six-year prison sentence for a fraudulent deal to buy a fleet
of casino ships in Florida. He also is awaiting sentencing for
corrupting government officials and their staff members." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/wzn9m

-----

2)  White House sued over global warming
Klamath Falls Herald and News

"Environmentalists sued the Bush administration Tuesday for failing to
produce a report on global warming's impact on the country's
environment, economy and public health. The plaintiffs claim the
government must complete such a report every four years under the
Global Change Research Act of 1990. The plaintiffs say the last report
was due in November 2004." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/w29m7

-----

3)  Iraq: Four US troops killed
Guardian [UK]

"Government officials in Iraq today said around 70 people kidnapped
from a scientific research institute in Baghdad yesterday had been
released. Initial reports suggested that up to 150 people had been
abducted in the raid, although officials earlier today revised that
number downwards. ... a car bomb killed exploded at a petrol station
in central Baghdad today, killing 11 people and injuring 33 .... four
US soldiers were killed in Anbar province, one of the most volatile
areas of western Iraq, yesterday. The soldiers died from wounds
suffered in 'enemy action' the US military said. The deaths brought
the number of US military personnel killed in Iraq since the US-led
invasion began to 2,856. Associated Press also reported that gunmen
had shot two journalists dead, one in the northern city of Mosul and
another in Baquba, north-east of Baghdad." (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y7cy8b

-----

4)  South Africa approves same-sex marriage
Chicago Tribune

"South African lawmakers on Tuesday passed legislation recognizing gay
marriages despite criticism from traditionalists and gay activists.
The bill, unprecedented on a continent where homosexuality is taboo,
was decried by gay activists for not going far enough and by opponents
who warned it 'was provoking God's anger.' ... the bill would allow
both religious and civil officers to refuse to marry same-sex couples
on moral grounds. Gay-rights groups criticized that 'opt-out' clause,
saying they should be treated the same as heterosexual couples, but in
general they praised the new measure." [editor's note: Clergy,
certainly ... but "civil officers?" If they don't want to do their
jobs, they should quit. Ah, well -- don't let the perfect be the enemy
of the good and all that - TLK] (11/15/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vs6hm

-----

5)  Iran: IAEA finds traces of plutonium
North Adams Transcript

"New traces of plutonium and enriched uranium -- potential material
for atomic warheads -- have been found in a nuclear waste facility in
Iran, a revelation that came Tuesday as the Iranian president boasted
his country's nuclear fuel program will soon be completed. The
International Atomic Energy Agency report detailing the discovery also
faulted Tehran for not cooperating with the U.N. watchdog's attempts
to investigate other suspicious aspects of Iran's nuclear program."
(11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yzard3

-----

6)  WA: Lawsuit aims to halt logging
USA Today

"An environmental group has sued to block logging on 50,000 acres of
private timberland, arguing the state's population of northern spotted
owls has been reduced by half since the 1990s. The Seattle Audubon
Society sued last week in federal court, asking U.S. District Judge
Marsha Pechman to bar logging on private timberlands west of the
Cascades." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yghbxr

-----

7)  Marine pleads not guilty in Iraqi civilian's death
MSNBC

"A Marine charged with kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi civilian
pleaded not guilty Tuesday in his first court appearance. Cpl. Trent
Thomas belonged to a squad of seven Marines and a Navy corpsman who
were accused of abducting the 52-year-old man, shooting him at a
roadside hole and trying to cover up the killing." (11/14/06)

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15720113/

-----

8)  Near-silent start in US for Al-Jazeera
Vallejo Times Herald

"Al-Jazeera's English-language network is set to begin operation on
Wednesday without any distribution by a major cable or satellite
system in the United States. The all-news network, based in Doha,
Qatar, said it would be available to computer users via a broadband
Internet connection. But despite months of trying and delays in its
launch date, it named only four companies available in the United
States that would offer it." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y8mjwm

-----

9)  AP-Ipsos Poll: Majority doubts Dem war plan
Amarillo Globe News

"More Americans rank Iraq as the top priority of the new
Democratic-controlled Congress, but nearly three out of five say the
party does not have a plan to deal with the war. In the aftermath of
an anti-Republican wave, the latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll showed
lingering uncertainty about the country's direction and the ability of
Democrats and President Bush to work together. Underscoring the
country's political divisions, Democrats expressed more confidence and
optimism than Republicans." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y4xyoa

-----

10) CA: Bad economics reaches LA voters
Christian Science Monitor

"Hotel worker Ana Mendez says her years of marching in the streets for
the cause of living wages are about to pay off. After five years as a
banquet server at the Hilton hotel near Los Angeles International
Airport -- and watching the lion's share of her tips siphoned off by
management -- she is poised to make more money, along with thousands
of other workers. In a move that labor experts say is likely to
harbinger a trend in other large cities, the Los Angeles City Council
is expected to approve Wednesday a 'living wage' ordinance for workers
at hotels within city limits. ... Local businesses plan to challenge
the ordinance in court, arguing that its unfair to target some
industries and not others. For now, the political momentum lies with
the legislation's backers." [editor's note: Since "local businesses"
object not to the concept, but only its selective application, this
one will likely pass easily. Rabbi Neimoller is chuckling somewhere -
SAT] (11/14/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1115/p02s01-usec.html

-----

11) Detainee lawyers set sights on Rumsfeld
San Francisco Chronicle

"Lawyers representing prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib will
renew their efforts today to get a foreign prosecutor to charge
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with war crimes and torture. The
Center for Constitutional Rights plans to file a criminal complaint
with a prosecutor in Germany against Rumsfeld, Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales, former CIA Director George Tenet and others under a
German law allowing state authorities to bring charges for violations
of international law, regardless of who committed them or where. The
legal organization, acting on behalf of 11 former Iraqi prisoners at
Abu Ghraib and one current Guantanamo inmate, accuses Rumsfeld of
complicity in interrogation methods such as beatings, the use of
extreme temperatures and loud noise, threats with dogs, sleep
deprivation, forcible stripping and sexual humiliation." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ubmoh

-----

12) AZ: Maverick dairyman fights lobbyists, lawmakers
Arizona Republic

"Long before he discovered a way to sell milk for far less than his
competitors, before he enraged the multibillon-dollar dairy industry
so much that Congress passed a law to stop him, Hein Hettinga clipped
cow hooves for a living. It was menial work. But it put him on a
career path that, in time, would lead him to found Yuma-based Sarah
Farms, one of the largest and most innovative private dairy operations
in the country. Now, 12 years after building his dairy business into a
proverbial cash cow, Hettinga finds himself waging war against
big-dairy lobbyists, high-profile lawmakers and the federal
government." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y4lrjw

-----

13) Lynn: Religious right's agenda endangers liberty
Tennessean

"Religious conservatives' interjection of their view of Bible-based
values into American civic and political life is leading to an erosion
of constitutional protections for everyone, according to Barry Lynn,
executive director of the Washington-based Americans United for the
Separation of Church and State. Lynn is being criticized by some
conservative Christian leaders for trying to 'bully' churches away
from participation in civic affairs. But Lynn, in town today to speak
about the recent election and promote his new book, Piety & Politics:
The Right-Wing Assault on Religious Freedom, says he believes in a
government that leaves decisions about God and faith in the hands of
individuals, not the state." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y5opb6

-----

14) Woman kicked off flight for breast-feeding baby?
Fox News

"A woman has complained that she was kicked off an airplane about to
leave Burlington airport because she was breast-feeding her baby. A
complaint against two airlines was filed with the Vermont Human Rights
Commission, although Executive Director Robert Appel said he was
barred by state law from confirming the complaint. He did say state
law allows a mother to breast-feed in public. Elizabeth Boepple, a
lawyer hired by 27-year-old mother Emily Gillette, confirmed that
Gillette filed the complaint late last week against Delta Air Lines
and Freedom Airlines. Freedom was operating the Delta commuter flight
between Burlington and New York City. A Freedom spokesman said
Gillette was asked to leave the flight after she declined a flight
attendant's offer of a blanket." (11/14/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229390,00.html

-----

15) It heats. It powers. Is it the future of home energy?
Christian Science Monitor

"Down in Bernard Malin's basement is a softly thrumming metal box that
turns natural gas into hot water and generates $600 to $800 worth of
electricity a year -- a bonus byproduct of heating his home. 'It's
like printing money,' says Mr. Malin, the first person in
Massachusetts -- perhaps in the nation -- to own a residential 'micro
combined-heat-and-power' system, also known as micro-CHP. But he's not
likely to be the last. Since Malin changed his home heating system to
micro-CHP in February, 18 other families in the Boston area also have
adopted the technology, which squeezes about 90 percent of the useful
energy from the fuel. That's triple the efficiency of power delivered
over the grid." (11/14/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1114/p01s02-usec.html

-----

16) Nation acts to enshrine a dream
Boston Globe

"Forty-three years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the
steps of the Lincoln Memorial and challenged his countrymen to live up
to the nation's founding principles, the civil rights icon was granted
a place yesterday among the pantheon of America's most revered
historical figures. In a poignant ceremony under leaden skies,
President Bush, Bill Clinton, and a host of celebrities and veterans
of the civil rights movement broke ground for a monument to King on
the National Mall -- the first such honor for an African-American
leader. 'Dr. King showed us that a life of conscience and purpose can
lift up many souls,' Bush said at the morning dedication, as much a
celebration of King's life and work. 'And on this ground a monument
will rise that preserves his legacy for the ages.' The memorial's
location -- between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials -- 'will unite
the men who declared the promise of America and defended the promise
of America with the man who redeemed the promise of America,' Bush
said." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yzgqcv

-----

17) New Zealand: Father disgusted at gun shop charge
Stuzz [New Zealand]

"A gun-shop owner whose son shot a man carrying a machete is disgusted
that he is to be charged. On July 31, a man entered the Small Arms
International Gun Shop in Penrose, Auckland, allegedly threatening to
kill staff unless they gave him a gun. A store director, Greg Carvell,
33, shot him in the stomach with a .45-calibre pistol. The man, Ricky
James Beckham, 29, survived and was later charged with assault with
intent to rob. He will appear in court on November 24. Mr Carvell had
been subpoenaed to appear as a witness. Police said yesterday that
they would charge Mr Carvell, a co-owner of the shop, with possession
of a firearm without lawful, proper or sufficient purpose. He will
appear in Auckland District Court on December 6. " (11/14/06)

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3860663a11,00.html

-----

18) SC: Murder or self-defense?
Fox 21 News

"On the night of February 5, 2005, Scotty Fowler was shot and killed,
and April McCullough was the one who pulled the trigger. The defense
is saying the shooting was a case of self defense. However the
solicitor's office found enough probable cause on that night to arrest
McCullough and charge her with murder. ... Scotty pushed past April's
mother, bruising the mother. He then broke into the house and chased
April to the back of the house and April fired one shot at him. It
went into his arm and ended up going into his chest and killing him."
(11/13/06)

http://www.fox21.com/Global/story.asp?S=5669269&nav=2KPp

-----

19) Nations that censor the Net
Business Week

"As effective as the Internet may be in spreading dissent, the methods
used to suppress opposition on the Web are no less pervasive.
Reporters Without Borders, a Paris group that does advocacy work for
press freedom, has compiled a list of the countries that it says go
the furthest to censor the Internet." (11/10/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykpq9n

-----

20) China: Thousands riot over land seizure
Prison Planet News

"Thousands of Chinese villagers clashed with riot police after
barricading officials and foreign businessmen in a warehouse they said
has been built on illegally seized land, a newspaper reported on
Friday. The clash erupted on Wednesday near Shunde, in the southern
province of Guangdong, during the opening of the warehouse, which
villagers said had been built on land grabbed by officials and sold
off to developers, Hong Kong's Apple Daily said." (11/10/06)

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2006/101106Riot.htm

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 11/15/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 47,016 ... Max - 52,142
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,853
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

21) Who is a libertarian?
Foundation for Economic Education
by Dean Russell

"Those of us who favor individual freedom with personal responsibility
have been unable to agree upon a generally acceptable name for
ourselves and our philosophy of liberty. This would be relatively
unimportant except for the fact that the opposition will call us by
some name, even though we might not desire to be identified by any
name at all. Since this is so, we might better select a name with some
logic instead of permitting the opposition to saddle us with an
epithet." (written 05/55; posted 11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/sc26o

-----

22) The coming sellout
AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo

"This election was all about accountability – and that means someone
must be held accountable. That's one front in the war on the War
Party, but only one of three. The other two must target funding for
military operations in Iraq and preparations for war with Iran. The
conventional wisdom, given voice by Borger and her 'centrist' clones,
both in Congress and among the punditocracy, is that a Democratic move
to cut off Iraq war funding is out of the question, a political
non-starter, and could only set up the Democrats for disaster in '08.
Yet this is precisely the kind of sharp fillip our gridlocked system
needs to free itself up long enough to actually do something about our
failed policy in Iraq." (11/15/06)

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=10017

-----

23) Bisecting the Bureaubrain
Liberty For All
by Garry Reed

"The only way to understand the Bureaubrain is to slice it in half and
stare at it. So … Way back in the last century (specifically, 1999)
people were guffawing at Gore for claiming he'd invented the Internet.
What Al actually averred was, 'I took the initiative in creating the
Internet.' Close enough for Virginia Postrel to affix her then Reason
Editor's finger on the emblematic mindset of the ruling class: If
government doesn't do it, it doesn't exist." (11/14/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=376

-----

24) Pulling the plug on the state
Strike the Root
by Kevin Van Horn

"By January 1, 2025, every American who is determined to live free
shall do so. Those who are content with their chains are welcome to
keep them, but we who must be free will have our own centerless legal
system and free institutions that are not subject to the State. Let's
start talking in more detail about how to achieve this goal, using
Nonviolent Struggle." (11/14/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/horn/horn2.html

-----

25) Worshipping the state: Why they die
LewRockwell.Com
by Michael Gaddy

"Simple facts most soldiers do not understand: The government (state)
is not our country; when you fight and die in undeclared wars, you do
so for the State and not for our country or our freedoms; when you
forsake the Constitution you swore to uphold and defend to follow
unconstitutional orders, even from your commander-in-chief, you cross
the line from defender of your country to the very real possibility of
becoming a war criminal. The inboxes at my email sites are constantly
bombarded with pictures and articles designed to pull at my
heartstrings and make me believe there are troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan fighting for our freedoms. Many of these have wonderful
stirring music intended to make one stand and salute. They picture our
soldiers holding young Iraqi children and playing with stray animals
-- a fit sermon indeed for those who hold membership in the Church of
Nationalism and worship its god: the State." (11/15/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/gaddy/gaddy27.html

-----

26) Two kinds of stereotyping
Free Market News Network
by Tibor R. Machan

"Now and then people will characterize groups in various ways. Some of
this is clearly prejudice -- as when one ascribes to blacks, whites,
women, those from Poland, or Latin Americans certain moral attributes
which some of those from these groups may exhibit but which are
certainly not innate to all members of the group. Thinking that all
Mexicans are lazy or that Germans are by nature methodical or, again,
that Americans are phlegmatic would be such prejudice. These are
traits of individuals and while some in these groups may have them,
many clearly do not. One needs to see if the ascription is justified
instead of making it just because someone is a member of the group.
One is, to put it somewhat differently, not morally good or bad
because one is born black or Australian or Chinese. One is good or bad
as a result of one's own judgments and actions. But sometimes it makes
good sense to ascribe traits to people in light of their membership in
certain groups." (11/14/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/117/6380/tibor.asp?nid=6380&wid=117

-----

27) The bums rush (a vote)
QandO
by Jon Henke

"Ed Morrissey recently wrote of a fellow blogger who was 'expressing
his despondency after the losses in the midterm elections.' I have
exactly the opposite reaction. ... a Republican return to the minority
should give them the opportunity to rediscover their anti-State
tendencies. Their challenge, then, will be to figure out how to get
around the fact that, while 'most Americans favor smaller government
in the abstract,' it 'never translates into support for cutting
specific government programs.'" (11/14/06)

http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?Entry=4941

-----

28) Forget it, Rudy
Human Events
by Terence P. Jeffrey

"[S]ome people -- including some conservatives -- believe Giuliani
would make one heck of a President. Considering his announcement this
week that he is starting a presidential exploratory committee,
Giuliani believes it, too. But here it is easy to disagree with Rudy
and his admirers. He has no chance of winning the Republican
nomination, and, even if he did, he would not make a good president.
His views on core cultural issues are too radical. Giuliani is not
just pro-abortion, he is pro-partial-birth abortion. He has not
flinched from defending the legality of the gruesome practice that the
late Democratic Sen. Patrick Moynihan of New York described 'as close
to infanticide.' 'I am pro-choice. I'm pro-gay rights,' Giuliani said
in 1999, when he was contemplating a Senate campaign." [editor's note:
I agree that Giuliani will go down in flames, but not over this.
Rather, over his personal circle and his/their financial dealings. I
suspect that when revealed, they'll look Abramoff/Cunningham on
steroids, with a little bit of Clinton/Lewinsky thrown on for spice -
TLK] (11/15/06)

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18047

-----

29) Pelosi's power play
Salon
by Michael Scherer

"[Steny Hoyer and John Murtha] have been quietly jockeying for the job
[of House Majority Leader] since the summer, but the race officially
broke into a sprint on Sunday, when Speaker-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi
sent Murtha a letter endorsing his candidacy for the No. 2 position in
the House. Her ostensible reason was Murtha's prominent advocacy of
withdrawal from Iraq. 'I salute your courageous leadership that
changed the national debate and helped make Iraq the central issue of
this historic election,' she said in the letter, which Murtha promptly
leaked to the press. Hours later, Pelosi departed for New York, to
greet the birth of her newest grandchild. Meanwhile, liberal bloggers
like Arianna Huffington rallied around the public rationale for
Murtha's election." [editor's note: I predicted that Murtha would
challenge Pelosi for the Speaker position. I have to wonder if he was
after Majority Leader all along, of whether Pelosi got him to change
tracks by offering her endorsement. Either way, his ascension may be
the key to getting a bi-partisan rally for Iraq withdrawal going -
TLK] (11/15/06)

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/11/15/majority_leader/

-----

30) Is democracy like sex?
TCS Daily
by Glenn Harlan Reynolds

"We always hope, when an election rolls around, that the better
candidates will be elected. It often seems, however, as if it's a
choice between dumb and dumber, or crooked and crookeder, or something
equally unappetizing. This leads some people to wonder why they bother
voting at all. But it just may be that voting and elections have
benefits that go beyond just selecting the right candidate. As I
argued in a law review article some years ago (you can read it here),
democracy serves some of the same interests that sex does." (11/15/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=111506B

-----

31) How about some left wing fundamentalism?
The Free Liberal
by Carl S. Milsted, Jr.

"In reading this paper over the past year or so I have come across
many articles critical of 'fundamentalism.' Fundamentalists have been
described as hateful, uncaring, inflexible, right wing, conservative,
violent and/or unspiritual. As a Christian who is more fundamentalist
than most, I take some exception to these characterizations. Yes,
there are many fundamentalist Christians who meet some of the above
descriptions to varying degrees; however, these are not the defining
characteristics of Christian fundamentalism. Oft times, these
characteristics are more associated with people better described as
traditionalists, not fundamentalists." (11/15/06)

http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002420.html

-----

32) Pathetic Republicans ...
The Weekly Standard
by Tod Lindberg

"Pathetic Republicans, who can save you now? With all due respect to
Ming the Merciless and all due deference to Sen. John McCain's pending
arrival on a Hawk-man rocket cycle in 2008, the answer is that
Republicans can, and are going to have to, save themselves. To do
that, what's required is frank acknowledgment that the national
majority that brought them to congressional power in 1994 is a thing
of the past -- no longer there, or no longer theirs." (for publication
11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y53gd2

-----

33) The High Court goes courting
Slate
by Dahlia Lithwick

"Chief Justice John Roberts is the Dr. McDreamy of the federal bench.
If you doubt that, check out his performance last night on Nightline.
Before 3,000 spectators at the University of Miami, Roberts proved
that his whole sweet/funny/smart/humble thing at last year's televised
confirmation hearings was just foreplay. Not only is the new chief
justice unafraid of the media spotlight, he -- perhaps alone among his
Supreme Court colleagues -- has figured out how to use it to his
advantage." (11/14/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2153759

-----

34) Restoring the Reagan revolution
Intellectual Conservative
by J. James Estrada

"On the horizon of a new morning in America, 2008 edition, is a
handful of Republicans who may be able to restore the fading Reagan
Revolution. Newt Gingrich. Mitt Romney. Condi Rice." [editor's note:
There's a thin line between plotting future victories and just plain
indulging in too many hallucinogens - TLK] (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yx73fe

-----

35) Microsoft Linux
AlterNet
by Annalee Newitz

"I'm living in a bizarro business deal universe. Microsoft and Novell,
which distributes a version of Suse Linux, have formed a partnership.
When Microsoft's notoriously anti-Linux CEO Steve Ballmer announced
the deal, he claimed it was because customers demanded it. But the
open-source community is worried something else may be afoot." (11/14/06)

http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/44301/

-----

36) Carbon reduction or poverty reduction, not both
Reason
by Ronald Bailey

"Immediate steep global reductions in the emissions of the chief
greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, turn out to be a fantasy. This was
made plain by a panel discussion today which featured the release of a
report by the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies. The
panel aimed to outline the economic case for action on climate change,
but the realities of global poverty overwhelmed it." (11/14/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116724.html

-----

37) Democrats' first step forward? School choice
Cato Institute
by Andrew J. Coulson

"The swing vote has swung. The Democratic party has taken control of
both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate as well.
Democrats ran, and won, largely on dissatisfaction with the status
quo. But political honeymoons are shorter than Hollywood marriages.
Before too long, Democrats will have to show that they bring something
to the table other than not being Republicans. They will have to prove
that they can once again become a party of ideas -- and good ones, at
that. Short of a miracle, the Democrats are not going to come up with
any silver bullets in the foreign policy arena. It's doubtful that
anyone could. That leaves domestic policy, where, as it happens, a
growing number of state and local Democrats are already showing
compelling leadership on an issue of importance to every parent,
child, taxpayer, and business: education." (11/14/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6770

-----

38) Ideology has consequences
The American Conservative
by Jeffrey Hart

"Eisenhower, a thoroughgoing realist, was one of the most successful
presidents of the 20th century. So was the prudential Reagan, wary of
using military force. Nixon would have been a good secretary of state,
but emotionally wounded and suspicious, he was not suited to the
presidency. Yet he, too, with Henry Kissinger, was a realist. George
W. Bush represents a huge swing away from such traditional
conservative Republicanism. But the conservative movement in America
has followed him, evacuating prudence and realism for ideology and
folly." (for publication 11/20/06)

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_11_20/article.html

-----

39) Hype vs. hope
Mother Jones
by Bill McKibben

"Ten percent of a two-year-old's nouns are brand names; by the time an
American child heads to school, he or she can recognize hundreds of
logos. Disney is now putting its cartoon characters on fresh fruit,
arguing (perhaps correctly) that it's the only way to get kids to eat
it. If that's the world we're born into, is it any wonder we want
corporations to solve our biggest problems as well? Isn't it a
parent's job to protect us? And besides, who else has the capital and
the power to do what needs to be done in the face of a crisis like
global warming? Any sign that corporations might be willing to take on
the job is greeted with an enthusiasm that borders on delusion."
(11/06/06)

