From RR

• Budget ax may hit US congressional pensions. A correction that’s a sign of the depression.
• Proposed federal law would ban circus elephants. The libertarian conundrum of being forced to defend something reprehensible because of principle, reinforcing the mainstream view of libertarians as selfish vs the fashionable cause of animal rights (which strangely co-habits in the liberal mind with defending unborn baby murder, one of the most barbaric and unnatural things). Like ‘legalize drugs but have the sense not to do them’, this is none of the feds’ business unless elephants were citizens (did the elephants write the bill?); animals are property. But by all means privately blow the whistle on abuse so decent people will choose to take their business to other kinds of entertainment. To end on a lighter note, I think stray cats have the legal protection of being ‘free citizens’ of Italy; I don’t mind that.
• Free-speech watch on an old story. Never mind the appropriateness of wearing T-shirts to school or flag etiquette. A court has backed a school principal busting kids for wearing their country’s flag on a foreign-based holiday because it might make some foreigners uncomfortable. Outrageous. BTW Cinco de Mayo isn’t even that big a deal, at least in Mexico; I think it celebrates Mexicans winning a battle in the 1800s against the then-occupying French. Sort of like if Americans abroad made a big deal of the battle of Gettysburg. Basically an excuse for Americans to sell tacos, burritos and Coronas. Editor’s note: Can you say “unconstitutional prior restraint”?
• Soldier sentenced to life for Afghan thrill-killings. What about the ones who don’t get caught? Let’s get out of there.
• Facebook privacy-fraud case. Editor: I wonder how big the bribe will be to make it go away? I use it but don’t use games etc. on it.
• Supreme Court surprisingly predictable.
• Panetta: no war with Iran.
• I’m very sympathetic to the cause of reducing the power of big-business corporations to control our government, our economy, our consumer culture, our society, and our lives. We can’t have democracy without a major shift of power into the hands of the people. But would an amendment to remove all rights of corporations from the US Constitution accomplish that?
• After 11/11/11: are some bored rich people to blame for the catastrophe of WWI?
• When the lights go out. Governments too small to fail?
• The libertarian case for Jacko’s doctor. The legislator has no place in voluntary exchanges between consenting adults, as dodgy and as dangerous as these might be.
• Zero Gov: Buppert’s counterpoint to Veterans Day. Counter-counterpoint: do I look like an anti-military hippie to you? Exactly. Much good there though. As much as I love the ’40s, WWII was the War to Save Josef Stalin.
• Fannie Mae alone has so far sucked up $112.6 billion in funds from taxpayers since the government took full control of the firm in 2008. ... Add Freddie Mac to the mix and the total taxpayer bailout comes to more than $170 billion and counting. ... The figure could reach $193 billion and more by 2014. Who gets that $193 billion? Why, the lucky lenders, and investors of course – the ones who got an iron clad pay back guarantee courtesy of the U.S. government. It’s the responsible taxpayers, homeowners and creditworthy borrowers who are getting the shaft.

Labels: libertarianism, peace, politics, the Internet