October 27, 2017

When it comes to surveillance, watch the watchmen

from NY Times: The relationship between security and liberty is often described as a balancing act. This act can’t take place if we’re not informed about the technology used to safeguard our security.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Hashd al-Sha’abi commander calls for US forces withdrawal from Iraq

from PressTV: "To the US secretary of state, your military forces must prepare now to get out of our homeland Iraq immediately and without delay once the ISIS elimination excuse is over."
Defense Versus The War Machine

Health care is not a right

from Capitalism Magazine: If your mere desire for something, anything, imposes a duty on other people to satisfy you, then they have no choice in their lives, no say in what they do, they have no liberty, they cannot pursue their happiness.
The Pursuit of Happiness

Major study shows legal weed reversed a decade of rising opioid deaths in Colorado

from FreeThoughtProject: The end of cannabis prohibition is paying many dividends for society.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Identitarianism and the Splintering of Democracy

from Quillette: This very good piece looks at how identity politics plays out in a representative democracy.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Sessions continues to push 'gateway drug' myth about marijuana

from Reason: "Much of the addiction starts with marijuana." Jeff Sessions attempts to peddle 20th century propaganda long after the train has left the station.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Pentagon Holds Gala Celebrating 25 Years Of Bombing Iraq

cut from the Onion.    Bringing together the many civilian leaders and military strategists who helped them reach such a historic milestone, Pentagon officials held a lavish black-tie gala Sunday at which, sources said, they commemorated 25 years of the United States bombing Iraq. Hundreds of active-duty and retired military officers, high-   ... MORE

VIDEO: Rand Paul - How Do We Deal With Russia?

VIDEO: Rand Paul - Middle East Policy

Jacob Sullum: Rand Paul And 10 Heedless Hawks

A desperately needed alternative to mindless militarism. At a Q&A session in Dallas a year ago, Rand Paul expressed skepticism about whether the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) posed "a threat to our national security."   Hours later at another event in Dallas, the Kentucky senator said that if he were president he "would lay out the      ... MORE

John Nichols: Rand Paul Offered Reasonable Alternatives On Foreign Policy, Drug Reform, And Mass Incarceration

Kentucky senator not parroting establishment line.     Donald Trump does not like Rand Paul. In the weirdest non sequitur of a often-incoherent second Republican presidential debate, the billionaire front-runner for the party nomination declared, "Rand Paul shouldn't even be on this stage. He's number 11. He's got 1 percent in the polls.      ... MORE

Thomas Sowell: The Past And Future Of The Refugee Crisis

No junior varsity solutions, please.  The refugee crisis in Europe is one of those human tragedies for which there are no real solutions, despite how many shrill voices in the media may denounce those who fail to come up with a solution. Some options may be better than others, but there is nothing that can honestly be called a solution. Nevertheless    ... MORE

Thomas Sowell: Who Lost Iraq?

It is like a community organizer tried to be general. After the pro-Western government of China was forced to flee to the island of Taiwan in 1949, when the Communists took over mainland China, bitter recriminations in Washington led to the question: "Who lost China?" China was, of course, never ours to lose, though it might be legitimate  ... MORE

VIDEO: The Award For Best Iraq Bombing Goes To ...

Rand Paul Calls for a Formal Declaration of War Against ISIS

by Doug Mills.      Senator Rand Paul is calling for a declaration of war against the Islamic State, a move that promises to shake up the debate over the military campaign in Iraq and Syria as President Obama prepares to ask Congress to grant him formal authority to use force. Mr. Paul, a likely presidential candidate who has emerged as one of the    ... MORE

Thomas Sowell: Who Wants War?

Barack Obama's dangerous illusion.     Some pundits are saying that President Obama has been floundering in his response to the ISIS crisis because public opinion polls show most Americans don't want another war. In all my 84 years, I cannot recall a time when most Americans wanted war. That is something we should be proud of. ... MORE

John Stossel: Hold On, Mr. President

Not another prolonged engagement.     "Do you have a strategy now, Mr. President?" asked the cover of the Daily News next to a photo of the second American journalist to be beheaded by the terrorist group ISIS. The impulse to "do something" to counter such evil is strong. But why do we assume that government doing something is always an ... MORE

Thomas Sowell: Success Or Failure?

Obama is a failure? Not so fast.        Those people who say that President Obama has no clear vision and no clear strategy for dealing with the ISIS terrorists in the Middle East may be mistaken. It seems to me that he has a very clear and very consistent strategy. And a vision behind that strategy. First the strategy — which is to get each crisis off  ...  MORE

Senator Rand Paul: ‘I Am Not An Isolationist’

The senator clarifies his position.   Some pundits are surprised that I support destroying the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) militarily. They shouldn’t be. I’ve said since I began public life that I am not an isolationist, nor am I an interventionist. I look at the world, and consider war, realistically and constitutionally. I still see war as  ... MORE

Andrew Napolitano: Another Pointless War?

Reopening the soldier slaughterhouse.         As we watch the collapsing government in Baghdad surrounded by a highly disciplined and serious force of Sunni-oriented fighters that has taken control of the most populous third of the country, we must, in John Adams' words, resist the temptation to slay the world's monsters. This time around,      ... MORE

Thomas Sowell: A Bitter After-Taste

Squandering the sacrifice of soldiers.       The news from Iraq that Islamic terrorists have now taken over cities that American troops liberated during the Iraq war must have left an especially bitter after-taste to Americans who lost a loved one who died taking one of those cities, or to a survivor who came back without an arm or leg, or   ... MORE

Andrew Napolitano: How To Handle Monster Putin

Can an old dog learn new tricks?          What happens when the United States government participates meaningfully in toppling foreign governments in the name of spreading democracy? That behavior usually results in unintended consequences and often produces disasters. When the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, initially to search for     ...  MORE

Thomas Sowell: Another Galling Betrayal

It doesn't have to be this way.       The Afghanistan government's recent release of dozens of imprisoned terrorists, many of whom had killed Americans, was a galling betrayal of those Americans who died defending Afghanistan against the Taliban terrorists — as well as those Americans who have returned home with arms or legs missing,  ... MORE

Steve Chapman: The Endless Quest For Credibility

Credibility is overrated.  The United States boasts the most powerful military on Earth. We have 1.4 million active-duty personnel, thousands of tanks, ships and planes, and 5,000 nuclear warheads. We spend more on defense than the next 13 countries combined. Yet we are told we have to bomb Syria to preserve our credibility in world. Really?    ... MORE

VIDEO: Rand Paul - Middle East Foreign Policy