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2006/11/hype_vs_hope.html

-----

40) Investing in the arts
Boston Globe
by Ann McQueen

"Grantmaking is a complex business that goes beyond writing a check.
There is a common understanding that individuals and communities are
at their best when the arts are in schools, community centers and
neighborhoods, embedded in everyday life. In Massachusetts, artists,
business and cultural leaders, and the Legislature work with
fund-raisers to increase investment in the arts. Where do arts and
cultural nonprofits find the resources to keep theaters, museums, and
after-school programs open? Often, it's volunteer time that drives the
arts community. In Hyde Park, artists bring the children of the
Greenwood Elementary School experiences that expand their horizons --
an example of the 'sweat equity' that keeps arts organizations
afloat." [editor's note: Since "funding the arts" is one of the hot
buttons among libertarians, it bears noting that some programs are
actually designed to reward community activism, thus providing
services that would otherwise be tax-funded boondoggles. Might this
not at least be a better way to spend tax-money, instead of
subsidizing the (already proven ineffective) government- school
programs? - SAT] (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yel4q6

-----

41) Slice-and-dice follies
The American Prospect
by Matthew Yglesias

"One of the strangest of American rituals is the habit of analyzing
election outcomes by slicing up the country's demographic pie into
little groups and then proclaiming one or another slice to be
absolutely crucial to the electoral future of the country. In the
cruder media climate of the 1990s, this tended to involve devising
cutesy names for your preferred groups. Thus, we had the 'angry white
men' of 1994, the 'soccer moms' of '98, the contrasting 'waitress
moms' and 'office park dads' strategies of 2000, and the 'NASCAR dads'
of 2002. The Internet and its attendant proliferation of media outlets
-- combined with, perhaps, growing laziness on the part of pollsters
-- led more recently to a decline in name-quality. With the exception
of a fleeting 'mortgage moms' bubble this fall, allegedly pivotal
demographic groups have tended to go by simpler labels in recent years
-- parents of small children, married white women, and the
ever-elusive white working class. 2006 has proven no different in the
eyes of most commentators." (11/14/06)

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12210

-----

42) Releasing juvenile records not acceptable
Nashville City Paper
by staff

"It is bad enough that in Tennessee juveniles are treated as
second-class citizens in our court systems. Now, officials in Davidson
County and state government are adding insult to injury by mistakenly
including juvenile criminal court records in criminal background
searches. The rules that govern Tennessee's juvenile court system are
ill-conceived and do a disservice to Tennesseans and our children.
Judges have the discretion to close juvenile court rooms in Tennessee,
and juvenile court records are routinely closed to public review. As a
result, the public and the press have no way to accurately grasp the
at times horrific challenges facing our state's most vulnerable
citizens. Ironically, when it does make sense to close juvenile
records state and local officials have been disseminating them
publicly." (11/14/06)

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?news_id=53247

-----

43) Democrats "will not disappoint"
Christian Science Monitor
by Nancy Pelosi

"This year, voters elected Democratic candidates from every region of
America, giving Democrats the majority in both the House of
Representatives and the Senate, and entrusting us with a great deal of
responsibility for building that future. With their votes, the
American people asked for change. They cast their ballots in favor of
a New Direction. They called for greater integrity in Washington, and
Democrats pledge to make this the most honest, ethical, and open
Congress in history." [editor's note: Yet she thinks the priority is
somehow raising the mythical min-wage, and "soaking the rich" by
repealing tax cuts -- but not one word about restoring the Bill of
Rights by repealing USA PATRIOT or the other atrocities. GRRR! - SAT]
(11/14/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1114/p09s01-coop.html

-----

44) Fixing the 2008 election
Tom Paine
by Jonah Goldman & Tova Wang

"The mainstream media in its instant analysis has proclaimed the
election system worked surprisingly well in 2006. While it is true
that no single catastrophe of election administration grabbed
headlines this year, it is quite dangerous to suggest that the
problems voters encountered on Election Day were not serious. As over
25,000 callers from across the country to the 866-OUR-VOTE voter
information and protection hotline confirm, these problems led to
thousands of eligible Americans being denied the opportunity to cast a
ballot. There's a sense that the book is already closed on the 2006
election. But despite the nation's attention now turning to the
seismic political shift in Washington, several House races remain
undecided. ... While the case should not be overstated, it is critical
that as we immediately enter the 2008 presidential election cycle, we
undertake a more honest assessment of what happened in this election."
(11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ve7aa

-----

45) Freedom from religion
Liberty For All
by Lady Liberty

"A recent discussion on a message board to which I subscribe resulted
in a very interesting question: Can a person be both genuinely
religious and truly pro-freedom? In context, the question not only
makes good sense but deserves to receive some thoughtful answers.
Consider that gay marriage is illegal in most of the country and that
many are adamantly opposed to it on religious grounds. What some would
suggest is a freedom to which they're equally entitled would, if
opponents have their way, be kept from them because their beliefs are
different." (11/14/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=377

-----

46) Rubin's tax gambit
National Center for Policy Analysis
by staff

"A mere two days after Democrats capture Congress claiming they
wouldn't raise taxes, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin tells
them they should do so anyway. According to the Wall Street Journal,
it should be reassuring that Rubin now thinks the economy is strong
enough to withstand a tax increase: That's a switch from his
opposition to the 2003 Bush tax cuts, which he predicted would bust
the budget and do little for growth." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/wgk5v

-----

47) Free money against "inflation bias"
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Thorsten Polleit

"Today's mainstream economics maintains that inflation -- defined as
an ongoing rise of the economy's price level over time -- is 'a
prerequisite for a growing and thriving world.' A great number of
arguments in support of the 'inflationist view' have been put forward.
For instance, inflation would be needed to allow real wages and
employment to adjust more smoothly to changing market conditions."
(11/14/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2373

-----

48) Good day for Democrats? Bad day for conservatives?
Frontiers of Freedom
by George C. Landrith

"November 7th was a good day for Democrats. However, despite all the
hoopla, it wasn't an historic day. Since World War II, the party out
of the White House has lost an average of 32 seats in the House and 6
seats in the Senate during the sixth year mid-term election of a
two-term president. On November 7th, it appears the Democrats picked
up 29 seats in the House and 6 seats in the Senate (a few races are
still too close to call.) Despite all the crowing about the tidal wave
of change, Democrats underperformed when compared to historical
averages." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y2mnyn

-----

49) Rumsfeld resigns: Who is Robert Gates?
Center For Individual Freedom
by staff

"Just one day after the midterm elections, in which many Americans
cast their votes in part against the Administration's policy and slow
progress in Iraq, President Bush announced the resignation of
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. The President, while
applauding Rumsfeld's service and dedication during 'challenging
times,' conceded that both he and the Secretary agreed that 'Iraq is
not working well enough and fast enough.'" (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yz8gp4

-----

50) What will we do when America's lights go out?
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Iain Murray

"Soon after the widespread blackouts of 2003, the Electric Reliability
Organization was etablished, and it recently issued its first report.
That report makes for grim reading because the nation's electric power
infrastructure is on the brink of collapse. Misguided environmental
regulations, green obstructionism and the NIMBY (Not-in-my-backyard)
syndrome have combined to delay the construction of desperately needed
new power plants and transmission lines." (11/13/06)

http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,05604.cfm

-----

51) Now they're all for bipartisanship
Truthdig
by Molly Ivins

"Having watched election coverage nonstop all week, I sometimes wake
screaming, 'Bipartisanship!' and scare myself. Of all the viral
members of the media who have been suggesting that the Dems cooperate
with their political opponents, the one who rendered me almost
unconscious with surprise was Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich, the Boy
Scout. Newt Gingrich, the man who sat there and watched Congress
impeach and try Bill Clinton for lying about having an extramarital
affair while he, Newt Gingrich, was lying about having an extramarital
affair. (This all took place during his second marriage. The first one
ended when he told his wife he was divorcing her while she was in the
hospital undergoing cancer treatment.) This is the level of Republican
hypocrisy that reminds us all how far the Dems have to go." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/wl6z3

-----

52) Congress must investigate administration crimes
Truthout
by Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith

"Few elections in history have provided so clear a mandate. As the New
York Times put it, Democrats were 'largely elected on the promise to
act as a strong check on [Bush's] administration.' But the first
response of the new Congressional leadership has been to proclaim a
new era of civility and seek accommodation with the very people who
need to be held accountable for war crimes and subversion of the
Constitution. Democratic strategists who argue for this kind of
bipartisanship maintain that the American people want their political
leaders to address the problems of the future, not pursue
recriminations about the past. They therefore oppose the kind of
penetrating investigation that a White House strategist told Time
would lead to a 'cataclysmic fight to the death' if Democrats start
issuing subpoenas. If such 'peace at any price' Democrats prevail, the
result will be a catastrophe, not only for the Democratic party but
for American democracy." (11/14/06)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111406L.shtml

-----

53) Impeaching Bush to preserve the Constitution
OpEd News
by Elizabeth Holtzman

"This is a transcript of a talk given at the Impeach for Change
conference, on November 11, 2006, Veterans Day, at the Constitution
Center, in Philadelphia, facing Independence Hall and the Liberty
Bell. I want to talk to you about preserving our constitution.
Veterans' day is about those who fought and died and gave so much and
sacrificed, those who returned healthy and those who didn't." (11/12/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y6ggct

-----

54) Oaxaca fights back
CounterPunch
by Laura Carlsen

"The Oaxacan protest movement burns slow, but deep. Oaxacan teachers,
who mobilized for a pay raise last May, consciously built on years of
protest against social inequality in their state. On June 14, the
state government goaded the Oaxacan tlacuachewhen it attempted to
evict protesting teachers from Oaxaca's central plaza. Oaxacans
responded by forming the broad-based Popular Assembly of the Peoples
of Oaxaca (APPO). The federal government confronted the growing
movement on October 28 when it sent thousands of federal police to
occupy the city. The murders, wounding, and disappearance of the
protestors have only deepened the resolve of the movement as a whole.
Although the stage was set for confrontation, the movement continued
to insist on non-violence. They lay down in front of advancing tanks
and distributed flowers to riot-geared cops." (11/14/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/carlsen11142006.html

-----

55) Dreams of the ordinary citizen
Strike the Root
by John Locke

"Your dreams start dying when you learn 'don't step out of line' and
the rules that go along with that: Be afraid of your boss, who might
cut off your income. Obey all laws (even if immoral or unreasonable),
pay your taxes, do what you are told, don't choose your own life, die
for your country (even if it is a cause you don't believe in). Watch
TV when not slaving at work. Be a good consumer. Have no ideas or life
of your own. Create nothing. Don't have a private life, expect every
aspect of your life to be monitored, processed and made public (when
it suits 'them')." (11/14/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/locke/locke4.html

*******************************************************************
* RRND MEDIA SHELF -- Tchotchkes from today's edition
*
* Piety and Politics, by Barry Lynn
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307346544/rationalrev08-20
*
* Note: Affiliate links generate commissions for RRND's editors.
*******************************************************************

*****************************
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************

56) Joel Winters victory speech
YouTube

Speech by recently elected libertarian New Hampshire state
representative Joel Winters. [Flash video] (11/07/06)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GpZ5sbZOSs

-----

57) Free Talk Live, 11/14/06
Free Talk Live

"The Console Gaming Wars Continue / Romanian Villagers to Sue Borat? /
Market Response to Payday Loans / Sentencing for Acquittals? /
Standing Army / Desperate Libertarian Guys Encourage Libertarian C.U.
Next Tuesday / Questionable Libertarian Candidate / Irresponsible
parents blame Borat for their teen's bratty behaviour. / Another
Collectivist 'Conservative' / A Do-Nothing." [MP3] (11/14/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-11-14.mp3

-----

58) Freedomain Radio #509
Freedomain Radio

"Assaulting children: Try spanking a strange woman and see if it's
called 'loving correction.'" With host Stefan Molyneux. [MP3] (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxgetc

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

59) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for upcoming freedom movement events. Don't
see yours? Drop us a line at info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

-----

60) Auction: Rational Review top banner

It's that time of year! As publisher of Rational Review, one of my
"perks" is ownership of the banner ad space that appears at the top of
each and every page on the site (as well as at the bottom of every
page on my personal blog, Kn@ppster). I auction that space annually.
The auction begins now, and ends at midnight, November 30th, with
payment due by December 15th. Your ad (468x60 pixels and no larger
than 16Kb in file size) begins running on January 1st, 2007, to run
thereafter until midnight of December 31st, 2007. My "reserve price"
is $200. Please email bids (and questions) to me at info at
rationalreview.com. I'll try to answer frequent questions in the
comment form here, and I'll update this entry daily with the high
current bid.

Current High Bid: $200.00
High Bidder's Initials: PB

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

61) A man, a plan, an intern, a cigar

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

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* RRND is through the valued support of our readers. Forward freely.
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Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,025
* Tuesday, November 14th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,055
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
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In The News:

0)  Symposium and auction
1)  Iraq: Up to 150 abducted in Baghdad raid
2)  Busheviks: Foreigners have no rights
3)  GA: Idiot lobbyists seek "marijuana" candy ban
4)  TX: Town pols unanimous for Know-Nothingism
5)  CA: Students ban socialist loyalty oath
6)  Officials: Martinez to head RNC
7)  House defeats Vietnam trade bill
8)  Bush opposes Dems' Iraq troop timetable
9)  FDA: Tamiflu patients need monitoring
10) MLK's message remembered at groundbreaking
11) TN: Armed commissioner faces down gunman
12) TN: Homeowner shoots robber in home invasion
13) Spain: Town gives women equal footing on road signs
14) In sin city, erotic dancers must keep distance
15) Debts force Zimbabwe to cancel flights to London
16) CA: Couple split up, drop names from gay marriage case
17) Hospitals drop ball on heart attacks, researchers say
18) TN: Income tax can fly, says group
19) Are private buyouts good for the economy?
20) US is top purveyor on weapons sales list

Everybody Has An Opinion:

21) Neoconservatism -- RIP
22) A word to the unwise
23) No way out -- but out
24) The stateless society
25) The Dems and civil liberties
26) "Surge" is another word for FLUSH
27) Are we really entitled to this?
28) Bottom line to US Mint warning
29) Evangelical group's motto: Breed to succeed
30) Finally term limited
31) How not to tax oil
32) Lose a war, lose an election
33) Be careful what you believe
34) Self-defense isn't a privilege, it's a right
35) What empire does to a culture
36) The repudiation of Bush
37) Transforming appreciation into action
38) Enviro fog calculus
39) Speed cameras trade real liberty for false security
40) Bake me a cake, Baker man
41) The power of moral ideas
42) The prediction markets stumble
43) Bush's Iraq legacy
44) Murtha can lead Iraq withdrawal
45) Discussing climate change in Kenya
46) Good-bye to all that
47) The blue man who threw Montana to Tester
48) Arrogant to the end
49) No, we won't all be speaking Arabic next year
50) Safety vs. privacy on the T
51) Poor initiative
52) No exit strategy
53) Stunning revelations
54) Gompers, Kennedy reincarnated and voting Republican
55) New Congress, old politics
56) The left's unwarranted giddiness
57) Cuba won't abandon socialism just yet
58) Playing the politics of fear

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

59) Free Talk Live, 11/13/06

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

60) Today's events
61) Auction: Rational Review top banner

WaYbAcK:

62) TR: Independence for Philippines -- someday

***************
* In The News
***************

0)  Symposium and auction

In the wake of last week's elections, Libertarian Party founder David
Nolan comes out against the proposition that his party's "primary
mission" is to elect people to office. What do you think? Weigh in at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20701

Also, it's time for the year-end auction of the top banner ad space at
Rational Review -- a great deal at any likely price, and a complete
steal if you can get it at the "reserve" price of $200 (hint: I don't
rely on stat engines TOO much, but they say about 1.4 million
impressions at the low end). See the item in "movement news and
events," and email your bids to info at rationalreview.com.

-----

1)  Iraq: Up to 150 abducted in Baghdad raid
Sioux City Journal

"Gunmen dressed as police commandos kidnapped up to 150 staff and
visitors in a lightning raid on a Baghdad research institute Tuesday,
the largest mass abduction since the start of the U.S. occupation.
Three of those taken were later released. Iraq's higher education
minister immediately ordered all universities closed until security
improvements are made, saying he was 'not ready to see more professors
get killed. ...' The abductions came just hours after a U.S. assault
on the northwest Baghdad Shiite district of Shula that drew strong
condemnation from al-Adib and other Shiite members of parliament.
Shula is a stronghold of radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr, sponsor of one of Iraq's most powerful and feared militias,
the Mahdi Army." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ye9bfu

-----

2)  Busheviks: Foreigners have no rights
Akron Beacon Journal

"Immigrants arrested in the United States may be held indefinitely on
suspicion of terrorism and may not challenge their imprisonment in
civilian courts, the Bush administration said Monday, opening a new
legal front in the fight over the rights of detainees. In court
documents filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
Richmond, Va., the Justice Department said a new anti-terrorism law
being used to hold detainees in Guantanamo Bay also applies to
foreigners captured and held in the United States." (11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yd9z6y

-----

3)  GA: Idiot lobbyists seek "marijuana" candy ban
Fox News

"A group of residents plans to ask county commissioners Tuesday to ban
the sale of marijuana-flavored candy in Cobb County. Christine Able,
executive director of the Osborne Prevention Task Force, said she is
concerned the candy encourages children to use drugs. Companies who
sell the candies say the lollipops, gum drops and other treats are
geared toward adults and that they advise retailers to sell the candy
only to people 18 and older. Corona, Calif.-based Chronic Candy uses
marijuana-related slogans in its marketing and claims 'every lick is
like taking a hit.' Its hemp-flavored candy is packaged with images of
bright green marijuana leaves. The Web site for Chronic Candy
acknowledges using 'hemp essential oil' in its products, but maintains
that the oil is not illegal. 'One of our goals is to reduce the
interaction youths have with drugs,' Able said. '[Chronic Candy] is
considered a gateway product. It's opening the door to wanting to try
the product for real.'" (11/13/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229066,00.html

-----

4)  TX: Town pols unanimous for Know-Nothingism
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

"Leaders of this Dallas suburb [Farmers Branch] unanimously approved
tough new anti-immigration measures Monday evening, including one that
makes English the official language. In a series of 6-0 votes, the
city council without discussion approved fines for landlords that deal
with illegal immigrants, and decided to allow local authorities to
screen suspects in police custody to see whether they are in the
country illegally." (11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ybqpc5

-----

5)  CA: Students ban socialist loyalty oath
AOL News

"Student leaders at a California college have touched off a furor by
banning the Pledge of Allegiance at their meetings, saying they see no
reason to publicly swear loyalty to God and the U.S. government. ...
The move was led by three recently elected student trustees, who ran
for office wearing revolutionary-style berets and said they do not
believe in publicly swearing an oath to the American flag and
government at their school." [editor's note: Well, hooray and kudos to
these youngsters! This gives me some hope for the future! - MLS]
(11/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygm7ke

-----

6)  Officials: Martinez to head RNC
Miami Herald

"Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, the first Cuban-born U.S. senator, is in
line to become chairman of the Republican National Committee, GOP
officials said Monday. A week after the GOP lost control of Congress
amid declining support from Hispanics, Martinez's appointment --
coming as the party gears up for the 2008 presidential election --
signals an increased effort by the party to woo Hispanic voters, who
voted for President Bush in record numbers in 2004 but were
significantly less enthusiastic about GOP candidates last week.
Martinez, 60, would remain a U.S. senator, with day-to-day duties of
the RNC carried out by an executive director, GOP leaders said."
(11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yg5bjs

-----

7)  House defeats Vietnam trade bill
USA Today

"Legislation to normalize trade relations with Vietnam was defeated in
the House Monday, four days before President Bush makes his first
visit to the only country ever to defeat the United States in a major
war. The measure failed to win the necessary two-thirds majority it
needed to pass under a procedure House Republicans adopted in an
effort to rush it through with limited debate. It received 228 votes
in support -- 32 short of what was needed. There were 161 votes
against it." (11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygxnau

-----

8)  Bush opposes Dems' Iraq troop timetable
Winston-Salem Journal

"President Bush traded ideas on Iraq with a bipartisan commission
Monday and promised to work with the incoming Democratic majority
toward 'common objectives.' At the same time, he renewed his
opposition to any timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops. As Bush met
with the Iraq Study Group, the Democrat in line to lead the Senate
Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin of Michigan, said the
administration didn't see that 'we're getting deeper and deeper into a
hole.'" (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y9nqqr

-----

9)  FDA: Tamiflu patients need monitoring
Vail Daily News

"Patients who take Tamiflu should be closely monitored for signs of
abnormal behavior, health officials said Monday in announcing an
updated label for the flu drug. The added precaution comes after
reports of more than 100 new cases of delirium, hallucinations and
other unusual psychiatric behavior in children treated with the drug.
Most were Japanese children." (11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yalfje

-----

10) MLK's message remembered at groundbreaking
CNN

"Presidents, civil rights icons, celebrities and ordinary citizens
gathered Monday on the National Mall, where construction is getting
under way for a monument honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The
monument will be built on a four-acre site near the Lincoln Memorial,
where King delivered his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech during the
March on Washington for civil rights in August 1963." (11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxldxd

-----

11) TN: Armed commissioner faces down gunman
Knoxville News Sentinel

"A Knox County commissioner known for his pro-gun stance says he
aborted an armed robbery at his car dealership Saturday with the aid
of his .380-caliber pistol. Greg 'Lumpy' Lambert, who represents the
6th District, said he was at Advantage Auto Sales on Clinton Highway
early Saturday afternoon when a young man began acting suspicious
while test-driving a 2005 Ford Focus. The man, identified as
19-year-old Kane Stackhouse, claimed to have $12,000 in his pocket and
seemed intent on buying the car without any haggling or even a
mechanical inspection, Lambert said. Later, as the paperwork was being
drawn up, Stackhouse stepped outside to smoke a cigarette, Lambert
said. When the commissioner went outside to tell him it was time to
work on the title, Stackhouse is alleged to have pulled a .25-calber
handgun from his jacket pocket." (11/12/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yhu7ru

-----

12) TN: Homeowner shoots robber in home invasion
WBIR News

"According to Jefferson County Sheriff David Davenport, two suspects
in an attempted home invasion robbery are at large, and one of them
may be wounded. Davenport says a white man and woman broke into a home
near Exit 415 in Jefferson County and attempted to rob the homeowners,
who were at home at the time. One of the homeowners shot at the
robbers. He tells authorities he believes he hit the woman. The
suspects escaped and a search is underway in Jefferson County." (11/13/06)

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=39599&provider=rss

-----

13) Spain: Town gives women equal footing on road signs
Reuters

"A Spanish town council has vowed to banish sexism from street signage
by demanding half of all road signs and traffic lights show female
figures with skirts and ponytails. Fuenlabrada, which lies south of
the capital Madrid, will replace old and damaged road signs and
traffic lights with new stock within a year. 'In this way the sexism
which until now has seen only masculine figures appear in traffic
signals will be brought to an end,' the town council said in a
statement." (11/11/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ynd7nd

-----

14) In sin city, erotic dancers must keep distance
Yahoo! News

"A court has upheld a Las Vegas city regulation barring erotic dancers
from raunchy physical contact with their customers, in a ruling that
runs counter to the gambling city's sinful reputation. Nevada's
Supreme Court on Thursday reversed two lower court rulings that found
the regulation improperly curtailed 'expressive conduct' protected by
the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. The high court judges said
that even if the constitutional amendment did apply, its protection
was not absolute, and added the city measure helps curtail
prostitution, sexually transmitted disease, drug offenses and criminal
activity. The city rule bars dancers from physical contact of a sexual
nature with customers." [editor's note: Um, and the customers are
being held hostage with guns at their heads and are forced by the
dancers to have this physical contact? - MLS] (11/11/06)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061112/od_nm/lasvegas_erotic_dc

-----

15) Debts force Zimbabwe to cancel flights to London
Independent [UK]

"Zimbabwe's state-run airline has cancelled all flights to London,
fearing the aircraft would be impounded to cover unpaid debts. The
decision to ground flights will come as a fresh blow to Zimbabwe's
collapsing economy. The country relies on Air Zimbabwe, and the
tourists it brings, for much of its foreign currency. Air Zimbabwe
announced the decision to stop the thrice-weekly flights after a
European air safety agency won a court order allowing it to seize
planes to cover a $2.8m (£1.5m) debt." (11/12/06)

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article1963452.ece

-----

16) CA: Couple split up, drop names from gay marriage case
San Francisco Chronicle

"The couple whose names top all the arguments in California's same-sex
marriage court case -- expected to head back to court today -- have
separated. Lancy Woo and Cristy Chung, who have been together 18 years
and have a young daughter, announced that they are no longer part of
the lawsuit challenging California's marriage statutes. Attorneys
arguing for same-sex marriage are expected to file a request today
asking the state Supreme Court to hear the case. They said the breakup
should not affect the case. Woo and Chung's breakup comes just months
after two other high-profile same-sex couples -- the lead plaintiffs
in the case that legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and a
Vermont couple who were the first in the nation to enter a civil union
-- also ended their relationships." (11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yeedcq

-----

17) Hospitals drop ball on heart attacks, researchers say
Arizona Republic

"Only about one-third of hospitals provide emergency care to heart
attack patients quickly enough to meet scientific guidelines for
saving lives, researchers reported Sunday. Even the top performers
meet the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology
guidelines for prompt care in just half of their cases, researchers
say. 'Even among the better hospitals, only a few hospitals routinely
meet the recommended guidelines,' says Yale cardiologist Harlan
Krumholz, a leader of the research team and an architect of a national
campaign launched Sunday to help hospitals improve their performance.
'By next year, we're going to change that.' About 200,000 people a
year have heart attacks caused by blockages in crucial arteries that
supply the heart with blood. About 10,000 patients die of these heart
attacks in hospitals each year." (11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y5pz5q

-----

18) TN: Income tax can fly, says group
Tennessean

"Supporting a state income tax is political suicide in Tennessee.
Right? Challenger Bob Rochelle was bludgeoned this year by incumbent
Mae Beavers in their state Senate race for supporting the tax four
years ago. Gov. Phil Bredesen has come out squarely against an income
tax and said he won't support one in his second term. But a group that
thinks an income tax could create a better, fairer and more prosperous
Tennessee looks at the election results statewide and sees a different
picture. Tennesseans For Fair Taxation released an analysis on Friday
that showed 95.5 percent of incumbents who supported the 2002 proposal
for an income tax coupled with a lower sales tax were re-elected on
Tuesday. That's roughly the same re-election rate for all incumbents,
the group said." [editor's note: This raving bunch of socialists
continue to deny reality, while "Pravda on the Cumberland" continues
to give them free press. The income tax is a dead issue in Tennessee;
the new focus is on cutting spending, and reducing that "food tax" by
degrees in the process - SAT] (11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/v2528

-----

19) Are private buyouts good for the economy?
Christian Science Monitor

"The new birth of Burger King Corp. this year delivered the beef to
the investing public: Under private management, the long-struggling
company turned a corner and then made shares available on the New York
Stock Exchange. But the managers kept some major side orders to
themselves. They took out a big loan and paid themselves a $367
million dividend and other fees as well. In all, they extracted cash
worth about one-sixth of Burger King's market value. That's one
whopper of a payout, and it's not unusual these days. Increasingly,
investors with deep pockets are banding together to form 'private
equity funds.' Just as the leveraged buyout firms did in the 1980s,
they are buying up companies, restructuring them, and then selling
them back on public stock exchanges -- often for a supersized profit."
(11/13/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1113/p01s01-usec.html

-----

20) US is top purveyor on weapons sales list
Boston Globe

"The United States last year provided nearly half of the weapons sold
to militaries in the developing world, as major arms sales to the most
unstable regions -- many already engaged in conflict -- grew to the
highest level in eight years, new US government figures show.
According to the annual assessment, the United States supplied $8.1
billion worth of weapons to developing countries in 2005 -- 45.8
percent of the total and far more than second-ranked Russia with 15
percent and Britain with a little more than 13 percent. Arms control
specialists said the figures underscore how the largely unchecked arms
trade to the developing world has become a major staple of the
American weapons industry, even though introducing many of the weapons
risks fueling conflicts rather than aiding long-term US interests. The
report was compiled by the nonpartisan Congressional Research
Service." (11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yb7qr8

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 11/14/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 47,016 ... Max - 52,142
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,853
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

21) Neoconservatism -- RIP
Salon
by Gary Kamiya

"The neoconservatives who dreamed up America's Iraq nightmare are
rushing desperately about, searching for scapegoats. Their favorite
whipping boy is yesterday's jutting-jawed hero, Donald Rumsfeld, who
has been unceremoniously tossed onto the scrapheap. But they also
blame the National Security Council, Condoleezza Rice, George Tenet,
Paul Bremer, Gen. Tommy Franks and George W. Bush himself. The only
thing they don't blame is the actual culprit -- neoconservative
ideology itself. The neocon finger-pointing over who lost Iraq,
recently showcased in Vanity Fair, obscures the fact that Bush's war
was a laboratory in which their doctrine was tested -- and completely
failed. This failure was manifested on the ground and confirmed by the
midterms. Most Americans don't even know what neoconservatism is, but
they know a failure when they see it -- and they decisively rejected
it." [subscription or ad view required] (11/14/06)

http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2006/11/14/neocons

-----

22) A word to the unwise
The Libertarian Enterprise
by L. Neil Smith

"It's time for a big fat 'I told you so' to all you Republicans,
conservatives, neoconservatives, and neolibertarians who are reeling
with surprise and shock over what happened to them the first Tuesday
in November. You people screwed up bigtime, and you got it all back,
in the shorts, in one long evening in hell you'll remember all your
lives. ... It's so refreshing when what goes around actually comes
around. None of you would listen over the past five or six years. None
of you listened over the past fifty years. If you had, things would be
very different today, and it would be Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer
out standing on a street corner selling pencils from a tin cup instead
of you." (11/12/06)

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle393-20061112-09.html

-----

23) No way out -- but out
The Power of Narrative
by Arthur Silber

"The Perpetually Warmongering True Believers are amazed, outraged and
full of damnation directed at Bush, the Iraq Study Group (such as it
is), and anyone else at all who would even consider that perhaps the
only conceivable way of 'stabilizing' Iraq is, among other things, to
engage Iran and Syria in regional talks. The True Believers are
absolutely certain that if the brutal and brutalizing force we have
employed thus far is insufficient, the best solution is a still more
brutal campaign of lethal, murderous bombs and bullets. They are as
certain of this as they have been certain of everything else over the
last five years." (11/13/06)

http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2006/11/no-way-out-but-out.html

-----

24) The stateless society
Strike the Root
by Christopher Awuku

"In my last article, I briefly touched upon the nature of political
outreach and how it could be beneficial in the eventual creation of a
stateless society. In this piece, I have decided to expand upon this
ideal and discuss methods of actually creating a market anarchist
society. We would all have to acknowledge that the world is
overwhelmingly statist at present. However, if (or when!) our time
comes, how should we actually implement our ideals? How should we
properly institute the stateless society?" (11/13/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/awuku/awuku8.html

-----

25) The Dems and civil liberties
CounterPunch
by Paul Craig Roberts

"Unless November's new blood improves the Democratic Party's civil
liberties pedigree, the Democrats will have failed even before they
are sworn in next January. ... The Bush regime was a coup d'etat
against the Bill of Rights and the jurisdictions of Congress and the
courts. Unless Democrats roll back this coup, Americans have seen the
last of their civil liberties. Judging by Democrats' statements in the
flush of their electoral victory, Democrats have little, if any,
awareness of this critical fact. Democrats are anxious to get on with
their agendas and have shown no recognition that the first order of
business is to repeal the legislation that permits torture,
warrantless detention and domestic spying." [editor's note: Exactly. I
have not heard one single solitary 'winner' declare that the
restoration of the BOR is 'on the agenda.' Just a bunch of hooha about
raising the minimum wage and making Medicare prescriptions affordable
... as if that's why folks voted the Repub bums out - MLS] (11/13/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts11132006.html

-----

26) "Surge" is another word for FLUSH
Unqualified Offerings
by Jim Henley

"Any surge-style operation in Baghdad is doomed. A pleasant fantasy.
At most it will provide a little relative calm for a short period of
time. When the 'surge' subsides, violence will flow back in. For all
his considerable intelligence and training, Greg Djerejian and the
centrist policy tendency he represents still haven't absorbed that
Iraq's political contenders interpret the occupation as damage and
route around it. There is lethal fratricide in Iraq because there is
violent disagreement about the appropriate nature of the state. The
stakes are huge and the historical record is dire. '30,000-50,000
additional' non-Arabic speakers in mirrorshades and body armor can not
effect a permanent change in that problem." (11/14/06)

http://highclearing.com/index.php/archives/2006/11/14/5605

-----

27) Are we really entitled to this?
TCS Daily
by Jagadeesh Gokhale

"As reported by its trustees, Social Security's total imbalance has
increased from $10.4 trillion in 2004 to $13.4 trillion in 2006 -- a
jump of $3.0 trillion in just two years. And Medicare's imbalance has
grown from $61.6 trillion in 2004 to $70.5 trillion today -- an
increase of $8.9 trillion in the same period. That's $11.9 trillion in
new debt in the past two years alone. Put another way, it's 85 percent
of the $14 trillion of GDP that the United States will likely produce
this year." (11/14/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=111306B

-----

28) Bottom line to US Mint warning
Free Market News Network
by Bernard von NotHaus

"Let's be serious: The US Mint only exists to mint coins. Its warning
is only about the Silver Liberty and has nothing to do with the Silver
Certificates or the digital currency. In fact, it has no jurisdiction
over the Liberty Dollar, over you, or over me. The US Mint Chief
Counsel cannot cite any legal authority to support the recent
accusations. As the Monetary Architect of the Liberty Dollar and the
responsible party, if I am such a heinous criminal I should be
indicted by the United States Department of Justice. Alternatively,
the US Mint immediately must stop claiming that using the Liberty
Dollar, as voluntary barter is a crime. The idea that an American
citizen cannot use a piece of gold or silver (or, for that matter,
anything) in voluntary transactions between consulting adults is
preposterous, antagonistic to a free market, and totally without legal
merit or any law purporting to prohibit it." (11/14/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/26/6379/bottom.asp?nid=6379&wid=26

-----

29) Evangelical group's motto: Breed to succeed
AlterNet
by Kathryn Joyce

"Quiverfull parents try to have upwards of six children. They
home-school their families, attend fundamentalist churches and follow
biblical guidelines of male headship -- 'Father knows best' -- and
female submissiveness. They refuse any attempt to regulate pregnancy.
Quiverfull began with the publication of Rick and Jan Hess's 1989
book, A Full Quiver: Family Planning and the Lordship of Christ, which
argues that God, as the 'Great Physician' and sole 'Birth Controller,'
opens and closes the womb on a case-by-case basis. Women's attempts to
control their own bodies -- the Lord's temple -- are a seizure of
divine power." (11/14/06)

http://www.alternet.org/story/44254/

-----

30) Finally term limited
The American Spectator
by Andrew Cline

"This year marks Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert's 20th year in
the U.S. House. Had Hastert been able to stay on as speaker for the
110th Congress, he would have tied Massachusetts Democrats Tip O'Neill
and John McCormack as the longest-serving House speaker in U.S.
history. For anyone who remembers being energized by the Republican
Revolution of 1994 and its outsider vs. insider mantle, that
historical tidbit is cringe-inducing. Hastert presided over a
Republican-controlled House that each year became more cynical, more
spend-happy, and more obsessed with maintaining power." (11/14/06)

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10627

-----

31) How not to tax oil
The Free Liberal
by Fred E. Foldvary

"What is special about oil, that it should be singled out for a tax?
Oil in the ground is a natural resource, a type of land. The market
value of the oil, after subtracting out the normal costs of
exploration and production, is an economic rent, a surplus that can be
tapped for public revenue just like other types of land rent. Tapping
this economic profit does not hurt enterprise, production, and
investment, and does not change the price or quantity of production.
That is the nature of a surplus, which is in effect a 'free lunch.'
Yes, contrary to the popular saying that there ain't no free lunch,
there really are free meals in the economy, various kinds of
'surplus.'" (11/14/06)

http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002418.html

-----

32) Lose a war, lose an election
LewRockwell.Com
by William S. Lind

"Lose a war, lose an election. What else should anyone expect,
especially when the war is one we never had to fight? Had Spain
defeated us in '98, does anyone think T.R. would have been elected in
1900? A logical corollary is, lose two wars, lose two elections. With
the war in Afghanistan following that in Iraq down the tube, 2008 may
not be a Republican year. Even better, by 2008 the American people may
have figured out that the two parties are really one party, neither
wing of which knows or much cares what it is doing. The vehicle for
this realization may once again be the war in Iraq. The next two
years, rather than seeing us extricate ourselves from the Iraqi swamp,
are likely to witness us floundering ever deeper into it." (11/14/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/lind/lind112.html

-----

33) Be careful what you believe
National Review
by Rich Lowry

"Elections produce two things -- new elected officials and bogus
conventional wisdom. Once they gain widespread circulation, erroneous
beliefs about elections are difficult to reverse and can be nearly as
important as who won or lost. Here are seven myths rapidly gaining
acceptance among conservatives, liberals or both ..." (11/14/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ycllur

-----

34) Self-defense isn't a privilege, it's a right
Liberty For All
by CCRKBA staff

"The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today
responded to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's latest outrage --
suggesting that citizens in his city don't need gun permits -- by
reminding the anti-gun rights mayor that 'Self defense isn't a
privilege, it's a right.' Bloomberg announced on his radio program
that he wants to reduce the number of people who have concealed
handgun permits in the Big Apple. He told his radio audience, 'If you
tell me you need a gun permit, you're telling me you don't think the
NYPD can do a good job in protecting you. Most people, I don't see any
reason why they need it.'" [editor's note: Actually, Bloomberg is
right -- New Yorkers DON'T need "permits" to exercise their
inalienable rights. It might be instructive if examples were made of
the next five uniformed thugs who tried to make arrests on "weapons
charges," though - TLK] (11/13/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=375

-----

35) What empire does to a culture
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Roderick T. Long

"Today I wish to consider a certain argument for empire that comes not
from liberty's enemies but from its friends -- though on this issue
misguided friends, in my opinion. I shall call it the cosmopolitan
argument for empire. According to the cosmopolitan argument for
empire, there is a tendency for empires to be more tolerant and
pluralistic than the more local regimes they subsume, precisely
because they draw on a wider variety of cultural traditions and
values." (11/13/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2374

-----

36) The repudiation of Bush
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Sheldon Richman

"'Power tends to corrupt,' Lord Acton famously said. 'And absolute
power corrupts absolutely.' The voters apparently agreed. It's
reasonable to conclude from the election results that most voters felt
the Republicans had been in power too long. The hopeless war in Iraq,
the culture of corruption and incompetence, the spending binge (which
includes the war), the grating social conservatism, and the autocratic
arrogance approaching the dictatorial -- all culminated in a
thunderous repudiation of President Bush and the Republican Party. It
couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch." (11/10/06)

http://www.fff.org/comment/com0611b.asp

-----

37) Transforming appreciation into action
Center For Individual Freedom
by staff

"How can those of us who never served in our military possibly
demonstrate our gratitude, appreciation and reverence for the men and
women who wore the uniform and fought the fights to protect our
freedom? ... As young men and women once again put themselves in
harm's way in Iraq, Afghanistan and a range of other theaters that
might remain secret for years, thoughts and prayers feel inadequate.
Appreciation demands something more tangible." (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/sw299

-----

38) Enviro fog calculus
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Angela Logomasini

"A new report by the World Wildlife Fund says if current trends
continue, the Earth will be too small to sustain humanity. 'Pressures
on the Earth's natural systems are both predictable and dire,' says
the Living Planet Report 2006. But if current trends continue, such
environmentalist predictions will continue to be wrong -- and
dangerous. Environmentalists have been making such wrongheaded --
anti-growth, anti-technology -- predictions since Rachel Carson
launched the movement with her 1962 book 'Silent Spring.'" (11/10/06)

http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,05602.cfm

-----

39) Speed cameras trade real liberty for false security
Liberty For All
by Danny Brooks

"People will accept just about anything that's gradually implemented.
In 1759 Benjamin Franklin said, 'They that can give up essential
liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty
nor safety.' Since 9/11, security has weighed heavily on most peoples'
minds. One of the hot topics in Charlotte is a bill that deals with
this on a local level. The bill, which would permit the use of cameras
to catch speeders, was passed by the N.C. House of Representatives
Tuesday but requires Senate approval to become law." (written
08/04/03; posted 11/13/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=374

-----

40) Bake me a cake, Baker man
Slate
by Michael Kinsley

"The Baker commission -- that's James Baker, of course -- was
appointed by Congress to look into the situation in Iraq. It is
expected to report early next month and is duly bouncing around and
staffing up and holding hearings and all the things that prestigious
commissions do. Ordinarily, a commission like this has two possible
purposes: action or inaction. Sometimes a problem is referred to a
prestigious commission so that the commission can recommend what
everybody knows must be done but nobody who must run for election has
the nerve to propose. ... On the other hand, sometimes a problem is
referred to a commission simply to get it off the table. Action is
widely perceived as necessary, and the creation of a commission can be
made to look like action." (11/13/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2153592

-----

41) The power of moral ideas
Rebirth of Reason
by Joseph Rowlands

"A colleague of mine told me about a business trip he went on to a
foreign country. When he got there, he found himself under the
attention of an attractive young woman. She had surmised that he was a
wealthy businessman from America, and was offering more than just a
good conversation. Being the married man that he was, he declined.
Great right? But when he got back to the states, he kicked himself
over and over for being a fool. While he didn't cheat on his wife, he
felt like he should have. This is the power of a moral ideal." (11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/uc2dn

-----

42) The prediction markets stumble
Reason
by Katherine Mangu-Ward

"It's not often one finds oneself in a position to eat crow on behalf
of more than 50,000 people -- but here I am. My beloved election
prediction markets have failed me this cycle, and so I'm here to
apologize for the inaccuracy of the predictions I stole from those
markets, and for the failings of the tens of thousands of traders who
were supposed to illuminate the truth for us all. Usually, when people
-- especially pollsters -- predict election outcomes wrong, they say
something like 'No one could have guessed that the turnout would be so
high in the southwestern part of the state' and leave it at that. They
don't get fired, and they only occasionally even concede that they
might have something to apologize for. And maybe they don't. After
all, they're in the business of entertaining and informing, but
perfect accuracy isn't required." (11/13/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116693.html

-----

43) Bush's Iraq legacy
The Weekly Standard
by Robert Kagan & William Kristol

"President Bush has a little over two years left in office. The
central question facing him is this: What kind of Iraq will he
bequeath to his successor? Will it be an Iraq in a state of collapse,
a horrible and metastasizing mess dumped on the doorstep of the next
president? Or an Iraq on a path toward stability and success -- with
increasing security for Iraqi citizens, an increasingly viable
political system, and a developing economy? The answer will determine
how this president should be remembered by future generations." (for
publication 11/20/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y2rk7n

-----

44) Murtha can lead Iraq withdrawal
AlterNet
by Arianna Huffington

"Everywhere you look, 'experts' are sifting through the rubble of last
night and offering standard-issue, conventional wisdom-approved
explanations for the GOP's defeat. For a perfect example, check out
Ron Brownstein's reading of things in the LA Times, where he divines
that the 'GOP ceded the center and paid the price.' Or DLC founder Al
From, who -- surprise, surprise -- claimed Tuesday as 'a victory for
the vital center of American politics over the extremes.' Nonsense.
The GOP lost for three reasons: Iraq, Iraq, and Iraq. Period. End of
discussion." (11/10/06)

http://www.alternet.org/story/44123/

-----

45) Discussing climate change in Kenya
Reason
by Ronald Bailey

"Over 5000 climate change negotiators from 189 countries began meeting
last week in Nairobi, Kenya and will end their deliberations on
November 17. The goal of the 12th Conference of the Parties to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP-12)
and the second Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (MOP-2) is
to begin the process of figuring out what to do about greenhouse gas
emissions after the Kyoto Protocol commitment period ends in 2012. The
Kyoto Protocol obliges 35 industrialized nations to cut their domestic
emissions by 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. The Kyoto Protocol
applies to countries that emit about 30 percent of the world's
greenhouse gases. The United States, which emits about 25 percent of
the world's greenhouse gases, and Australia have not signed the
Protocol." (11/13/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116681.html

-----

46) Good-bye to all that
The American Conservative
by Austin W. Bramwell

"Until recently, it has been almost impossible for me to speak
candidly about the conservative movement, for it was my strange fate
to serve as director and later trustee of the movement's flagship
journal, National Review. Earlier this year, at William F. Buckley's
request, I resigned both positions. I can therefore now declare what
perhaps has oft been thought but never, at least not often enough,
expressed. Notwithstanding conservatives' belief that they, in
contrast to their partisan opponents, have thought deeply about the
challenges facing the United States, it is they who have become
unserious." (for publication 11/20/06)

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_11_20/cover.html

-----

47) The blue man who threw Montana to Tester
Mother Jones
by Josh Harkinson

"That [Stan] Jones could be the man who indirectly turned Montana, and
thus the whole Senate, blue, is oddly poetic given that Jones is
himself blue. By this I don't mean he's sad, louche, or a libertarian
with Democratic sympathies (though the lattermost is also true), but
that Stan Jones is blue. ... Not all the time, it should be noted. But
most definitely under fluorescent bulbs in Rotary clubs and rec
centers. Jones' blueness occasionally goes more than skin deep. He
sides with liberals against the War on Drugs, political action
committees, and the Patriot Act, which he dubs 'a major, major freedom
eliminator.' Jones thinks Tester's stance against the Patriot Act
gives him a slight edge over Burns, who 'wouldn't know what an
individual right was if it came up and bit him on the knee.'" (11/10/06)

http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2006/11/stan_jones.html

-----

48) Arrogant to the end
Truthout
by William Fisher

"Well, our Pentagon rock star is gone. President Bush's encomium to
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld after firing him last week was among the
most predictable -- and utterly forgettable -- remarks ever to come
out of a White House famous for its predictable and forgettable
statements. The president said the SecDef's leadership in Iraq and
Afghanistan 'drove Saddam Hussein from power and helped the Iraqi
people establish a constitutional democracy in the heart of the Middle
East.' On his watch, the president said, 'the men and women of our
military overthrew two terrorist regimes, liberated some 50 million
people, brought justice to the terrorist Zarqawi and scores of senior
al Qaeda operatives, and helped stop new terrorist attacks on our
people.' Rummy's response was perhaps less predictable and less
forgettable. America's misadventure in Iraq, he said, was 'a little
understood, unfamiliar war, the first war of the 21st century.' The
war was 'not well-known, it was not well-understood, it is complex for
people to comprehend.' So it's our fault, right?" (11/13/06)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306A.shtml

-----

49) No, we won't all be speaking Arabic next year
The Libertarian Enterprise
by Doug Newman

"Just scare people enough and -- if they lack any moral convictions --
they will believe anything. GWB wants us to believe that you are with
him or you are with 'the terrorists.' The Democrats' triumphs in
Tuesday's election have already been called a 'win' for 'the
terrorists.' As someone said to me last weekend, 'If it weren't for
Bush, we'd all be speaking Arabic!' ... Ever since 9/11, we have seen
what was left of our Constitution sent through the shredder. This was
done not by Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein, but by GWB and the U.S.
government. We have seen this in the USA Patriot Act, warrantless
domestic spying, horrendously intrusive airport security, torture of
prisoners and, now, the Military Commissions Act of 2006. (MCA 2006)
.... And, no, the end did not justify the means." (11/12/06)

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle393-20061112-05.html

-----

50) Safety vs. privacy on the T
Boston Globe
by Cynthia Stone Creem

"In recent years, terrorism has been used to justify expansive law
enforcement efforts that threaten civil liberties. In early October,
Governor Mitt Romney announced that Transit Authority Police would
begin random bag inspections for the purpose of finding explosives. Of
course our transit system needs to be secure. But these inspections
could easily become an unrestrained invasion of privacy. Searches can
be constitutional, but only under narrow circumstances and when
specific protections are in place. Amazingly, there has been little to
no questioning of this new MBTA program. To ensure the proper balance
between privacy rights and legitimate security concerns, the governor
needs to answer several questions: Why are these searches needed now?
These searches cannot be used to go on a 'fishing expedition' for any
criminal activity. Random suspicionless searches can only be used to
prevent a specific threat. Was there such a threat to the MBTA in late
September that we did not hear about?" (11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y47ojp

-----

51) Poor initiative
The American Prospect
by Ben Adler

"Among the more initially puzzling results to emerge from Tuesday was
the case of the anti-gay marriage ballot initiatives. On the one hand,
progressives had plenty of reason to be depressed -- they passed in
all but one state, including moderate swing states, like Wisconsin,
where a serious opposition movement had been active. On the other
hand, there was the remarkable exception of Arizona, which became the
first state in the union to reject an anti-gay marriage referendum.
But there's a larger silver lining to appreciate: the initiatives
appeared to have no detrimental electoral effect on Democratic
candidates. States that passed anti-gay marriage initiatives showed no
more tendency to swing Republican than the nation as a whole." (11/13/06)

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12208

-----

52) No exit strategy
Tom Paine
by Ray McGovern

"President George W. Bush meets today with members of the James
Baker-led Iraq Study Group against a background of chaos in Baghdad, a
quisling Iraqi government demonstrably incapable of stemming the
violence, and a resistance emboldened by the vote of no confidence
given to the president's Iraq policy last Tuesday. The Iraq Study
Group project was forced on a reluctant president by members of
Congress last March, with Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., pushing the
initiative. I had a brief conversation with Wolf in front of the House
Rayburn office building in March. He had been to Iraq and echoed the
party line that 'We cannot withdraw our troops quickly' -- but it
seemed to me, without whole-hearted conviction. I had the impression
that, even then, he sensed that neither could we stay. ... In view of
the upsurge in violence in Iraq and the midterm election results, the
president may be able to recognize that that time has now come."
(11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/wk8yj

-----

53) Stunning revelations
In These Times
by Silja J.A. Talvi

"The stun gun has already emerged from the speculative pages of
science fiction, and into the hands of military, corrections, and law
enforcement personnel. Senior Editor Silja J.A. Talvi takes a look at
what else is likely to be around the corner from Taser International,
Inc., and other companies testing out electricity-based technology for
the military. TASER International Inc. maintains that its stun-guns
are 'changing the world and saving lives everyday.' There is no
question that they changed Jack Wilson's life. On Aug. 4, in
Lafayette, Colo., policemen on a stakeout approached Jack's son Ryan
as he entered a field of a dozen young marijuana plants. When Ryan
took off running, officer John Harris pursued the 22-year-old for a
half-mile and then shot him once with an X-26 Taser. Ryan fell to the
ground and began to convulse. The officer attempted cardiopulmonary
resuscitation, but Ryan died." (11/13/06)

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2894/

-----

54) Gompers, Kennedy reincarnated and voting Republican
Arizona Republic
by Richard Ruelas

"This election cycle, the Arizona Republican Party reached out to a
heretofore underutilized pool of voters: former liberals who are now
dead. The party sent out two early-ballot request forms to Samuel
Gompers, the union leader active during the late 1800s, and Robert
Kennedy, the former U.S. Senator who was assassinated in 1968. The
forms were sent to a Phoenix address where neither man resides. Both
currently live among the choir invisible. But the early-ballot
requests gave both men a chance to get into a voting spirit. County
records list the two men as registered voters, though their
registration was probably fraudulent. Maybe as a goof. Available
election records show neither man has voted." (11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y3tzys

-----

55) New Congress, old politics
Fox News
by Susan Estrich

"Don't get too drunk on the bubbly yet, fellow Democrats. 'Control'
isn't all it's cracked up to be. This is not like winning the White
House. That's 'control.' When you win the presidency, you get control
of the entire executive branch. You can run the foreign policy of the
most powerful country on earth. You can issue executive orders without
asking anyone. You can appoint judges and justices who serve for life.
When you win control of Congress, you can schedule hearings. You can
run the House post office and the page program. You get better
offices, and more staff people. You also get attacked for not having a
plan. That's why Rush Limbaugh says he's liberated. He's liberated to
start attacking. But that doesn't mean Democrats have power. When was
the last time you heard anyone talking about the powerful House
Republicans? Not. Or the powerhouse Senate Republicans? And there were
more of them than there will be Senate Democrats." (11/12/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,228942,00.html

-----

56) The left's unwarranted giddiness
Strike the Root
by Daniel Patrick Welch

"In the US' two-party duopoly, voters are restricted to shifting power
from one side to the other to voice their dissatisfaction with
government. And, to be fair, voters did their part, kicking out
congressmen, senators and governors from coast to coast. But hopes
that this shift will lead to real changes in policy are, as Cosmo
Kramer might say, 'kooky talk.' Everybody can enjoy the sight of a
bully getting whooped, and the drubbing last Tuesday did indeed
provide some emotional solace for those who thought Bush and his
cronies could get away with anything at all. Still, this moment of
schadenfreude gives way to more fundamental questions as it becomes
clear that the torch has been passed from one side of the War Party to
the other." (11/134/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/welch/welch1.html

-----

57) Cuba won't abandon socialism just yet
Christian Science Monitor
by Paolo Spadoni

"Has Cuba finally realized that its socialist economic system suffers
from serious flaws, and even more important, that substantial
market-oriented reforms are needed to overcome such flaws? Last month,
Cuba's Communist Youth newspaper, Juventud Rebelde, ran a three-part
story on illegalities in the Cuban society that disclosed the results
of an investigation by its undercover reporters into state businesses
in the capital, Havana. The overall picture was one of rampant theft,
widespread fraudulent practices, and extreme inefficiency in most
retail stores and services of the Cuban capital. The newspaper also
revealed that a local team of academic specialists would begin
studying the issue of 'socialist property' in Cuba in search of ways
to improve the current economic model." (11/13/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1113/p09s01-coop.html

-----

58) Playing the politics of fear
Boston Globe
by Cathy Young

"As someone who has voted Republican more often than Democratic, I
knew I wanted the Republicans to take a beating at the polls when I
saw an ad best summed up as 'Vote Republican or die in a nuclear
conflagration.' After showing quotes from Al Qaeda terrorists about
seeking nuclear weapons to the accompaniment of a ticking timer, the
ad proclaimed, 'These are the stakes. Vote November 7th.' Scare
tactics are nothing new in politics. That ad, put out by the
Republican National Committee, echoes one of the most ignoble
political attacks in US history, run against a conservative Republican
in 1964: The ad that showed a girl picking petals off a daisy in a
countdown to a nuclear explosion, with the implication that the
hawkish Barry Goldwater would unleash nuclear war. In more recent
campaigns, politicians right and left have appealed to fear of crime
and fear of Social Security reform that would supposedly rob old
people blind." [editor's note: One hopes this might at least cure Ms.
Young of that unfortunate tendency to "vote Republican!" - SAT] (11/13/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y9kz4s

*******************************************************************
* RRND MEDIA SHELF -- Tchotchkes from today's edition
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* A Full Quiver, by Ricky and Jan Hess
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0943497833/rationalrev08-20
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* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618249060/rationalrev08-20
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* Note: Affiliate links generate commissions for RRND's editors.
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* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
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59) Free Talk Live, 11/13/06
Free Talk Live

"Our listener Dave goes to Federal court, Judge lies to him and slaps
him with a fine for 'distributing handbills on federal property.' So
much for free speech! / Standing Armies / Britney Spears Sex Tape /
Playstation 3 and the continuing video game wars / Appealing / Hell /
DRO / Insurgents in control of Falluja again." [MP3] (11/13/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-11-13.mp3

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

60) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for upcoming freedom movement events. Don't
see yours? Drop us a line at info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

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61) Auction: Rational Review top banner

It's that time of year! As publisher of Rational Review, one of my
"perks" is ownership of the banner ad space that appears at the top of
each and every page on the site (as well as at the bottom of every
page on my personal blog, Kn@ppster). I auction that space annually.
The auction begins now, and ends at midnight, November 30th, with
payment due by December 15th. Your ad (468x60 pixels and no larger
than 16Kb in file size) begins running on January 1st, 2007, to run
thereafter until midnight of December 31st, 2007. My "reserve price"
is $200. Please email bids (and questions) to me at info at
rationalreview.com. I'll try to answer frequent questions in the
comment form here, and I'll update this entry daily with the high
current bid.

Current High Bid: $0.00
High Bidder's Initials: N/A

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20587

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

62) TR: Independence for Philippines -- someday

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

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* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
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* Volume IV, Issue #1,024
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In The News:

0)  Morning or Mourning in America?
1)  Iraq: US toll hits 23 for month as 3 more killed
2)  Iran stands firm over EU sanctions
3)  Vietnam: 3 Americans convicted on terror charges
4)  Germany: Nazis attack memorial, arrested
5)  FBI investigating taped beating of LA man
6)  Mehlman to step down from RNC post
7)  Startling findings in Tillman probe
8)  Government to launch Yo-Yo Ball investigation
9)  Gates inherits challenges at Pentagon
10) Mubarak warns against hanging Saddam
11) Rumsfeld acknowledges rocky turn in Iraq war
12) Massive recall of acetaminophen begins
13) Iraqi official: 150,000 civilians dead
14) Data sharing program raises privacy concerns
15) Iraq: Fallujah returns to insurgent hands
16) Australia: Asbestos dumped at school
17) Majorcan cake causes headache at airport
18) India recruits beggars to curb spread of AIDS
19) OH: Bar busted for "Thong Thursdays"
20) MD: Gunfight leaves 1 dead, 1 injured
21) Pelosi's day: Speaker-to-be soaks in the reality
22) GOP defeat may boost McCain
23) Hill's joke misunderstood, stars say
24) NC: Soccer team suspended for Hitler speech
25) MA: State says it will take control of city voting

Everybody Has An Opinion:

26) Post-election thoughts
27) An open letter to libertarian Republicans
28) What the media isn't telling you about the MCA
29) Immigration and population
30) What is government and why do we have it?
31) Stern und drang
32) Does father know best?
33) Bush confronts history ... and loses
34) Credit where due
35) Arms bearing can bear the defeat
36) Night in Joco
37) GOP defeat means Iraqi insurgency has won
38) A deep, deep breath
39) Watching the US elections from Canada
40) Blood on the tracks
41) Politicians sweep midterm elections
42) Progressive Caucus rising
43) Contra Gates
44) The Cheney-Gates cabal
45) Didn't see it coming
46) Replacing Rumsfeld: Why is it OK the President lied?
47) A victory for people-powered politics
48) Marriage rights go beyond the ballot
49) The GOP triangulates
50) Who gets it; who doesn't
51) Republican election fiasco
52) From Russia, with love
53) Post-election etiquette
54) The radical deaf
55) Speaker Pelosi's impending intelligence failure
56) What now for Bush?
57) Rumsfeld's replacement: The Robert Gates file
58) Not enough funds
59) How "sweatshops" help the poor
60) Financing the empire
61) End of the revolution
62) Electronic voting is threatening US democracy
63) Unemployment by legal decree
64) Risk of liberal domination
65) Greedy carpetbaggers from NY meet greedy of SC

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

66) The Pentagon -- raising the Gates
67) Free Talk live, 11/09/06

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

68) Today's events
69) Auction: Rational Review top banner

WaYbAcK:

70) Here's to you and to our Corps ...

***************
* In The News
***************

0)  Morning or Mourning in America?

Today wraps up the second week of our extended symposium on the 2006
US congressional elections. Share your thoughts on the outcome.

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20010

-----

1)  Iraq: US toll hits 23 for month as 3 more killed
ABC News

"Two U.S. soldiers and a Marine were killed in Iraq, the U.S. military
said Friday, bringing the number of Americans who have died in the
country so far this month to 23. ... The two American soldiers,
assigned to the 89th Military Police Brigade, died when the vehicle
they were traveling in was hit by a roadside bomb Thursday in western
Baghdad .... The Marine, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5, died
Thursday from wounds suffered in fighting in Anbar province." (11/10/06)

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2643672

-----

2)  Iran stands firm over EU sanctions
EuroNews [France]

"Iran's top nuclear negotiator says it will reconsider its ties with
the UN's atomic watchdog if European drafted sanctions are approved.
Ali Larijani's been speaking in Moscow, where he's attending talks on
Tehran's disputed nuclear programme, with Russia's Foreign Minister,
Sergey Lavrov. Iran has repeatedly warned that it will block
inspections of its nuclear programme by the International Atomic
Energy Agency if the UN imposed sanctions." (11/10/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vmhqg

-----

3)  Vietnam: 3 Americans convicted on terror charges
Boston Herald

"Three Vietnamese-Americans were convicted on terrorism charges Friday
after being accused of trying to take over radio airwaves and call for
an uprising against Vietnam's communist government. A judge sentenced
the Americans and four Vietnamese to 15 months in prison, with credit
for time served. They all are expected to be freed within one month,
and the Americans required to leave the country within 10 days of
their release." (11/10/06)

http://news.bostonherald.com/international/view.bg?articleid=166659

-----

4)  Germany: Nazis attack memorial, arrested
BBC News [UK]

"German police have made 16 arrests after neo-Nazis vandalised a
Jewish memorial on the anniversary of the 1938 Kristallnacht pogrom.
The extremists destroyed wreaths and candles which had been left at
the memorial in Frankfurt an der Oder. Some shouted 'Sieg Heil' as
police arrived, officials said. Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)
saw mobs attack Jewish synagogues, homes and businesses across
Germany, beating some people to death." (11/10/06)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6135456.stm

-----

5)  FBI investigating taped beating of LA man
USA Today

"The FBI opened an investigation Thursday into video footage of a
police officer repeatedly striking a suspect in the face during a
struggle on a Hollywood street. Federal investigators initiated a
civil rights inquiry after the video from the three-month-old incident
came to the bureau's attention Thursday, FBI spokeswoman Laura
Eimiller said. The footage shows two officers holding down William
Cardenas, 24, on a sidewalk as one punches him several times in the
face before they are able to handcuff him. The struggling suspect
yells repeatedly, 'I can't breathe!'" (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yx5mc8

-----

6)  Mehlman to step down from RNC post
Memphis Commercial Appeal

"Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, whose party lost
both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, will step down
from his post when his two-year term ends in January, GOP officials
said Thursday. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity
because Mehlman had not yet made his intentions public. Brian Jones,
an RNC spokesman, declined to comment beyond saying that an
announcement about Mehlman's future with the party would be made in
the days ahead." (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/t3637

-----

7)  Startling findings in Tillman probe
Winchester Herald Chronicle

"In a remote and dangerous corner of Afghanistan, under the protective
roar of Apache attack helicopters and B-52 bombers, special agents and
investigators did their work. They walked the landscape with surviving
witnesses. They found a rock stained with the blood of the victim.
They re-enacted the killings -- here the U.S. Army Rangers swept
through the canyon in their Humvee, blasting away; here the doomed man
waved his arms, pleading for recognition as a friend, not an enemy."
(11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yz7z5v

-----

8)  Government to launch Yo-Yo Ball investigation
MSNBC

"A federal agency will take another look at Yo-Yo Water Balls, a
popular toy blamed for injuring more than 400 children across the
country, after a detailed report on the hazards of the toy in this
week's ConsumerMan column. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has
decided to launch a 'formal, in-depth investigation' into the case of
a 5-year-old Bellevue, Wash., boy that was detailed in the MSNBC.com
column, a spokesman for the agency said." (11/09/06)

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15639677/

-----

9)  Gates inherits challenges at Pentagon
Utica Observer-Dispatch

"President Bush's choice to head the Pentagon will inherit an
unpopular war in Iraq, a straining military mobilized in hot spots
around the world and a budget that commanders complain has underfunded
their combat needs. Robert Gates' biggest hurdle will doubtless be
meeting the high expectations for an Iraq exit strategy under pressure
from next year's Democratic-controlled Congress and a war-weary
American public." (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y9per4

-----

10) Mubarak warns against hanging Saddam
Longmont Daily Times-Call

"Egypt's president came out strongly against hanging Saddam Hussein,
saying in remarks published Thursday that it could make Iraq explode
into more violence. But Iraq's prime minister said the execution could
take place by the end of the year. The statement from President Hosni
Mubarak of Eygpt broke an uneasy silence among Arab leaders over
Sunday's verdict by an Iraqi court, which convicted Saddam for the
killings of some 150 Shiite Muslims after an assassination attempt
against him in 1982." (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yjj4pc

-----

11) Rumsfeld acknowledges rocky turn in Iraq war
CNN

"Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld acknowledged Thursday progress
in the Iraq war has not been going 'well enough or fast enough' in his
first extended remarks since announcing his resignation under
political pressure. Rumsfeld said little about his impending departure
when speaking to a friendly audience of students, teachers and
military personnel at Kansas State University. Instead, he offered a
retrospective of sorts on his two tours as defense chief while echoing
President Bush's appraisal that the conflict has been going poorly in
recent months." (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygv25p

-----

12) Massive recall of acetaminophen begins
Port Huron Times-Herald

"Check your medicine cabinet: Millions of bottles of the widely used
pain reliever acetaminophen -- some sold as long as three years ago --
are being recalled because they may contain metal fragments. The
recall affects 11 million bottles containing varying quantities of
500-milligram acetaminophen caplets made by the Perrigo Co. The pills
were sold under store brands by Wal-Mart, CVS, Safeway and more than
120 other major retailers, the Food and Drug Administration said."
(11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ylhe3o

-----

13) Iraqi official: 150,000 civilians dead
Greensboro News-Record

"A stunning new death count emerged Thursday, as Iraq's health
minister estimated 150,000 civilians have been killed in the war --
about three times previously accepted estimates. Moderate Sunni
Muslims, meanwhile, threatened to walk away from politics and pick up
guns, while the Shiite-dominated government renewed pressure on the
United States to unleash the Iraqi army and claimed it could crush
violence in six months." (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yhqavr

-----

14) Data sharing program raises privacy concerns
Heartland Institute

"On September 1, The New York Times, USA Today, and other media
outlets reported a student at Northwestern University's Medill School
of Journalism, working with The Associated Press, had uncovered a
little-known data-sharing program conducted by the FBI and U.S.
Department of Education. The program was disbanded shortly after the
story broke. According to those sources, the program -- termed
'Operation Strike Back' -- was initiated after the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks, targeting current or potential terror suspects who
may have been using student identification and federal or commercial
student loan funding for illicit purposes. The FBI sought and received
from the Department of Education personal data about several hundred
college students." (11/06)

http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=20114

-----

15) Iraq: Fallujah returns to insurgent hands
Star Tribune

"Two years after U.S. troops launched a devastating ground assault
that purged, at least temporarily, the heart of the Iraqi insurgency,
Fallujah once again is a violent place. In recent months, insurgents
have filtered back into the city, despite tight controls that limit
access to only six checkpoints. Residents must submit to an
extraordinary identification system that includes fingerprinting,
retina scans and bar-coded identification cards. An insurgent
intimidation campaign has killed two City Council members and at least
30 police officers. The campaign has been so effective that police
patrols have all but stopped, as officers fear to walk the streets.
The number of shootings, bombings and bombs found and defused has
doubled since last winter, to about four or five a day, U.S. officers
say. There have been about half a dozen car bombings in recent weeks.
... Residents and police alike complain bitterly that after two years
security is eroding in what had been a U.S. success story." [editor's
note: The rape of Fallujah was never a US "success story," unless you
consider an extended version of My Lai a "success" - TLK] (11/08/06)

http://www.startribune.com/722/story/797820.html

-----

16) Australia: Asbestos dumped at school
Australia News

"A parent discovered the broken asbestos fibro sheeting crushed up in
soil at Panania North Public School early today. WorkCover NSW was
called and has watered the soil, fenced it off and covered it to
prevent students being exposed to asbestos fibres.Construction
Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) NSW secretary Andrew Ferguson
said it appeared the soil was excavated from a nearby house to make
way for a swimming pool and accepted by the school as free fill for a
new garden bed." (11/09/06)

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20728948-1702,00.html

-----

17) Majorcan cake causes headache at airport
Breitbart

"Majorca's famed ensaimada pastries gave airport security staff a
two-day headache as they struggled to determine whether a jam filling
constituted a liquid which would therefore fall foul of anti-terror
restrictions, Spanish media reported. Police and airport authority
Aena had put the filled version of the cake on a list of banned items
which came into force on Monday, evidently forgetting that the cake
comes in two varieties: the plain, unfilled version or that filled
with 'angel's hair' (squash jam) or a range of creams or purees."
(11/08/06)

http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/061108201542.jfspeczn.html

-----

18) India recruits beggars to curb spread of AIDS
Yahoo! News

"Thousands of beggars in eastern India have been recruited to help
stem the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus by singing songs and acting in
plays about safe sex. Officials in the impoverished state of Bihar say
they want to train many of the state's estimated 100,000 vagrants to
sing songs in trains and buses and beside busy roads, as well as enact
street plays about the deadly virus." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yyrpus

-----

19) OH: Bar busted for "Thong Thursdays"
WCPO News

"A Covington bar must now 'cover up' after it was busted for baring
backsides. According to the Cincinnati Post, police using binoculars
could clearly see the activites associated with 'Thong Thursdays' at
Joe's. But ironically, the problem wasn't with the bare bottoms, it
was that they could be seen from the street. The owner of Joe's says
he's happy to cover the windows if it means 'Thong Thursdays' can live
on. " [editor's note: Seen clearly from the street, with binoculars.
Oh, the horror - MLS] (11/09/06)

http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/11/09/thursdays.html

-----

20) MD: Gunfight leaves 1 dead, 1 injured
Washington Post

"One man was killed and another was critically wounded Sunday during a
'gun battle' at a Crofton home, Anne Arundel County police said.
Responding after noon to a report of a shooting at 1709 Leisure Way,
police found one man dead. He has not been identified. A resident of
the house, Christopher Michael Haramis, 25, had been shot multiple
times, police said. He was in critical condition yesterday at Maryland
Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. Police said the shooting may have
been tied to an earlier confrontation during a party at the house.
About 2 a.m., police said, a man and a woman who had stepped outside
the house were confronted by two men looking for cash. 'The persons
inside the residence came out and basically interrupted the robbery
and subsequently fought with the robbers,' said Lt. David Waltemeyer,
a police spokesman. 'The robbers then ran away, making away with
money, and no one was injured.' Those robbers may have been the two
men who came to the house midday Sunday, Waltemeyer said. Haramis, who
was inside the house with three others, was armed and shot the
intruder, who died at the house, police said." (11/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxz8yk

-----

21) Pelosi's day: Speaker-to-be soaks in the reality
San Francisco Chronicle

"House speaker-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi had catnapped for a couple
hours after her exuberant late-night victory party when the phone rang
at 7:15 a.m. at her Georgetown penthouse overlooking the Potomac
River. Pelosi, whose daughter Alexandra is expecting, instantly
assumed it was news of the baby's arrival. 'Are we getting a baby this
morning?' she asked excitedly. On the other end of the line was a very
confused White House operator. Soon after came the wisecracking voice
of President Bush. 'Say, is this Madam Speaker-to-be?' The
congratulatory call Wednesday was the start of a whirlwind day that
featured a televised news conference, interviews with TV news anchors
Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Brit Hume and Wolf Blitzer and calls
from well-wishers, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and
the man she's about to displace, Republican House Speaker Dennis
Hastert of Illinois." [editor's note: SO, bidness as usual on the Hill
... - SAT] (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxvcpb

-----

22) GOP defeat may boost McCain
Arizona Republic

"Arizona Sen. John McCain's party suffered a stunning setback on
Tuesday as voters overwhelmingly rejected Republican candidates in
congressional, gubernatorial and local races around the country. It
may be just the development McCain needs to launch his bid for the
White House. 'McCain is actually one of the winners of last night's
(Tuesday's) voting,' said Frank Luntz, a pollster with GOP ties. 'He's
in a better situation today because Republicans will have lost both
houses of Congress, ... [and] you may not agree with John McCain on
everything, but you'd rather have him in the White House than
Hillary.'" [editor's note: If those are the choices, God help us all;
yet another matter of who one despises the least, which over the last
couple decades got us Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Bush ... Vote
because you LIKE your selection ... or stay home! - SAT] (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y6wke7

-----

23) Hill's joke misunderstood, stars say
Tennessean

"Several country stars are rallying to the defense of Faith Hill,
whose on-camera antics during Monday's Country Music Association
Awards have created a national stir. As Carrie Underwood's name was
announced as the winner of the female vocalist award, Hill looked at
the camera, raised her hands, said, 'What?' and then turned away. She
issued a statement on Tuesday that said she had been joking. 'I've
seen the tape, and just because I know Faith, it is obvious to me that
she was just clowning around,' said her close friend Martina McBride,
also a female vocalist nominee. 'I am sure looking back on it -- I
can't put words in her mouth -- it was something she obviously didn't
think through. It was off the cuff, and she was just having fun. She
didn't ever think it was go ing to be blown this far out of
proportion.'" [editor's note: This may seem out of place here, but
it's amazing how much 'buzz' the non-story generated, about one of the
truly good souls in the entertainment world - SAT] (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y4qjak

-----

24) NC: Soccer team suspended for Hitler speech
Fox News

"Sensitivity training has been ordered for a high school soccer team
that broadcast part of a Nazi speech over the public address system
before a game. The North Carolina High School Association on Wednesday
also placed the boy's soccer team at Forestview High School on
probation for a year. An assistant coach and a player were suspended
for one game. 'We did a thorough investigation over a three-day
period,' Gaston County Schools Superintendent Reeves McGlohon said. 'I
think this is appropriate.' The aired segment was taken from a speech
by Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and contained the team's
slogan, 'On to victory.' The speech was played about an hour before
Forestview played a playoff game Saturday against Charlotte Catholic."
(11/09/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,228379,00.html

-----

25) MA: State says it will take control of city voting
Boston Globe

"Secretary of State William F. Galvin declared yesterday that he will
seize control of the Boston Election Department because the city has
repeatedly demonstrated an inability to conduct fair and smooth
elections. The extraordinary move followed reports that the city ran
out of ballots Tuesday at about 30 precincts in Mattapan, Dorchester,
Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and East Boston, heavily minority areas where
voters turned out in droves to support Deval L. Patrick for governor.
City officials acknowledged they have a policy of distributing only
enough ballots for 50 percent of registered voters at each polling
place and then delivering more ballots from City Hall as they are
needed." (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yh5gre

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 11/10/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 46,915 ... Max - 52,021
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,839
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

26) Post-election thoughts
Wolfesblog
by Claire Wolfe

"Fashionable talk is right now that the alleged libertarian bloc
(around 13 percent of the country, according to the Catoites) is the
great swing faction & that politicians are all missing an enormous bet
by not catering to us. Yeah. But how can they cater to real
libertarians? All they can do is up their lie quotient. We promise to
limit the size of government. We promise to respect the Bill of
Rights. We promise to end the drug war. We promise no foreign
adventurism. We promise to eliminate useless excresences like the
Department of Education. We promise to repeal all laws that hinder
peaceable gun ownership. Yeah, right.Politicians may cynically use us,
as 'Saint Reagan' (and later the oily and inexcusable Bush 2000) did
-- conning hopeful and naive freedom seekers into offering up
limited-government votes for their unlimited-government ends." (11/09/06)

http://www.clairewolfe.com/wolfesblog/00002287.html

-----

27) An open letter to libertarian Republicans
from Reason to Freedom
by Thomas L. Knapp

"Dear libertarian Republicans, It's been some time since I've used the
term 'libertarian Republicans' without quote marks around
'libertarian,' but Tuesday's election results opened a window of
opportunity for reconciliation between the libertarian movement and
its errant Republican offshoot -- a window that I hope both sides will
hold open and use for the purpose of friendly communication and mutual
support. For now, at least, I'm removing the quote marks, in the hope
that libertarian Republicans will re-evaluate their priorities, place
principle before party, and exploit the golden opportunity which the
2006 elections have placed before them. Most of you, I suspect, are
less than happy with what transpired on Tuesday. You shouldn't be."
(11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykr3uv

-----

28) What the media isn't telling you about the MCA
International Society for Individual Liberty
by Jarret Wollstein

"For all practical purposes, the Military Commissions Act places the
military in control of prisons and courts for anyone accused of being
a terrorist -- thus eliminating the judicial branch of government. It
also abolishes fundamental legal rights (such as the writ of habeas
corpus) which date back over 700 years to the Magna Carta. This new
system makes it impossible to determine actual innocence or guilt, and
celebrates arbitrary judgment and brutality. So this only applies to
foreign terrorists who 'deserve what they get,' including torture,
being imprisoned forever without trial, and summary execution, right?
That's what you might believe from the way the media is reporting this
story. But the reality is that nothing in the Act prevents U.S.
citizens in America from being secretly arrested, imprisoned and
tortured for the rest of their lives." (11/09/06)

http://www.isil.org/towards-liberty/military-commissions-act.html

-----

29) Immigration and population
Institute for Liberal Values
by Jim Peron

"I just listened to a debate on immigration. The anti-liberty view was
promoted by someone with the odd name of Frosty Wooldridge. I listened
to his views and even went and read some of the essays he wrote. His
anti-immigration view was based on several claims. One was that
population impoverishes a nation and letting in more people will make
a nation poorer. His second argument was that this poverty is due to
the fact that we are running out of resources. And third he argued
that these 'people' ... have bad values, are destructive to the
nation, etc. In other words take some Malthusian panics, add in a dose
of socialist economics and toss in a pinch of nationalist racism and
you have Wooldridge's argument." (11/10/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yznr38

-----

30) What is government and why do we have it?
Liberty For All
by Donna Mancini

"What is Government? Government is 'other people' who have been deemed
the 'legitimate use of weapons and force' in a given location by
supposedly the majority of its inhabitants. Why do we want and accept
government? ... Does government 'work' or achieve its noble goals? No,
It does not. The nature of government is to force people, and people
resist being forced, which they should!" (11/09/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=369

-----

31) Stern und drang
TCS Daily
by Tim Worstall

"My concern with the whole climate change movement, the very idea of
it, has always been based on the economic fundamentals that underpin
it. I've said here several times that I am largely with Lomborg:
climate change is happening, emissions are causing at least some of it
and we're responsible for at least some of those. I've not argued with
the idea of a greenhouse effect as a quick comparison of Venus, Mars
and the Earth show that it exists all right. But I have argued,
repeatedly, that people are misunderstanding the Special Report on
Emissions Scenarios (SRES) which are the economic models that underlie
the UN IPCC reports on climate change. What is worse right now is that
the Stern Review appears to have badly misunderstood what is being
said in the SRES." (11/10/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=110806C

-----

32) Does father know best?
AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo

"Leave it to the Americans to consider their foreign policy in terms
of a family drama: the current narrative is that Rummy's exit signals
the arrival of Daddy's Wise Men to bail out Junior from the mess he's
made in the Iraqi sandbox. Like a frat boy who has maxed out his
credit card or totaled his flashy new sports car, poor little
Georgie-Porgie has finally turned to Daddykins for advice he once
spurned. Just like in an episode of Father Knows Best -- or, better
yet, Leave It To Beaver … If Richard Perle is Eddie Haskell, and Dubya
is Wally, then no wonder the events of the past few days strike a note
of deja vu." (11/10/06)

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=9989

-----

33) Bush confronts history ... and loses
LewRockwell.Com
by Christopher Manion

"Yes, Republicans are outraged that Bush made the party a hostage to
his war. But why aren't they outraged that Bush made the country and
the Constitution hostage to the decisions of a bunch of Middle Eastern
Shiites, Kurds, and Sunnis that few Americans had ever heard of five
years ago? Why is America's fate in their hands? Is this what Bush
means by 'exporting democracy?' By handing critical decisions our
national sovereignty over to a bunch of foreign strangers? Why must
America's future be mortgaged to the question, whether a bunch of
foreigners with whom we have never even had a (debated, publicly
disclosed) treaty will 'stand up' or 'stand down?' Where is that in
the Constitution?" (11/10/06)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/manion/manion68.html

-----

34) Credit where due
Cato Institute
by Adam B. Schaeffer

"With Eliot Spitzer running almost 50 points ahead in New York's
gubernatorial 'race,' it seems safe to crown him the winner. Most of
us know Spitzer for his anti-corporate adventures as the state's
swashbuckling attorney general, but although he might be bad for
business, he could be surprisingly good for kids. As Kathleen Lucadamo
reported in Monday's Daily News, Spitzer, 'speaking to Orthodox Jews
at a Brooklyn yeshiva, said it is unjust that private schools educate
15 percent of the state's students but get only 1 percent of the
education budget.' Spitzer couldn't be more right. He supports
encouraging public education through private means, and is
increasingly unabashed in saying so." (11/10/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6765

-----

35) Arms bearing can bear the defeat
National Review
by Dave Kopel

"The Second Amendment has emerged from the biggest Democratic victory
since 1974 with relatively little damage. One reason is that in races
all over the country, Democrats returned to their Jefferson-Jackson
roots by running candidates who trust the people to bear arms. ...
Nevertheless, the class of pro-gun Democrats who will be joining the
House and the Senate includes some who will eventually become party
leaders, and who will help move the Democratic party back towards its
traditional position of respect for the civil liberties of the
American people. A very constructive development, in the long run."
(11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y2k9sk

-----

36) Night in Joco
Fred On Everything
by Fred Reed

"Americans, here and elsewhere, usually regard Mexicans with
unconscious condescension as a race of maids and gardeners. In the
local English-language fish-wrapper, the Ojo del Lago, one finds
endless articles, apparently written by middle-schoolers, about how
the writers just love the culture and why, they just had some
wonderful Mexican experience only the other day and just respect
Mexico sooo much; the tone reminds me of admiration of a collie's
adroitness with a Frisbee. They do not know that they are doing this.
The Mexicans regard the Americans as helpless greyhairs who always
seem lost, and walk with the body language of a mouse in a
herpetarium; Mexicans do not know that many of the gringos have had
lives and know things and were not always old and out of their
element. It is an orgy of mutual underestimation." (11/08/06)

http://www.fredoneverything.net/NightofDead.shtml

-----

37) GOP defeat means Iraqi insurgency has won
Guardian [UK]
by Simon Jenkins

"The ugly American mark two is dead. Overnight six years of glib
European identification of 'American' with rightwing fantasism is
over. The gun-toting, pre-Darwinian Bushite, the tomahawk-wielding,
Halliburton-loving, Beltway neocon calling abortion murder and
torturing Arabs as 'Islamofascists' has been laid to rest, and by a
decision of the American people. Another McCarthy raised its head over
the western horizon and has been slapped down. It is a good day for
level-headed Americans." [editor's note: I think Jenkins is letting
euphoria suppress good sense here -- whether anything has really
changed, or will, is very much open to question - TLK] (11/09/06)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1942896,00.html

-----

38) A deep, deep breath
Truthout
by William Rivers Pitt

"The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of
Rights are the only truths that each and every citizen of this country
have completely in common. They are our unifying theme, our organizing
principle, and we share this together because the basic idea was, and
remains, that these belong to us and defend us and set us, now and
forever, free. ... Before the sun came up on Wednesday, that shared
heritage had been under a savage, unrelenting attack by men and women
who have no respect for the idea and the dream which makes us all that
we are as a people. The right to a trial has been shattered, the right
to stand before your accuser has been removed, the right to be secure
in home and person from governmental intrusion has been swept by the
boards, and all by a president who once referred to the Constitution
as 'just a God damned piece of paper.' These cancers have not been cut
out simply because of an election, of course. But the first, vital
step towards repairing our shared heritage was taken on Tuesday night,
simply because we have at long last returned to the basic
Constitutional requirement of checks and balances within this
government." [editor's note: Of course, not a single solitary Dem
campaigned on the issue of 'restoring the Constitution' to my
knowledge. And in the aftermath speeches, 'restoring the Constitution'
has not been mentioned one single solitary time. All the speeches I've
heard from Dems have been about 'raising minimum wage' or other
trivialities. Well, maybe the rank and file can hold the new bosses'
feet to the flames. I won't hold my breath - MLS] (11/09/06)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110906Z.shtml

-----

39) Watching the US elections from Canada
CounterPunch
by John Chuckman

"The Democratic Party has been all but dead for years as a meaningful
national alternative. The party has no recognized national leader. It
has no cause, no fire in the belly. It has been largely silent for six
years while Bush rampaged through the world and literally peed on
American liberties like a grotesquely-smirking, small-town sheriff. No
President in history has shown so little respect for human rights, and
with so little excuse, yet all the would-be defenders of the Republic,
whether Congressmen or the Don't-Tread-on-Me crowd, have been no where
to be seen. And Democrats like Lieberman or Kerry can hardly be
distinguished from Republicans.The Democrats have been elected because
Americans are now sick of Iraq. Their enthusiasms die quickly.
American expectations for the wars they start are perfectly captured
by the image of Bush landing on an aircraft carrier with a big banner
behind him saying Mission Accomplished. It's a blockbuster version of
the Homecoming Game with guys in uniforms and cheerleaders and flags,
and there is no hint of death or decay. Anything beyond that kind of
performance is welcomed like the kid who couldn't make the team."
(11/09/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/chuckman11092006.html

-----

40) Blood on the tracks
CounterPunch
by Robert Jensen

"As I stood in line for coffee on the morning after election night, a
Democratic Party supporter ahead of me in line said, 'Thank God this
country is finally switching trains.' If only that were true.On
Election Day 2006, the U.S. public didn't switch trains but simply
ratified a different group of conductors. It's the same old train, on
the same tracks, heading in the same direction.This isn't an argument
that there are never any meaningful differences between politicians;
sometimes it does matter who is giving the orders on the train. But on
this day after the morning-after, it's crucial for those with a
critical perspective to highlight that this train -- contemporary U.S.
society -- is barreling forward toward disaster, no matter who's
punching tickets." (11/09/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/jensen11092006.html

-----

41) Politicians sweep midterm elections
The Onion
by staff

"After months of aggressive campaigning and with nearly 99 percent of
ballots counted, politicians were the big winners in Tuesday's midterm
election, taking all 435 seats in the House of Representatives,
retaining a majority with 100 out of 100 seats in the Senate, and
pushing political candidates to victory in each of the 36
gubernatorial races up for grabs. ... 'It's a good night to be a
politician,' said Todd Akin, an officeholder from Missouri. 'The
American people have spoken, and they have unanimously declared: 'We
want elected officials to lead this nation.''" (11/07/06)

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/54918

-----

42) Progressive Caucus rising
In These Times
by Nick Burt & Joel Bleifuss

"Don't buy all the crap coming from GOP talking-point memos or the
blather from mainstream pundits. The midterm elections do not signal a
move to the center. Yes, a few conservative Democrats were elected,
but the big gainers were progressives. In particular, the
Congressional Progressive Caucus is on the rise. No longer will Rep.
F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) be able to grab the gavel and run, as
he did at a hearing last year when faced with pointed questions from
Congressional Democrats about the [USA] PATRIOT Act, Guantanamo and
the 'war on terror.' During a hearing, Sensenbrenner, the chair of the
House Judiciary Committee, used his standing to abruptly declare the
committee's public hearing on the PATRIOT Act over. He cut off the
microphones of the Democratic half of the panel and smugly shuffled
out of the room, thereby avoiding any more frivolous questions about
'civil rights.' Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich) -- the new chair of the
Judiciary Committee -- will welcome such questions." [editor's note:
This "spin" is in some ways as specious as the one from the
conservatives, or the MSM "center," though they do note some factions
that might not be able wield power for a while - SAT] (11/09/06)

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2914/

-----

43) Contra Gates
The American Prospect
by Eric Alterman

"The president announced his pick to replace Donald Rumsfeld as
secretary of defense today: former CIA director Robert Gates. Bound to
surface in the coming national scrutiny of Gates is his role in the
Iran-Contra affair. One of the great misconceptions of the Iran-Contra
scandal is the widely-held belief that when then-Attorney General
Meese called a press conference on November 25, 1986, to announce his
discovery of the famous 'diversion' of funds from the weapons sales to
Iran to pay for weapons for the Nicaraguan contras, he was finally
revealing the truth of what took place. As Oliver North pointed out in
his memoir, the administration had much to gain by focusing on the
diversion." (11/08/06)

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12195

-----

44) The Cheney-Gates cabal
Tom Paine
by Ray McGovern

"As the Iraq war goes from bad to worse, President George W. Bush
jettisoned 'stay the course' in favor of 'necessary adjustments.'
Yesterday he showed how quickly he can adjust to the mid-term election
results, when he jettisoned Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld,
barely a week after telling reporters Rumsfeld was doing a 'fantastic
job' and that he wanted him to stay on for the next two years. It had
been clear for weeks that the election would be a referendum on the
war in Iraq and that Republican losses would be substantial. And
Rumsfeld and Bush had every intention of avoiding the embarrassment
likely to come of the grilling of Rumsfeld by congressional committees
chaired by Democrats. Besides, who better to try to blame for the
'long, hard slog' in Iraq than the fellow who coined the expression,
and then implemented it with dubious distinction?" [editor's note: As
McGovern goes on to show, we may have another
Reno-to-Ashcroft-to-Gonzalez degression here, not that I will miss
Rummy in any way! - SAT] (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vedj3

-----

45) Didn't see it coming
San Francisco Chronicle
by Debra J. Saunders

"Yes I thought the GOP would do better Tuesday -- I certainly didn't
see 28 (as of this writing) House seats going to the Democrats. I
thought the GOP was sure to retain the Senate. Democrats beware,
however, if you think this was a victory for your party. As Democratic
pollster Douglas Schoen noted in a conference call Wednesday morning,
Dems won the House by picking candidates who were 'running away' from
liberal Democratic positions. Independents, who rejected President
Bush and congressional GOP leaders, have not signed on to soon-to-be
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's agenda. Yes, I am disappointed. I strongly
believe that the precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, which some
Democrats support, would consign the more than 2,800 U.S. troops who
have died in Iraq to the dubious honor of proving that America is a
paper tiger." [editor's note: And yes, you are indeed a neocon moron!
- SAT] (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yf8ncl

-----

46) Replacing Rumsfeld: Why is it OK the President lied?
Fox News
by Susan Estrich

"White lies? Since when is it OK for a president to lie to reporters?
Wasn't it just last week that the president told reporters that both
Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney were staying on their jobs for the
next two years? It was an important question. The president didn't
duck. He didn't give one of those mealy mouthed, we'll see answers. He
said yes, they're both staying. And even as he said it, they were
getting ready to get rid of Rumsfeld. He must have known that. He
hadn't talked to Gates yet, but Gates was being vetted for the Defense
job at the time. Surely, the president knew that. Excuse me, but it
doesn't add up to an honest answer. Am I the only one who's wondering
why it is that the president is allowed to intentionally mislead
people, and no one says 'boo.'" (11/08/06)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,228402,00.html

-----

47) A victory for people-powered politics
Christian Science Monitor
by Jerome Armstrong

"With a Democratic victory of this historic size, many will claim
success, and that's fine, so let me start by giving credit to the
netroots. But first, who are the netroots? They are the online
activists who work to revitalize a Democratic Party that will further
a progressive agenda. Unlike the conservative ideologues that have
held the trifecta of power this decade, the people-powered netroots
herald a much-needed return of non-dogmatic pragmatism to our
politics. ... Having apparently wrested control of both houses of
Congress, Democrats must ensure that this win transforms problems into
solutions, and in so doing, builds a lasting progressive congressional
majority." [editor's note: If he wants to think he was a major factor,
he can go have a latte with some Libertarians, and others similarly
deluded about their influence. This election was about ending the war,
repudiating (at least GOP) corruption ... and very little else! - SAT]
(11/09/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1109/p09s01-coop.html

-----

48) Marriage rights go beyond the ballot
Boston Globe
by Linda Dorcena Forry

"As we contemplate a vote at today's constitutional convention on
whether a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage should
appear on the 2008 ballot, I draw the parallel between my own story
and that of my many gay and lesbian constituents. ... To those who
would argue that the people should decide this issue by vote, I also
value and defend the right to vote. Generations of my African-American
brothers and sisters in the United States -- and my own ancestors in
Haiti -- died for the right to vote. However, I know too that there
are some issues that should never be decided by a majority. The
abolition of slavery and the right for women and blacks to vote are
but a few examples." (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/v47t9

-----

49) The GOP triangulates
Slate
by Timothy Noah

"On a purely theoretical level, it's not at all inconsistent for a
Republican to advocate a carbon tax. Conservatives prefer taxing
transactions to taxing income because it's a way to avoid
progressivity; rich and poor get taxed at the same rate. (In his
op-ed, Frum makes no bones about wanting to use the carbon tax to
'split the opposition' and to lower taxes on 'work, savings and
investment.') Even libertarians recognize that if one person's
activities impose costs on society as a whole (in this instance, by
contributing to global warming), then that person ought to compensate
society. This is what's known as a Pigovian tax, named after an
English economist of the early 20th century named Arthur Pigou."
[editor's note: I'm not sure that Noah has a very good grasp of what
"even libertarians recognize" -- it's not a matter of compensating
"society," it's a matter of compensating actual victims in an
environment where it's difficult to identify who's lost how much -
TLK] (11/09/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2153390

-----

50) Who gets it; who doesn't
Free Market News Network
by Radley Balko

"I suppose that's part of the conundrum we face when the allegedly
limited government party abandons its principles, when they only
option is to vote for the party that has no allegiance to limited
government at all. You're hoping to send a message, to remind
Republicans that if they betray their principles, they'll be out of
power. And you're hoping they'll rediscover those principles while
they're in the minority. Unfortunately, there's always the possibility
that they'll misinterpret the message, that they'll see their ouster
from power as a sign that they haven't spent enough, that they haven't
grown government enough. That seems to be where Bush is headed. You
don't 'work with Democrats on entitlements' with an eye toward
eliminating or reducing them. 'I'm willing to work with Democrats on
entitlements' means you'll be negotiating only the rate at which
they'll grow and multiply." (11/09/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/97/6357/new.asp?nid=6357&wid=97

-----

51) Republican election fiasco
Rebirth of Reason
by Edward Hudgins

"Months of prognostication about the predicted pitiful performance at
the polls by Republicans has now given way to prescriptions about the
direction of the party. Should the GOP move to the center, the right
or the left? Truth be told, Republicans right now are just going
around in circles. The party's own confusion and incoherence about
what it stands for will ensure that it continues to wander in the
political wilderness; it must take up again as its guide the
principles of liberty and limited government." (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ydwtne

-----

52) From Russia, with love
The Weekly Standard
by Igor Khrestin

"While the European Union 'sighed with relief' and welcomed the
'Canadians of American politics' back into control of Congress after a
12-year hiatus, Russian analysts and policymakers found themselves
torn between Bush-bashing gleeful postmortems (a 'great victory for
democracy') and mild apprehension at the worsening state of bilateral
affairs. For its part, the Russian press largely hailed the political
acumen of the American people. 'America Returns to Democracy,'
declared the headline of the daily Izvestiya; Moskovskiy Komsomolets
greeted the election results saying, 'Hangover: Democracy Has Won in
America.' Komsomol'skaya Pravda had the most novel take: 'Hussein's
Harsh Revenge: Americans Rebuff the White House Team That Caused
Carnage in Iraq.'" (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykh2v9

-----

53) Post-election etiquette
AlterNet
by Molly Ivins

"There are all manner of shuffle steps and politically shrewd thing
for the D's to do. But now is not the time to be clever. The Democrats
won this election because we are involved in a disastrous war. We know
how to do this: Declare victory, and go home. I noticed when
Republicans are forced to talk about how to end this, they tend to
announce that it's all hopeless: They have no ideas at all. Thanks,
guys." (11/09/06)

http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/44104/

-----

54) The radical deaf
Reason
by Cathy Young

"'Deaf culture' -- that's Deaf with a capital D -- has flourished at
Gallaudet. It is a radical movement that views deafness not as a
disability but as an oppressed minority status akin to race, and also
as a unique linguistic culture. The movement holds that there is
nothing wrong with being deaf, only with how society has treated deaf
people. Few would deny that, historically, deaf people and others with
disabilities have endured stereotyping, bias, and unfairness. Much
progress has been made toward seeing people with disabilities as whole
individuals, toward focusing on what they can do, not on what they
can't . But it's a leap from this understanding to the bizarre idea
that the lack of hearing is no more a disability than being female or
black." (11/08/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116604.html

-----

55) Speaker Pelosi's impending intelligence failure
TCS Daily
by J. Peter Pham & Michael I. Krauss

"With majority status in the 'people's house' comes a share in
responsibility for the security of the Republic. This is why we are so
concerned about a shadow which darkens presumptive Speaker Pelosi's
triumphant morning, a shadow which will only grow longer if she allows
it to begin appearing prominently in the media coverage of the global
war on terrorism, metastasizing into her first 'intelligence failure'
even before she takes the gavel from outgoing Speaker Hastert. That is
the shadow of Alcee Lamar Hastings, the reelected Democratic
Representative from Florida's 23rd District." (11/09/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=110906D

-----

56) What now for Bush?
Intellectual Conservative
by George Shadroui

"When I think of George W. Bush I am reminded of a comment made about
a character in John Gardner's remarkable book, The Sunlight Dialogues:
'His greatest virtue was tenacity, especially when the idea he was
clinging to was wrong.' The very traits that once defined the man for
his avid supporters -- his persistence, his courage, his refusal to
budge on certain issues -- now have resulted in his being abandoned on
many fronts as he has led his party to short-term ruin. And it's not
as if no one saw it coming." (11/09/06)

http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2006/what-now-for-bush-2/

-----

57) Rumsfeld's replacement: The Robert Gates file
Mother Jones
by James Ridgeway

"While Donald Rumsfeld was Ronald Reagan's errand boy to Saddam
Hussein in the mid-1980s, Robert Gates, the man named yesterday to
succeed him as Secretary of Defense, was at the very heart of the
American intelligence apparatus, actively planning and carrying out
covert operations in Central America and the Middle East. Gates, a
26-year CIA veteran and the agency's director between 1991 and 1993,
has long been accused of undermining competent, unbiased intelligence
analysis at the agency during his tenure, opening the way for its role
in partisan politics, a reality brought to the fore again as the Bush
administration made its flawed and phony case for war with Iraq."
(11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ykn8yr

-----

58) Not enough funds
National Center for Policy Analysis
by staff

"Public employers will soon have to face the pain of funding retiree
medical benefits for an estimated 24.5 million state and local
government employees, teachers, and county and city workers; a measure
that could cost anywhere from $600 billion and $1.3 trillion, says the
Wall Street Journal. Under the new Governmental Accounting Standards:
Public employers with at least $100 million in annual revenue will
have to begin reporting these numbers in the first fiscal year
beginning after Dec. 15, 2006." (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ycdqry

-----

59) How "sweatshops" help the poor
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Thomas DiLorenzo

"One of the oldest myths about capitalism is the notion that factories
that offer the poor higher wages to lure them off the streets (and
away from lives of begging, stealing, prostitution, or worse) or away
fom back-breaking farm labor somehow impoverishes and exploits them.
They are said to work in 'sweatshops' for 'subsistence wages.' That
was the claim made by socialists and unionists in the early days of
the industrial revolution, and it is still made today by the same
category of malcontents -- usually by people who have never themselves
performed manual labor and experienced breaking a sweat while
working." (11/09/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2384

-----

60) Financing the empire
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Mark Thornton

"People poke fun at Austrian economists because we support the gold
standard. They cannot understand why we would 'cling' to this 'relic'
of history. They view it as going backward in history to a less
advanced state of affairs and to something that is primitive and
unscientific. They ask us: how would we control this gold standard?
After all, isn't the gold standard unstable?" (11/09/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2369

-----

61) End of the revolution
Hawaii Reporter
by Dick Armey

"If there was still any doubt, the Republican Revolution of 1994
officially ended Tuesday night with the loss of at least 28 seats and
majority control of the House of Representatives. As I write this, the
race in Virginia that will determine if the Republicans also lose
control of the Senate is too close to call, but leaning Democrat. It
was a rout. How did we get here? The war in Iraq and historical voting
patterns that favor the opposition party in off-year elections are
factors suggested by many post-election pundits." (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ymhhov

-----

62) Electronic voting is threatening US democracy
Frontiers of Freedom
by Brent Lemieux

"Approximately Eighty percent of U.S. voters cast heir ballots on
electronic voting machines this year. Some of these machines use paper
documentation as a safety net while others don't. With no national law
regulating these operations each state is left to institute its own
laws. Our democracy is being threatened by the capitol's failure to
acknowledge the possibility of computerized errors." (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vvowq

-----

63) Unemployment by legal decree
Foundation for Economic Education
by Bettina Bien

"Consider the person who is incapable of earning the legally-fixed
minimum wage. Last year, when Congress was debating the question of a
new minimum wage law, labor unions were strong in their praise of such
a bill. When the new minimum of $1.00 an hour for workers in 'covered'
industries became effective on March first of this year, they patted
themselves on the back for their part in its passage. At the same
time, they promised their members to work for broader coverage at a
still higher rate. A minimum wage law, they would have us believe, is
the open sesame to the Utopia of higher living standards for everyone,
particularly for the poor. But is it?" (written 08/56; posted 11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vs3ku

-----

64) Risk of liberal domination
Center For Individual Freedom
by staff

"In the Chris Matthews-immoderated Florida gubernatorial debate
between Republican Charlie Crist and Democrat Jim Davis, Matthews
asked Davis if he is a liberal. Davis dodged. Matthews pointed out
that Davis' congressional voting record is 90 percent liberal. Davis
weaved. After a failed third attempt, Matthews snapped that he would
take the answer as yes. It is intriguing to note that only liberal
politicians and criminals make a steadfast habit of denying who they
are." (11/02/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y3xb5s

-----

65) Greedy carpetbaggers from NY meet greedy of SC
Liberty For All
by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

"To the casual onlooker it might appear that this is a grandstanding
move taking place at the last minute. That would be inaccurate. The
small group that filed the suit have carefully and methodically tried
in every way since last March to get both the Republican and
Democratic parties to follow the law. At each turn the relief they
requested was refused and the law again ignored. Except for the bland
assertion that they are excused from adhering to the law neither major
political party has acted to show it respects the law made by
Republicans and Democrats." (11/09/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=370

*******************************************************************
* RRND MEDIA SHELF -- Tchotchkes from today's edition
*
* The Sunlight Dialogues, by John Gardner
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811216705/rationalrev08-20
*
* Note: Affiliate links generate commissions for RRND's editors.
*******************************************************************

*****************************
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************

66) The Pentagon -- raising the Gates
Cato Institute

Cato daily podcast, featuring Christopher A. Preble. [MP3] (11/09/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxdhe3

-----

67) Free Talk live, 11/09/06
Free Talk Live

"The Tragedy of Jose Padilla / What Happened to Limited Government
Republicans? / Payola and High School Radio Stations / Libertarian
Contributions / The Torturing of Jose Padilla / Hell and Jehovah's
Witnesses / Superheros' Political Leanings / Gene the Christian
Anarchist's Trip to China / The UK's Police State / Bigfoot / Elephant
Self Awareness." [MP3] (11/09/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-11-09.mp3

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

68) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for events this week from Cato, AFF and
(hopefully soon) others. Don't see your event? Drop us a line at
info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

-----

69) Auction: Rational Review top banner

It's that time of year! As publisher of Rational Review, one of my
"perks" is ownership of the banner ad space that appears at the top of
each and every page on the site. I auction that space annually. The
auction begins now, and ends at midnight, November 30th, with payment
due by December 15th. Your ad (468x60 pixels and no larger than 16Kb
in file size) begins running on January 1st, 2007, to run thereafter
until midnight of December 31st, 2007. My "reserve price" is $200.
Please email bids (and questions) to me at info at rationalreview.com.
I'll try to answer frequent questions in the comment form here, and
I'll update this entry daily with the high current bid.

Current High Bid: $0.00
High Bidder's Initials: N/A

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

70) Here's to you and to our Corps ...

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

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Steve Trinward ...... Editor
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**************************************************
* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
*
* Volume IV, Issue #1,022
* Thursday, November 9th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,056
*
* Published every non-holiday weekday
* by the staff of Rational Review
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In The News:

0)  The seating arrangements, they are a'changin'
1)  Iraq: More dead as "emergency" extended
2)  Rumsfeld resigns; Gates next SecDef
3)  VA: AP calls race for Webb
4)  South Dakotans reject abortion ban
5)  TV stations closed for showing Saddam protests
6)  Abortion cases draw throngs to high court
7)  World welcomes shift in US politics
8)  No courts-martial for soldiers who posed nude
9)  Dems complete election sweep of Congress
10) China, US discuss North Korea strategy
11) Minnesota sends first Muslim to Capitol Hill
12) Mexican leader assails border fence plan
13) Sheehan arrested in Washington
14) NY: Ex-rocker Hall wins congressional upset
15) MO: Jazz group ponders liquorless future
16) TN: Property tax ballot measure wins
17) States confront meth lab "threat to environment"
18) Voters signal loss of patience with war plan
19) CO: Funky Buddha owner sentenced in shooting
20) NC: Man shot by homeowner, not deputies

Everybody Has An Opinion:

21) Pick your poison
22) The antiwar wave
23) Old fusion?
24) Fall of the house of kitsch
25) The Republican war on America: Torturing Americans
26) First we take your money, then we take your schools
27) Hooray for Mexicans, heteros and cheap gas
28) Spinned right
29) A populist anti-war mandate
30) Is Boxer the next target for Schwarzenegger?
31) My age of pessimism
32) End to one troubling chapter, reopening another
33) Leaders who honor vets, are honest about war
34) The trouble with Mexico's economy
35) Lawsuit challenges academic "freedom"
36) A bulk rate on printing subpoenas?
37) What's next for the peace movement?
38) Count your blessings
39) Tuesday's ultimatum
40) Pity poor Dems!
41) Can one respect the police?
42) Will the Democrats squander their victory?
43) We the rabble have a problem
44) Walls are for losers
45) An open letter to the Red Cross
46) Post mortem
47) Politics as football and fecal matter
48) GOP's 50-year Reich collapses!
49) Doctor, there's a lawyer in my womb
50) Nicaragua upside down
51) Mr. Ed goes to Washington
52) Breaking the silence
53) Allen-Webb deadlocked to the end
54) Microcredit or macrowelfare: The myth of Grameen
55) Whatever happened to media consolidation?
56) Immigration debacle hurt the GOP on Election Day
57) Is politics insoluble?
58) Green Republicans lead GOP losses
59) Creativity and capital
60) Dances with Comcast

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

61) Free Talk Live, 11/08/06
62) Freedomain Radio #497

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

63) Today's events

WaYbAcK:

64) Kristallnacht

***************
* In The News
***************

0)  The seating arrangements, they are a'changin'

As our "handicapping the elections" symposium stretches into its
second week, the focus now is on what the outcome portends. The
Democrats have taken control of the US House of Representatives (by a
significant, but not veto-proof, majority) and apparently of the US
Senate (by the slimmest margin of one seat -- not even
filibuster-proof). Is anything going to change? If so, what and how?
Share your thoughts.

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20010

-----

1)  Iraq: More dead as "emergency" extended
LaPorte Herald-Argus

"Beset by rampant sectarian violence, Iraq's parliament voted
Wednesday to extend the country's state of emergency for 30 more days,
as at least 66 more Iraqis were killed or found dead. Wednesday's
deaths included those of eight soccer players and fans cut down by a
pair of mortar rounds that slammed onto a field in Baghdad's Sadr City
neighborhood. The U.S. military, meanwhile, announced the deaths of a
soldier and a Marine, raising the number of American forces killed
this month in Iraq to 21 in the first eight days of November." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y8xpdy

-----

2)  Rumsfeld resigns; Gates next SecDef
Daytona Beach News-Journal

"After years of defending his secretary of defense, President Bush on
Wednesday announced Donald H. Rumsfeld's resignation within hours of
the Democrats' triumph in congressional elections. Bush reached back
to his father's administration to tap a former CIA director to run the
Pentagon. The Iraq war was the central issue of Rumsfeld's nearly
six-year tenure, and unhappiness with the war was a major element of
voter dissatisfaction Tuesday -- and the main impetus for his
departure." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y4ov8c

-----

3)  VA: AP calls race for Webb
ABC News

"An Associated Press survey that tabulated the votes from Virginia's
134 localities has found that Democrat James Webb will win the state's
U.S. Senate contest, giving Democrats the sixth seat they need to win
control of the Senate and Congress. The campaign of Republican
incumbent Sen. George Allen has not commented on the AP report, but
sources suggest he might concede the race as early as today." (11/09/06)

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2006/story?id=2640376&page=1

-----

4)  South Dakotans reject abortion ban
Washington Post

"South Dakotans rejected a toughest-in-the-nation law that would have
banned virtually all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest --
defeating one of the most high-profile state measures facing voters
Tuesday. The outcome was a blow to conservatives, who also had cause
for worry in Arizona. An amendment to ban gay marriage was trailing
there with returns nearly complete; it would be the first defeat for
such a measure after prevailing in more than two dozen states in
recent years." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yfnt39

-----

5)  TV stations closed for showing Saddam protests
Electronic Iraq

"Reporters Without Borders today condemned the Iraqi government's
decision yesterday to close down two privately-owned TV stations for
'inciting violence and murder' by screening footage of protests
against former President Saddam Hussein's death sentence. The main
daily newspapers have also been suspended for three days beginning
yesterday under a curfew decreed prior to the verdict." (11/08/06)

http://electroniciraq.net/news/2603.shtml

-----

6)  Abortion cases draw throngs to high court
USA Today

"The Supreme Court was packed and demonstrators gathered outside under
drizzly skies Wednesday as the justices heard arguments in what
probably will be two of the most significant abortion rights cases in
decades. The disputes over Congress' ban of a procedure it calls
'partial birth' abortion represent a key test of whether the court led
by Chief Justice John Roberts will take a harder line against abortion
rights now that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a key supporter of such
rights, has retired." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/u3cap

-----

7)  World welcomes shift in US politics
Tahoe Daily Tribune

"The electoral rebuke for President Bush and the resignation of his
defense secretary, both deeply unpopular away from American shores
over the Iraq war, was celebrated throughout Europe, the Middle East
and Asia. Still, there was concern Wednesday that a Washington power
split and a severely weakened Bush might mean uncertainty in crucial
areas like global trade talks." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y5mvab

-----

8)  No courts-martial for soldiers who posed nude
MSNBC

"Female Kentucky National Guard soldiers who allegedly posed nude for
pictures before being sent to Iraq will face nonjudicial,
administrative sanctions rather than courts-martial, the Army said.
The women were not suspended and were 'busy supporting the war
effort,' Maj. Jay Adams, chief of public affairs for the 13th
Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), told The Courier-Journal of
Louisville on Tuesday." (11/08/06)

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15627036/

-----

9)  Dems complete election sweep of Congress
Richmond Palladium-Item

"Democrats completed an improbable double-barreled election sweep of
Congress on Wednesday, taking control of the Senate with a victory in
Virginia as they padded their day-old majority in the House. 'The days
of the do-nothing Congress are over,' declared Democratic Sen. Harry
Reid of Nevada, in line to become majority leader." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxxb9r

-----

10) China, US discuss North Korea strategy
CNN

"Chinese and U.S. diplomats met Wednesday amid efforts to restart
nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea after Washington and Seoul
threw out a possible complication by saying they would refuse to treat
the North as a nuclear state. 'Together, we have the responsibilities
of world peace and global security,' said U.S. Undersecretary of State
Nicholas Burns, who led the American delegation. The Chinese side was
led by Yang Jiechi, a deputy foreign minister." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y2rbfo

-----

11) Minnesota sends first Muslim to Capitol Hill
CNN

"In a political first, a Muslim has been elected to serve in the U.S.
Congress. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota state legislator and lawyer,
reached the political milestone by defeating two other candidates in
Minnesota's 5th Congressional District, which covers the Minneapolis
area. His victory was part of the Democratic wave that seized control
of the House of Representatives from the Republicans." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y96a9d

-----

12) Mexican leader assails border fence plan
Lufkin Daily News

"Preparing for a meeting with President Bush, Mexican President-elect
Felipe Calderon made clear Wednesday his unhappiness with U.S. border
security measures, saying the two countries need 'bridges for progress
and not walls that isolate and divide.' U.S. steps to stem the flow of
migrants across the border were expected to dominate Bush's
discussions with Calderon, who takes office Dec. 1. Mexico has been
highly critical of the U.S. plan to build a 700-mile fence along the
border. Bush signed the law authorizing the fence on Oct. 26." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxxqba

-----

13) Sheehan arrested in Washington
Elkhart Truth

"Activist Cindy Sheehan was arrested Wednesday as she led about 50
protesters to a White House gate Wednesday to deliver anti-war
petitions she said were signed by 80,000 Americans. The Berkeley,
Calif., woman, whose son was killed in Iraq more than two years ago,
was arrested along with three other women on the sidewalk outside the
White House gate, said Lt. Scott Fear, a U.S. Park Police spokesman.
They were charged with interfering with a government function, he
said." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yayqxa

-----

14) NY: Ex-rocker Hall wins congressional upset
Editor & Publisher

"John Hall, leader of the rock group Orleans that recorded such hits
as 'Still the One' and 'Dance With Me,' has won a stunning upset in
his race for Congress in upstate New York, narrowly defeating
Republican incumbent Sue Kelly 51%-49%. Hall's views on the
differences between political and music journalists were recently
profiled on E&P Online. At one point, he had to struggle to be taken
seriously by the press as a policy man. He ended up gaining the
endorsements of all four top dailies in his district. The upset was
more surprising, as this contest was never on the national Democratic
Party's list of most likely pickups. Hall closed his victory speech by
singing Steven Van Zandt's song 'I Am A Patriot.' Numerous musicians
played benefits for Hall throughout the campaign, though he was still
badly outspent by his opponent. They included Bonnie Raitt, Steve
Earle, Pete Seeger and Jackson Browne." [editor's note: It's up to the
truly "progressive" among us to see that Hall gets support for the
really forward-moving ideas ... and discouragement for expectations of
them happening by focusing on bigger government structures - SAT]
(11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y544r7

-----

15) MO: Jazz group ponders liquorless future
Arizona Republic

"Supporters of a decades-long tradition of late-night jazz jams are
trying to determine their next move, after a [Kansas City] advisory
group said it would not recommend the group get a liquor license. For
years, jazz artists have gathered at the Mutual Musicians Foundation
after other jazz clubs and bars closed and often jammed from 2 a.m.
until dawn. In late September, police said the venue was illegal
because it had no liquor license. And on Monday, the Alcoholic
Beverage Advisory Group, which reviews liquor license applications,
reviewed options to recommend to the City Council on Thursday but
settled on none." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y46owd

-----

16) TN: Property tax ballot measure wins
Tennessean

"Future property tax rate increases would have to go to the voters
under a Metro Nashville referendum on Tuesday's ballot. Supporters of
the ballot measure outnumbered opponents by a strong margin. 'It was
very jubilant,' ballot measure organizer Ben Cunningham said of the
party of supporters gathered at Brown's Diner on Nashville's Blair
Boulevard. 'What (voters) are saying is that we want to take some of
this authority back from the Metro Council and reserve it for
ourselves, for the voters,' he said. Cunningham also led the effort by
the Tennessee Tax Revolt group to kill a statewide tax on wages in
2001. Cunningham said supporters' only promotions of the current
measure in the days leading up to Tuesday's election were use of
informal e-mail reminders and about $2,000 in automated phone calls.
No formal committee was organized to oppose the measure." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yg6jqc

-----

17) States confront meth lab "threat to environment"
Christian Science Monitor

"Hotel rooms, apartment complexes, and homes aren't your typical toxic
waste sites. But then, methamphetamine isn't your typical drug. The
drug -- which makers often cook up in their kitchens using household
chemicals and tools -- is potent enough to transform homes into hazmat
zones. When law officers bust a meth lab, the drugmaking materials are
carted away. But what happens next to such former sites -- numbering
more than 100,000 across the country -- varies dramatically. Some
states, led by Colorado, have enacted tough regulations that require
former lab sites to undergo a formal safety assessment -- and more
cleanup, if needed -- before they can be reinhabited. The laws are
prompted by the extreme toxicity of the chemicals used to cook meth,
and suspicions about the long-term effects of chemical remnants in the
air and on surfaces. Other states mandate home sellers to disclose the
presence of former meth labs." (11/08/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1108/p02s02-usju.html

-----

18) Voters signal loss of patience with war plan
Boston Globe

"The Democratic victory last night did not mark the end of the war in
Iraq, but it seemed to mark the end of America's patience with the
war. President Bush, whose 'stay the course' mantra became a rallying
cry for Democratic challengers, now will come under intense pressure
to choose a new course. He will have to contend with more than just
the demands of a Democratic-led House. Congressional Republicans, who
once marched in lock step with their commander in chief, are also
likely to break with the White House, having now tasted electoral
defeat. 'The Iraq war has opened up some big divisions in the
Republican Party and that's the next thing to play out,' said Boston
University political scientist Julian Zelizer, author of a book on
congressional politics. 'There'll be a lot of Republicans looking
toward 2008.'" (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ym4xf6

-----

19) CO: Funky Buddha owner sentenced in shooting
Denver Post

"The owner of a Denver bar who shot a burglar pleaded guilty Tuesday
to tampering with evidence, and received a deferred prison sentence
with no prison time. Christakes Christou, 60, was originally charged
with attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault after he
shot Dwayne Stepp, who broke into Christou's Funky Buddha Lounge, 776
Lincoln St., at 3:11 a.m. Jan. 3. A judge threw out the attempted
first-degree murder charge earlier. Christou still faced the assault
charge, which carries a sentence of 10 to 32 years on conviction. But
prosecutors agreed Tuesday to dismiss that charge in return for his
plea to tampering with evidence, a class 6 felony. The tampering
charge stemmed from an allegation that Christou picked up a gunshell
casing at the shooting scene and put it in his pocket." (11/08/06)

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4618062?source=rss

-----

20) NC: Man shot by homeowner, not deputies
Winston-Salem Journal

"A man wounded during a home break-in on Tuesday was shot by the
resident, David Grice, the sheriff of Davidson County, said yesterday.
A news brief in yesterday's paper incorrectly said that the man had
been shot by deputies. Grice said that Zackary Allen Staley, 21, of
149 Clapp Farm Road was shot by the homeowner, Phillip Cross Jr. The
shooting remains under review and no charges have been filed against
the homeowner, Grice said. Grice said that deputies were sent to
Cross' home Tuesday on a report of a home invasion and that shots had
been fired. Grice said that deputies learned that Staley was shot
after he kicked in a door into the basement of Cross' home. He was hit
in the knee and hand." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yf68wz

*******************************************************************
* HEALTH-OF-THE-STATE-O-METER, 11/09/06
*
* Reported Civilian Deaths in Iraq: Min - 46,863 ... Max - 51,968
* (source: www.iraqbodycount.org)
*
* American Military Deaths in Iraq: 2,839
* (source: www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
*******************************************************************

****************************
* Everybody Has An Opinion
****************************

21) Pick your poison
Rational Review
by James Landrith

"We are long past the time when thoughtful libertarians should be
confused about our role in the political process. We are not
Republicans-lite. We are the anti-GOP. We are not the weirder, spunky
little brothers and sisters of the GOP. We are the antidote for their
venom. We need to be working toward replacing the GOP and relegating
them back to third party status, while preparing for long-term battle
with the Democrats." (11/08/06)

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20489

-----

22) The antiwar wave
AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo

"With a majority in the House and probably the Senate, the Democrats
now have it in their power to at least halt the escalation of the war.
The War Party is calling for sending as many as 50,000 additional
troops to Iraq. If the Democrats sent to Washington in the wake of the
November Revolution fulfill their mandate, they'll put a swift stop to
this -- and take their opposition to the war one step further.
Congress holds the purse strings and can cut off funds for the war
whenever it likes: failure to do so will blur the differences between
the two parties on this issue and betray the trust of millions who
registered their opposition to the war by voting Democratic. The
Democrats must either oppose the war and vote to rein in the president
with their power of the purse -- or else they must take their share of
responsibility for the failed policy of this administration, and also
share the blame." (11/08/06)

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=9981

-----

23) Old fusion?
The American Spectator
by W. James Antle III

"After a nasty campaign season in which both sides traded insults and
accusations, can they work together in the future? It is a question
sure to be directed at Republicans and Democrats, but it might be
profitably be asked of feuding libertarians and social conservatives
as well. The midterm elections didn't make a peaceful outcome more
likely. Instead both sides acquired new ammunition. Reputedly
libertarian Arizona narrowly rejected a ban on same-sex marriage
(though similar measures passed everywhere else they were on the
ballot), rebuffing social conservatives. Minimum-wage hikes passed in
six states, which isn't very libertarian -- and neither were many of
the Democratic victors, despite the Libertarian Democrat meme. Expect
the finger-pointing to continue in this increasingly ugly dispute."
(11/09/06)

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10606

-----

24) Fall of the house of kitsch
Salon
by Sidney Blumenthal

"The Bush administration and the Republican Congress could not defend
themselves on their public record and urgently needed to change the
subject. They required new fields of combat -- not the Iraq war,
certainly not convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, convicted Rep. Duke
Cunningham, investigated Rep. Mark Foley or indicted House Majority
Leader Tom DeLay. So they launched offensives on Michael J. Fox's
Parkinson's disease, Jim Webb's novels and gay marriage. Yet
battle-hardened cultural warriors -- Rush Limbaugh, Lynne Cheney and
the Rev. Ted Haggard, among others -- did not find themselves
triumphant as in the 2004 campaign, but unexpectedly wounded at their
own hands." [subscription or ad view required] (11/08/06)

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2006/11/08/election/

-----

25) The Republican war on America: Torturing Americans
Liberty For All
by George Phillies

"And if you are a real conservative, a conservative in the spirit of
Barry Goldwater and Russell Kirk, you should realize that your beliefs
are the antithesis of the 'Big Government Conservative' Republican
Party. I'll return to this at a later date in my forthcoming An Open
Letter to American Conservatives. In prior columns, I noted the
apparently established fact that American intelligence agencies have
been kidnapping foreigners and having them tortured. There appear to
be reports that several dozen of the victims died during
interrogation." (11/08/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=366

-----

26) First we take your money, then we take your schools
Cato Institute
by Neal McCluskey

"'Local schools remain under local control,' Bush declared in his
radio address, though NCLB dictates everything from how reading is
taught to teacher qualifications. Similarly, in response to a question
about the expansion of federal power during her tenure, Secretary
Spellings recently insisted that 'I'm a good Federalist and a good
Republican.' But the billion-dollar question remains: How can the
administration hew to the ideal of local control while simultaneously
advocating federal intrusion into the classroom? They can't. Either
they stick to the Constitution and keep the federal government out of
education, or they chuck it and run the schools from Washington."
(11/09/06)

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6763

-----

27) Hooray for Mexicans, heteros and cheap gas
Reason
by Jeff Taylor

"No doubt the biggest issues of the midterm were George W. Bush, Iraq,
George Bush, Beltway scandal, the economy, and President Bush. This
list still leaves out some important drivers, and non-drivers, of
Tuesday's results. The Republicans' massive emphasis on illegal
immigration from South of the border did next to nothing for them at
the polls. Candidate after candidate carried big majorities of the
anti-illegal immigration vote to defeat, Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania
and Michael Steele in Maryland being just two. But the issue was
weakest at its core, at its genesis in along the border with Mexico,
precisely where the issue should be strongest." (11/09/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116613.html

-----

28) Spinned right
The American Prospect
by Ezra Klein

"Let's put this notion to bed: yesterday's results did not mark a
victory for conservative Democrats, let alone one for conservatism
itself. They'll spin you right round, baby, right round. After last
night's decisive refutation of the GOP's governing philosophy, the
punditocracy is assuring us that the electorate delivered a strong
message favoring … conservatism? A week ago, The New York Times kicked
off the spin by suggesting that wins by Heath Shuler and other
so-called centrist Democrats 'could come at a political price, which
may include tensions in the party between its new centrists and its
more liberal political base.' And last night, Larry Kudlow deployed
it. 'Look at blue dog conservative Dem victories,' wrote Kudlow, 'and
look at Northeast liberal GOP defeats. The changeover in the House may
well be a conservative victory, not a liberal one.' That's one way to
explode 'the myth of the rational voter' -- suggest that when they
mean to elect conservatives, they vote Democratic." [editor's note:
The lesson: When both L and R are trying to claim the higher ground
... watch out for your wallet! - SAT] (11/08/06)

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12194

-----

29) A populist anti-war mandate
Tom Paine
by Robert L. Borosage

"Fired. Voters took a good look at Bush's one-party rule in Washington
and fired Republicans yesterday. But they did much more than that.
Before the pundits muddy the results with talk of the new more
'conservative' Democratic legislators and the need for moderation, it
is worth looking at what voters said. Iraq was the major issue driving
insurgent Democratic candidates. In the midst of a war, with soldiers
under fire, the vast majority of Americans voted to change course in
Iraq. Democrats started the election cycle wary about challenging the
president on the war -- and ended it buying ads tying Republicans to
the president's failed course. ... Second, Democrats across the
country, in red states and blue, ran populist campaigns, indicting
Republicans for being in the pocket of the drug and oil lobbies. More
money was spent on ads portraying the threat posed by corporate
lobbies than the threat posed by Osama bin Laden." [editor's note: At
first glance, this could be called as much "libertarian" as
"populist," but the writer can't fathom that concept - SAT] (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y3jnbn

-----

30) Is Boxer the next target for Schwarzenegger?
San Francisco Chronicle
by Phillip Matier & Andrew Ross

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's political rehabilitation and re-election
has Democrats wondering whether he'll take on Sen. Barbara Boxer when
her term comes up in 2010. Termed-out state Sen. Jackie Speier,
D-Hillsborough, has already raised the question, and so has former San
Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. The thinking? 'His wife is part of the
Kennedy clan, and so it would be natural for a glamorous Kennedy star
to elevate himself to the U.S. Senate as the next Barack Obama,' Brown
said. After all, 'here's a guy investing $15 million to $20 million of
his own money in the governor's race,' Brown said. 'That can't be what
he's after.'" (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y59phn

-----

31) My age of pessimism
Arizona Republic
by Robert Robb

"I guess I'm getting old because I'm having old-guy concerns about
things. Due to deadlines, I'm writing this before knowing the outcome
of the elections. But that's OK, because there is no outcome that
would leave me optimistic. My old-guy concern is about the future of
representative government. This country has a big domestic problem:
the cost of publicly funded retirement benefits. According to the
General Accounting Office, Social Security and Medicare currently
consume about 7 percent of gross domestic product. With the declining
ratio of workers to retirees, that's projected to increase to 11
percent by 2025 and 15 percent by 2050. To accommodate this would
require, in today's terms, a 40 percent increase in federal spending."
[editor's note: His pessimism is well founded, though his topic only
scrapes the surface of the problem - SAT] (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y48j5b

-----

32) End to one troubling chapter, reopening another
Boston Globe
by Jeff Jacoby

"It was on April 6, 1976, at an antibusing rally outside Boston's City
Hall, that photographer Stanley Forman captured the image that would
become one of the most notorious icons in Massachusetts history: the
assault on black attorney Theodore Landsmark by an angry white
17-year-old using a flagpole bearing the Stars and Stripes as a
weapon. It was an ugly moment and an unforgettable picture -- and all
the proof countless viewers needed that Boston was a caldron of
bigotry. 'For too many people around the country,' Mayor Tom Menino
lamented a few years ago, 'when they think of Boston the image they
remember is of Ted Landsmark getting hit with an American flag.' On
Jan. 4, 2007, Americans will see another picture of a black attorney
in Boston, one with even greater historical resonance. When Deval
Patrick raises his right hand and is sworn in as governor of
Massachusetts, he will become the first black governor in the state's
375-year history." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vqegp

-----

33) Leaders who honor vets, are honest about war
Tennessean
by James Jones

"There are more than a half million veterans -- soldiers, sailors,
Marines, airmen and Coast Guardsmen -- now living in Tennessee, and no
single group has a greater stake in today's election than veterans.
Veterans have always heeded the call to service for many reasons, but
one characteristic unites all -- a deep, enduring love of country.
Loyalty and integrity are second nature to veterans, and this loyalty,
unlike most jobs, includes a sworn oath to protect the Constitution of
the United States. Veterans and their loved ones realize that this
higher devotion may demand the ultimate sacrifice. At times, the sense
of loyalty and integrity may conflict; soldiers who feel doubts about
a superior's decisions may suppress those feelings due to loyalty. For
many veterans, the time has come to speak out: Our higher loyalty is
to our country and the Constitution." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ygc2b6

-----

34) The trouble with Mexico's economy
Christian Science Monitor
by Milton Ezrati

"Mexico's contentious and close election finally seems settled. On
Dec. 1, Felipe Calderon, of the pro-market National Party (PAN), will
become that country's new president. His main opponent, the
left-leaning Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has not conceded, but he
seems to accept that he will not be the official president. American
investors should welcome this result. With it, they have avoided a
potential disruption to Mexican development and possibly a drift
toward a less enthusiastic embrace of the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA). But that is about the best that can be said about
this result. Mexican politics remain too divisive to implement the
fundamental reforms that might truly develop Mexico into a full
trading partner, relieve immigration strains, and realize the
country's economic potential." (11/07/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1107/p09s02-coop.html

-----

35) Lawsuit challenges academic "freedom"
iFeminists.Com
by Wendy McElroy

"The lawsuit Brooker v. The Governors of Missouri State University
(MSU) was filed on October 30th on behalf of Emily Brooker. The
Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a Christian legal group that advocates
religious freedom, accuses tax-funded MSU of retaliating against
Brooker because she refused to sign a letter to the Missouri
Legislature in support of homosexual adoption. Gay adoption violates
Brooker's Christian beliefs. ... The case is being painted as
'Christian versus leftist' or 'conservative versus liberal' but it is
far more. It reaches to the heart of freedom of conscience whatever
the content of the conscience may be. No one -- not the President, not
the Supreme Court -- can rightfully require you to advocate for
policies with which you disagree. The right not to speak is
fundamental to human liberty. Indeed, freedom of conscience cannot
exist without it." (11/08/06)

http://www.ifeminists.net/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.50

-----

36) A bulk rate on printing subpoenas?
Truthout
by David Swanson

"A democracy that limits itself to elections will die. A democracy
that appears like Brigadoon for a day every two years and then becomes
a dictatorship for 729 days is dead. Citizen activism begins today,
November 8th. We have a moral duty to impeach and distant elections be
damned. But, even so, consider this. In each of the nine cases in the
past when one party has raised impeachment, that party has benefitted
in the next elections. In other cases when a party has failed to press
for impeachment when the grounds for it were widely known, that party
has suffered. (Remember Iran Contra?) And look at what just happened
yesterday." (11/08/06)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110806D.shtml

-----

37) What's next for the peace movement?
CounterPunch
by Bruce Gagnon

"The changes in Congress are largely due to huge opposition (62%) to
the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Again, quoting today's Washington Post,
'The passion of the antiwar movement helped propel party activists in
this election year.' How will the peace movement in America, that just
turned itself nearly completely over to the Democratic Party, be
rewarded for its loyalty?" (11/08/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/gagnon11082006.html

-----

38) Count your blessings
CounterPunch
by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair

"Wherever they were given the opportunity, voters across the country
went strongly for antiwar candidates. True, the national Democrats,
led by Rahm Emanuel of the Democratic Congressional Campaign, had
tried pretty successfully to keep such peaceniks off the ballot, but
in a few key races the antiwar progressives romped home. The Democrats
won, despite Emanuel. If the Clintonites weren't still controlling
most of the campaign money, and more openly antiwar populists had been
running, the Democrats today would probably be looking at a wider
majority in the House and one committed solidly to getting out of
Iraq. ... The furthest the national Democrats have wanted to go on the
war has been to attack its management. Not the principled position of
Cut and Run as urged by Jack Murtha just over a year ago. Not Howard
Dean's 'stabilize' message on Wednesday morning. What may well happen
now is what we satirically predicted at the statrt of the week: a
bipartisan consensus by the national leadership of both parties around
the McCain position, calling for fresh troops and better manangement
of the war." (11/08/06)

http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn11082006.html

-----

39) Tuesday's ultimatum
National Review
by William F. Buckley, Jr.

"It is sobering to remind ourselves that the alternatives open to
Congress come down finally to categorical action. When Congress
decided to act on the unpopularity of the Vietnam War, it passed a
series of resolutions and laws which prevented President Nixon from
taking basic tactical steps to thwart the total defeat that lay ahead
for us. If comparable laws were passed today they would forbid
American money to be used in Iraq for hostile purposes, which would be
tantamount to forbidding armed resistance to the claims of the
insurgents. Merely to suggest such alternatives is to remind ourselves
of the inherent inadvisability of contemplating them. The Constitution
makes the president the commander in chief. To permit the continuance
of his responsibility while stripping him of the means to act is a
device for modifying the Constitution, for which critics would be
reluctant to accept responsibility. If a crisis is of such a reach,
then the orderly procedure is the impeachment of the president. But
the people who went to the polls on Tuesday intending to register
opposition to the war are not of revolutionary mettle. Still, they
have found the means to make demands that the President will need to
appease." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yffm9z

-----

40) Pity poor Dems!
Free Market News Network
by Anthony Wile

"Republican socialists were replaced by Democrat socialists in
mid-term elections and nothing of any substance has changed in
America. This is no time for rejoicing, especially if the Democrats
take the Senate. What the 'Republicans' destroyed during the six-year
term of George Bush while he was the nation's effective 'leader,' the
Democrats will try to replace with something worse in the next two
years and beyond. If there is to be any solace in the mid-term vote it
is that it may spell the effective end of Hillary Clinton's dreams of
the presidency." (11/08/06)

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/134/6339/high.asp?nid=6339&wid=134

-----

41) Can one respect the police?
Rebirth of Reason
by Tibor R. Machan

"It began with the Orange County ordinance authorizing police to stop
teens from smoking in public places. One of my children asked me, who
are these people to tell them whether they may smoke? Isn't that the
job of parents? Don't the cops have kidnappers, rapists, murderers,
and robbers to deal with? Is it really their role in our lives to
order us to stop smoking? I really couldn't argue with the logic here.
It isn't the proper task of the police to tell us whether to smoke
cigarettes or dope or whatever, for that matter. The police of a free
society are supposed to be peace officers, not parents or nannies or
even schoolmarms. I did mention that what the police do is follow
orders given to them by the politicians and bureaucrats but my kids
reminded me that this is the excuse German soldiers used when they
were asked about enforcing the tyrannical rules of the Nazis." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yj9gnc

-----

42) Will the Democrats squander their victory?
Classically Liberal
by "CLS"

"One Democrat went on about how it is said that Washington, D.C. is
often the 'last place to know.' He then said that they got the message
from the American loud and clear. They support progressive values.
Exactly where do they get these delusions. For weeks the American
public has been quite candid in what was compelling them to vote. They
were sick and tired of Bush most particularly over his disastrous
foreign policy. But voters said they were voting against Bush, not
that they had some Damascus Road experience and had become soft
socialists. Almost 60 percent of the voters are unhappy with King
George. The reality is that don't know who Nancy Pelosi is and they
don't care. They were just fed up with Bush." [editor's note: This
doesn't seem to be the case in Missouri. Along with electing Democrat
Claire McCaskill to the US Senate, the Show-Me state approved a state
minimum wage hike by a 75-25 margin, as well as effectively
socializing stem cell research by a narrow margin. Sounds pretty
"progressive," in the usually understood sense, to me - TLK]

http://tinyurl.com/yd6tuy

-----

43) We the rabble have a problem
NewsWithViews
by Nancy Levant

"Today's average American doesn't understand the term 'dictatorship.'
This is an important issue because available 'history,' much like
media, is chock-full of politically skewed half-truths and, equally,
out and out lies. American citizens are historically warped by gross
educational manipulations, so its time we go back to the basics of
government and civics, and lose some of the garbage that
governmentally and corporately imposed propaganda and public
educations implanted into our brains." (11/07/06)

http://www.newswithviews.com/Levant/nancy65.htm

-----

44) Walls are for losers
TCS Daily
by Nathan Smith

"The Ming dynasty emperors in China (1368-1644) were the biggest
builders of the famous Great Wall. ... In the years after World War I,
France, recognizing its weakness vis-a-vis Germany, built a supposedly
invincible fortification along its frontier with Germany called the
Maginot Line. ... In 1961 the Communist regime of East Germany found
itself suffering from mass emigration to the freer and more prosperous
West. To prevent this outflow they built the Berlin Wall. ... The
lesson of history? Walls are for losers. America doesn't have a
frontier with hostile barbarians who want to conquer us. Instead, we
have a frontier with friendly Mexicans who want to work for and with
us. Nonetheless, the historical pattern -- walls are for losers --
still applies. It plays itself out, not in battles or revolutions, but
in elections." (11/08/06)

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=110806E

-----

45) An open letter to the Red Cross
Strike the Root
by Glenn Allport

"I am writing in regards the $385 million contract for vast detention
camps announced by Halliburton in a press release this past January.
Major media outlets have had little to say about this ominous
development, but given the American government's previous use of such
camps to forcibly imprison over 110,000 Japanese-Americans (the
majority of whom were U.S. citizens) during WWII, the possibility of
such camps being used to illegally imprison Muslims, dissidents,
citizens deemed 'enemy combatants,' and others in the coming months
and years cannot be dismissed. ... Of course, the camps may have a
more benign purpose. (What, then? Summer outings for disadvantaged
youth?) But when has a large system of detention camps ever not been
the start of a nightmare?" (11/08/06)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/62/allport/allport3.html

-----

46) Post mortem
The Weekly Standard
by Fred Barnes

"This one is pretty easy to explain. Republicans lost the House and
probably the Senate because of Iraq, corruption, and a record of
taking up big issues and then doing nothing on them. Of these, the war
was by far the biggest factor. Unpopular wars trump good economies and
everything else. President Truman learned this in 1952, as did
President Johnson in 1968. Now, it was President Bush's turn, and
since his name wasn't on the ballot, his party took the hit. The
defeat for Republicans was short of devastating -- but only a little
short." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ycxuzj

-----

47) Politics as football and fecal matter
No Force, No Fraud
by Bob Smith

"This morning, every winner is claiming that their victory 'means'
that the public (even those who voted against them) is 100% behind
everything the winner stood for, and against everything the loser
stood for. Remarkably, this is true even in races that were very
close, with the voters quite divided in their opinions. The
unvarnished truth is that nobody has much idea why anyone voted the
way they did, because elections almost never offer clear choices."
(11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yenc9l

-----

48) GOP's 50-year Reich collapses!
Intellectual Conservative
by Nicholas Stix

"George W. Bush and Karl Rove had the attitude that their Republican
and conservative base had no choice but to vote GOP. Such arrogance
resulted in Bush and Rove having a rude, 1992-style awakening." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yhvvu2

-----

49) Doctor, there's a lawyer in my womb
Slate
by Dahlia Lithwick

"In theory, Congress' efforts to overrule Supreme Court precedent,
replace medical fact with medical wishful thinking, and usurp the
court's prerogative to interpret the Constitution might have caused
something of a ruckus at oral argument today. But the new Roberts
court is so minimalist in its desires, so humble in its aspirations,
that almost half of its members hardly speak at all. Justice Clarence
Thomas is sidelined with an illness (but will participate in deciding
the case), and Justice Samuel Alito elects to adopt Thomas-like
muteness. The usually voluble Justice Antonin Scalia settles for terse
one-liners, thus leaving the court's most liberal members, along with
Justice Anthony Kennedy and Chief Justice John Roberts, to talk
amongst themselves for two hours. Wait, there's one other person
talking. For the first time in my eight years at the court, I watch as
a spectator begins to shout, 'Have you ever been a parent?' and
something about Jesus and perishing, before he is tackled by court
security and dragged out of the chambers." (11/08/06)

http://www.slate.com/id/2153280

-----

50) Nicaragua upside down
Independent Institute
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa

"Historians will deem ours a strange epoch, renowned French author
Andre Malraux said a half-century ago, in which the right was not the
right, the left was not the left and the center was not in the middle.
The description fits today's Nicaragua: Sunday's presidential
elections, which Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega appears to have won
in the first round, confirm that the country is upside down." (11/08/06)

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1849

-----

51) Mr. Ed goes to Washington
Reason
by Jacob Sullum

"Horses are nice. Killing them for food is mean. This is the gist of
the argument for the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. It was
enough to convince the House of Representatives, which passed the bill
by a vote of 263 to 146 in September. If the ban makes it to the floor
of the Senate after Congress reconvenes this month, we are likely to
see another lopsided victory for arbitrary sentimentality. Not content
at trying to stop foreigners from catering to Americans' taste for
gambling, Congress is on the verge of passing a law aimed at stopping
Americans from catering to foreigners' taste for horse meat. I
generally avoid the phrase cultural imperialism, since it's often used
by people who object to the voluntary consumption of American products
by non-Americans. But when Americans want to forcibly impose their
culinary preferences on people in other countries, it fits pretty
well." (11/08/06)

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116591.html

-----

52) Breaking the silence
The American Conservative
by the editors

"The meaning of this election will be interpreted in one of two ways:
the American people endorsed the Bush presidency or they did what they
could to repudiate it. Such an interpretation will be simplistic, even
unfairly so. Nevertheless, the fact that will matter is the raw number
of Republicans and Democrats elected to the House and Senate. It
should surprise few readers that we think a vote that is seen -- in
America and the world at large -- as a decisive 'No' vote on the Bush
presidency is the best outcome." (for publication 11/20/06)

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_11_20/feature.html

-----

53) Allen-Webb deadlocked to the end
Mother Jones
by Caroline Dobuzinskis

"If nothing else, the Allen-Webb race will go down as one of the more
curious in recent memory, with the issues all but subsumed by scandals
real and imagined, and the incumbent, once thought to be positioning
himself for a presidential bid in 2008 and a shoe-in for reelection,
fighting for his political life." (11/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yl3f44

-----

54) Microcredit or macrowelfare: The myth of Grameen
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Jeffrey Tucker

"For those who follow the zeitgeist -- and the Nobel Prize committee
seems always in the position of following rather than leading -- the
2007 Peace Prize was no surprise. It went to one of the
least-criticized men on the planet: Professor Muhammed Yunus and his
Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. Pundits left, right, and center appear to
love him. His microcredit scheme seems to mix the best socialist
ideals with free market means, and then the rhetoric alone carries the
day." (11/08/06)

http://www.mises.org/story/2375

-----

55) Whatever happened to media consolidation?
Heartland Institute
by S.T. Karnick

"Numerous writers and analysts have argued that large media
conglomerates' purchases of movie studios, magazines, and book
publishing companies over the past four decades have had a deleterious
effect on the quality of production in these media, because it forced
them to bring in higher profits than were historically attainable. But
there were always two additional interesting questions regarding media
conglomeration that needed to be asked and seldom were." (11/06)

http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=19871

-----

56) Immigration debacle hurt the GOP on Election Day
Hawaii Reporter
by Jim Kouri

"On Wednesday morning, Americans awoke to the news that Democrat
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was elevated to the powerful position of
Speaker of the House of Representatives by the voters. While the news
media and pundits played down its importance, the issue of illegal
aliens and lax border security proved devastating to the Republican
Party. What Americans witnessed on election day was a populist revolt,
claims Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps."
(11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yltaul

-----

57) Is politics insoluble?
Foundation for Economic Education
by Henry Hazlitt

"H. L. Mencken was fond of saying that most of the problems men
agonize over are inherently insoluble. A haphazard search among his
books has faded to turn up a supporting quotation, and perhaps my
memory misleads me. He may merely have said 'some,' not 'most'
problems. In the latter case, at any rate, I agree with him. I would
include at least two whole categories of problems among the insoluble
ones. First, all problems commonly classed as metaphysical,
ontological or cosmological -- such as 'How can we tell the really
real from the apparently real?' or 'What was the First Cause?,' or
'What is mankind here for?,' or 'What is the purpose of the universe?'
And so on." (written 1976; posted 11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/v88v2

-----

58) Green Republicans lead GOP losses
Competitive Enterprise Institute
by staff

"Green Republicans who have supported higher energy prices and opposed
protecting property rights suffered major losses in House and Senate
elections, according to an initial analysis by the Competitive
Enterprise Institute. There were also setbacks for consumers and
private property owners in the mid-term elections. The biggest loss
was the defeat of Representative Richard Pombo (CA) of California,
Chairman of the House Resources Committee. Pombo had been the number
one target of several environmental political action committees in
this election." (11/08/06)

http://www.cei.org/gencon/003,05596.cfm

-----

59) Creativity and capital
Acton Institute
by Humberto Belli

"In his recent best-selling book, Cuentos Chinos, South-American
journalist Andres Oppenheimer noted that the engine of progress in the
twenty-first-century global economy is not simply free commerce but
also involves the power of competition. To profit from the
undisputable advantages of globalization, a minimal infrastructure
must exist along with adequate juridical conditions, including a
respect for the right to own property, and human capital with adequate
talents and qualifications. If these elements are missing, many
countries, as has already happened, lose the advantage of
globalization and remain behind." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yhe2dy

-----

60) Dances with Comcast
Liberty For All
by Jonathan David Morris

"I've had a lot of bad experiences with utility companies. Never in my
life have I had one as bad as my recent run-in with cable giant
Comcast. After closing on our new house last Friday, my wife and I
spent the entire next day sitting around waiting for a cable
TV/Internet/digital phone installation that, as of this writing, still
hasn't happened. Take a look at how it all went down, and you'll see
why I now believe Comcast represents everything wrong with America."
[editor's note: If ya hate them now, Just wait until you HAVE service
with them. - SAT] (11/08/06)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=367

*******************************************************************
* RRND MEDIA SHELF -- Tchotchkes from today's edition
*
* The American Congress, by Julian Zelizer
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618179062/rationalrev08-20
*
* Cuentos Chinos, by Andres Oppenheimer
* http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307347990/rationalrev08-20
*
* Note: Affiliate links generate commissions for RRND's editors.
*******************************************************************

*****************************
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil
*****************************

61) Free Talk Live, 11/08/06
Free Talk Live

"Dismal Libertarian Election Results / A Free Stater wins State Rep! /
Lawyer Cult / Smoking bans and other anti freedom ballot measures pass
around the country / Pot ballot measures results are mixed / Don't
burn out, join the Free State Project / Adjusting to cold / Advisory
Measures? / Influencing the Big Parties / How AM and FM stations can
stay alive in the world of new media: Abolish the FCC! / The Onion:
Frito Lay Angrily Introduces Line of Healthy Snacks." [MP3] (11/08/06)

http://ripple.radiotail.com/357/FTL2006-11-08.mp3

-----

62) Freedomain Radio #497
Freedomain Radio

"Intermittent Slavery: Tales from the pens of the owned." With host
Stefan Molyneux. [MP3] (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/t8kup

*************************************
* What's Up In The Freedom Movement
*************************************

63) Today's events

Check our sidebar calendar for events this week from Cato, AFF and
(hopefully soon) others. Don't see your event? Drop us a line at
info@....

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40rationalreview.com

***********
* WaYbAcK
***********

64) Kristallnacht

Details, and the "quote of the day," from Leon's Political Almanac at:

http://perspicuity.net/cgi/hypercal.cgi

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Mary Lou Seymour .... Editor
Steve Trinward ...... Editor
R. Lee Wrights ...... Editor
Brad Spangler ....... Editor

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* RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
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* Volume IV, Issue #1,021
* Wednesday, November 8th, 2006
* Email Circulation 2,054
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* Published every non-holiday weekday
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In The News:

0)  ... and boy are my arms tired!
1)  Dems take House; Senate hangs on VA, MT
2)  Land thieves lose in 9 of 11 states
3)  7 of 8 states pass anti-family measures
4)  3 states vote to continue pot persecution
5)  Mortar exchanges kill 21 in Baghdad
6)  Hamas chief: Truce with Israel off
7)  UN official to meet Myanmar leaders
8)  Corruption named as key issue by voters in exit polls
9)  Appeals court to review eavesdrop case
10) UK: You really couldn't HAKE it up
11) TN: Message reveals car dealer's attitude
12) UK: Muslim cop banned from guarding Blair
13) UK: Superbug brought back by Iraq war casualties
14) PA: Man cited again for firing gun
15) Military families, vets protest plans to rush reserve call ups
16) Abortion clinics request O'Reilly probe
17) Pelosi: Dems would shatter "marble ceiling"
18) Mercury will upstage sun for a few hours Wednesday
19) US fails in effort to derail Ortega presidential bid
20) Western Democrats offer party a promising horizon

Everybody Has An Opinion:

21) What I saw at the counter-revolution
22) Property theft in America
23) Ballot box bamboozle!
24) Building bridges between anarchists and non-voters
25) Open the gates?
26) Spent dollar momentum
27) Lies and Leviathan
28) Renewing the contract
29) What's a decider to do?
30) Rhetorical overheating
31) Could have, would have, should have
32) Saddam's unindicted co-conspirator
33) Gun control hypocrisy
34) Campaign 2006: Goodbye and good riddance
35) America's slide to totalitarianism
36) Technology of the Beast
37) The six best reasons not to vote
38) Dems maybe better choice this time
39) The morning after
40) A pro-democracy agenda
41) Nobel winner redefines profit
42) If Dems control Congress, then what?
43) A misguided faith in force
44) Small states, global economy: Is empire necessary?
45) How would Diogenes vote?
46) Tax shell game
47) The misplaced acceptance of political leaders
48) Are Republicans and Democrats really that different?
49) Public schools: Spending money in all the wrong places
50) It's your choice

See No Evil, Hear No Evil:

51) Free Talk Live, 11/07/06
52) Election 2006

What's Up In The Freedom Movement:

53) Today's events
54) Election 2006: Hit and Run liveblogging
55) IN: Bell polls 23% for statehouse

WaYbAcK:

56) Revolt of the anti-Semitic drunkards

***************
* In The News
***************

0)  ... and boy are my arms tired!

Well, folks, the election's over ... but the symposium isn't! Let's
talk about what happened yesterday, and what effect (if any) it will
have on our lives, liberties and pursuits of happiness. And by the
way, congratulations to RRND reader/supporter Rex Bell on his 23.x%
(in a three-way race!) performance as a Libertarian Party candidate
for state legislature in Indiana, and thanks to another RRND
reader/supporter whose name I forgot to request permission to use (so
I won't) who came to the St. Louis area Libertarians' watch party last
night. I always enjoy meeting our readers, and this was no exception!
- TLK

http://www.rationalreview.com/content/20010

-----

1)  Dems take House; Senate hangs on VA, MT
New York Times

"With the House of Representatives firmly in Democratic control, the
battle for the Senate focused today on Montana and Virginia, where
razor-thin margins raised the prospect of lengthy recounts. ... In
Montana, Senator Conrad Burns, a Republican, trailed his Democratic
challenger, Jon Tester, by about 1,500 votes -- less than one-half
percent -- with only one precinct's results still unaccounted for. In
Virginia, another Republican incumbent, Senator George Allen, trailed
the Democratic challenger, Jim Webb, by a margin well below the 1
percent that allows for a losing candidate to demand that ballots be
counted again. ... By early this morning, Democrats had picked up at
least 27 seats in the House, knocking off Republican incumbents from
New Hampshire to Florida, officials in both parties said. Although
complete results from the West Coast had not yet come in, neither
party anticipated that the basic outcome would change once all votes
were counted." (11/08/06)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/us/politics/08cnd-elect.html

-----

2)  Land thieves lose in 9 of 11 states
WLUC TV

"Nine states approved eminent-domain measures to bar or restrict the
government from taking private property for a private use, while
California rejected the idea. ... Idaho rejected a similar measure."
(11/08/06)

http://www.wluctv6.com/Global/story.asp?S=5648966&nav=81AX

-----

3)  7 of 8 states pass anti-family measures
San Francisco Chronicle

"Ballot measures to ban same-sex marriage were winning in seven of
eight states late Tuesday, with voters in Arizona poised to be the
first in the nation to turn down such a measure. The measures, all
constitutional amendments to limit marriage to heterosexuals and some
to ban domestic partnerships, passed in Virginia, South Carolina and
Tennessee and were winning in Colorado, South Dakota, Wisconsin and
Idaho." (11/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ybnx2b

-----

4)  3 states vote to continue pot persecution
Drug War Chronicle

"It's just after 1AM Eastern time, and it looks like the Colorado,
Nevada, and South Dakota marijuana initiatives are all headed for
defeat. ... The South Dakota medical marijuana initiative is losing by
52% to 48% with more than two-thirds of the votes counted. ... The
Nevada 'tax and regulate' initiative is losing by 56% to 44%. ... The
Colorado legalization initiative is losing by 61% to 39% with 47% of
the vote counted. Both CNN and the Rocky Mountain News have called
this election already." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vjqdn

-----

5)  Mortar exchanges kill 21 in Baghdad
Lincoln Courier

"Shiites and Sunnis traded mortar attacks Tuesday on Baghdad
neighborhoods across the Tigris, killing 21 as police found the bodies
of 15 torture victims in the river south of the capital. The violence
persisted despite a move by the Interior Ministry to charge 57 members
of the Shiite-dominated Iraqi police force, including a general, in
the alleged torture of hundreds of detainees at a prison in east
Baghdad." (11/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yfq5ej

-----

6)  Hamas chief: Truce with Israel off
Journal Gazette/Times-Courier

"Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal says that a truce with Israel is finished
and is appealing to all Palestinian factions to resume attacks.
Israeli tank shells ripped through a residential neighborhood in the
northern Gaza Strip early Wednesday, killing at least 18 members of an
extended family, including eight children, and wounding dozens of
others, Palestinian health officials said." (11/08/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y53xmh

-----

7)  UN official to meet Myanmar leaders
Wilkes-Barre Times Leader

"A top U.N. official will meet Myanmar's military rulers and detained
Nobel laureate and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a
visit to the impoverished nation this week, the U.N. spokesman said
Tuesday. Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari,
who was granted a rare opportunity to meet with Suu Kyi during his
last visit in May, is expected in Myanmar for a four-day visit
starting Thursday, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said." (11/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/y7tcn8

-----

8)  Corruption named as key issue by voters in exit polls
CNN

"By a wide margin, Americans who voted Tuesday in the midterm election
say they disapprove of the war in Iraq. But when asked which issue was
extremely important to their vote, more voters said corruption and
ethics in government than any other issue, including the war,
according to national exit polls. A large majority of voters also
disapproved of how Congress and President Bush are doing their jobs."
(11/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yml9p2

-----

9)  Appeals court to review eavesdrop case
Gainesville Times

"A federal appeals court agreed Tuesday to review a lower court's
ruling that kept alive a lawsuit challenging President Bush's domestic
eavesdropping program. The government is appealing U.S. District Judge
Vaughn Walker's refusal to dismiss the lawsuit even though the Bush
administration asserts the case could expose government secrets and
put the nation at risk. Walker ruled that warrantless eavesdropping
has been so widely reported that there appears to be no danger of
spilling secrets." (11/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yxzos9

-----

10) UK: You really couldn't HAKE it up
The Sun [UK]

"The boss of a chippy is being probed by town hall officials because
his shop smells ... of fish and chips. Environmental health staff
wrote to Steve Morton to say they were investigating an 'odor from the
extract ventilation system.' He feared a drain problem but was stunned
when he was told: 'We are investigating a smell of fish and chips.'
Steve, 42, took over New Scarborough Fisheries in Wakefield, West
Yorks, four years ago but the chip shop has been operating without a
problem for 40 years." (11/07/06)

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006510578,00.html

-----

11) TN: Message reveals car dealer's attitude
WTVF News

"After Melissa Buck went to Bill Heard Chevrolet in Antioch and bought
a 2004 Chevy Trailblazer, she felt she'd been ripped off. 'So I pushed
this button,' Buck tells NewsChannel 5 consumer investigator Jennifer
Kraus. And that, she says, confirmed her fears. 'We would like to
congratulate you on your '04 Trailblazer,' a voice said. It's a
recording that'd been left on the car's message system by the salesmen
at Bill Heard that closes with this zinger: 'I know you got f**ked,
but still in the long run, you're going to be happy with it. So, take
care!'" (11/07/06)

http://www.wtvf.com/Global/story.asp?S=5642879

-----

12) UK: Muslim cop banned from guarding Blair
United Press International

"Britain's Metropolitan Police is being sued by a Muslim officer upset
he was removed from the force protecting dignitaries like Prime
Minister Tony Blair. Constable Amjad Farooq, 39, had his special
security revoked and was removed from the Diplomatic Protection Group
after just six weeks, The Independent reported Tuesday. Farooq said he
was told he had failed a security background check because two of his
sons had attended a mosque associated with a Muslim cleric linked to a
suspected terrorist group. He claims in his legal challenge he was
informed his presence on the unit might upset the U.S. Secret Service,
which works with the department's close-protection unit, The Telegraph
reported." (11/07/06)

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20061107-121555-5944r

-----

13) UK: Superbug brought back by Iraq war casualties
Independent [UK]

"Injured soldiers returning from Iraq have brought back a superbug
that has been linked with outbreaks in NHS hospitals where they have
been treated, a health minister has confirmed. The links between
casualties brought back from Iraq and outbreaks in the NHS have caused
alarm within the health service and led to renewed demands for more
dedicated wards for Britain's armed forces to enable wounded soldiers
to be isolated more effectively. The Health Protection Agency has
urged NHS hospitals to step up their infection control measures as a
result of the outbreaks of a strain of the superbug Acinetobacter
baumannii which is resistant to many types of antibiotics." (11/07/06)

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article1962456.ece

-----

14) PA: Man cited again for firing gun
Express Times

"Township resident Richard S. Seruga received his 10th citation for
the same offense -- firing a weapon within 150 yards of an occupied
structure -- Sunday afternoon, police said. According to police,
Seruga violated a township ordinance when he discharged a pistol on
his property in the 3800 block of Bee Line Drive. Police also ticketed
him for disorderly conduct Sunday. The 62-year-old had been previously
cited for the offense nine times since Oct. 18, usually after
neighbors complained about his gunfire. Seruga's attorney has argued
the township ordinance doesn't apply to people firing weapons on their
own property and last week said his client may sue the township if
police continue to cite him." (11/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/ycqzxn

-----

15) Military families, vets protest plans to rush reserve call ups
Truthout

"The Pentagon revealed in September that it may change the policy
limiting National Guard deployments in order to send more weekend
warriors to Iraq after the elections. While most of the media and the
American public slept through the news, the family members of more
than 400,000 National Guard and Reservists did not. Some of them have
spent the past six weeks collecting thousands of signatures on
petitions protesting the Pentagon's plans and demanding an end to the
'backdoor draft,' cited in the document as 'troop extensions,
stop-loss orders, [and] involuntary recalls.' The petitions will be
delivered to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday, just
seventy-two hours after all four versions of the Military Times
published an editorial calling for his removal." (11/07/06)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110706D.shtml

-----

16) Abortion clinics request O'Reilly probe
Las Vegas Sun

"Two [Kansas] abortion clinics asked the state's highest court Monday
to investigate Attorney General Phill Kline and Fox television's Bill
O'Reilly over O'Reilly's statements that he had information from
Kansas abortion records. A Kline spokeswoman called the move 'a
political ploy.' The clinics' attorneys want the Kansas Supreme Court
to seize records that Kline, an outspoken abortion opponent, obtained
on 90 of the clinics' patients. Kline received edited versions of the
records from a district judge on Oct. 24 after arguing he wanted to
review the records for evidence of possible crimes including rape and
illegal abortions. The attorneys asked the court to appoint a special
prosecutor to determine whether O'Reilly's information came from the
records turned over to Kline." (11/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/yh4a79

-----

17) Pelosi: Dems would shatter "marble ceiling"
San Francisco Chronicle

"If women face a 'glass ceiling' preventing success in business or
politics, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco has had to deal with what
she and other women call a 'marble ceiling' in the august, historic
halls of Congress. But if predictions are right and Democrats make a
net gain of at least 15 House seats in midterm elections today, House
Minority Leader Pelosi will smash through that ceiling by being
elected the first woman speaker of the House early next January. For
women, that would mean another barrier broken and yet another entree
into the inner circles of American power." [editor's note: This
article takes it for granted that Pelosi will be Speaker just because
the Dems get the majority. I disagree - TLK] (11/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/vvbx7

-----

18) Mercury will upstage sun for a few hours Wednesday
Arizona Republic

"Mercury, the new smallest planet now that Pluto has been bumped, will
make a rare crossing in front of the sun Wednesday. As insignificant
as the closest planet to the sun may be, local astronomy groups are
celebrating. They will welcome the public to several Valley locations
to take a glance at the tiny dot crossing the mighty orb. Don't try
that at home. You can go blind looking at the sun, unless you own a
telescope with special solar-filtering equipment. Mercury is 3,000
miles across, compared with the sun's 856,000 miles. Earth, by
comparison, has a diameter of almost 8,000 miles. The tiny planet, a
little larger than the moon, will be a mere speck against the solar
surface." (11/07/06)

http://tinyurl.com/smyr2

-----

19) US fails in effort to derail Ortega presidential bid
Christian Science Monitor

"In what critics call another sign of waning American influence in
Central and Latin America, an 'all-out' effort by the United States to
convince Nicaraguans not to elect former Sandinista president Daniel
Ortega to a second term has apparently failed. The Houston Chronicle
reports that the 'high-profile' push to stop Mr. Ortega included
warnings -- made by a former US ambassador, members of Congress, and
even Oliver North, who was deeply involved in the Iran-Contra scandal
in the '80s -- that the US would cut off its $220 millions of aid if
Ortega was elected. 'They did everything but threaten to invade,' said
Mark Weisbrot, a Latin America expert at the Center for Economic and
Policy Research in Washington." [editor's note: Maybe this is good
news for liberty; if the CIA can't subvert elections in Nicaragua,
maybe the GOP can't steal our own this time. - SAT] (11/07/06)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1107/dailyUpdate.html

-----

20) Western Democrats offer party a promising horizon
Boston Globe

"They wear cowboy boots and oppose most gun controls. They don't worry
much about the spotted owl, but they do care about the pristine places
where they can hunt and fish. They are Western Democrats, and along
with other segments of their party, they are confident that they will
experience a strong power surge today that could win them the House, a
majority of governorships, and at least several US Senate seats. They
are also hoping for something else: a chance to help their party
remake its Northeastern, blue-state image into a broader, stronger
force capable of governing the country for years to come." [editor's
note: One has to wonder, if these Dems will succeed where the GOP
failed, by honorably appealing to the basic libertarian values the
country was foudned upon - SAT] (11/07/06)