L.A. Liberty

A profusion of choice links, June 25, 2012

My east coast vacation continues. And with the downpour outside, it was a perfect opportunity to catch up on internet reading and share some worthy links - there’s something here for everybody.

War:

With the bicentennial of the War of 1812 upon us, and “commemorations” already under way (I have to admit, there’s some pretty cool “Tall Ships” lined up at Penn’s Landing right now), it’s important to understand the truth about that wholly unnecessary war of imperialism (that led to the White House being torched).
—> Justin Raimundo on 1812: The War Party’s First Success
—> Jefferson Morley calls it America’s “first war of choice.” Charles Burris follows up with a few notes of expansion.
Tom Engelhardt on secret kill lists and an imperial executive.
Thomas DiLorenzo gives the latest update on the costs of Lincoln’s war.

Economics:

Bob Wenzel asks Is Ben Bernanke the New G. William Miller That Will Destroy the U.S Economy? And he follows up with How the Federal Reserve Manipulates Interest Rates and the Money Supply (definitely read this one).
From Michael Rozeff: Why the FED’s Zero Interest Rate Policy Hurts the Economy. Also from Rozeff: “a great deal of economic hardship and suffering today is directly related to and caused by improper banking practices and a flawed monetary system created by bad government laws.”
Peter Schiff explains that savings and investment - from individuals, not government - is the key to progress.
The Obama Auto Bailout was a payoff to Labor Unions - at Taxpayer expense.
Tom Woods responds to a critic who claims, of all things, that Austrians are shills for bankers.
David Gordon reviews Krugman’s new book, saves you the trouble.
Pete Earle on Krugman and Diocletian (thought I had already posted this one once before, but couldn’t find it).
Jonathan Chait (and Bob Wenzel) on Romney’s Big Fat Wet Kiss to Keynesian Economics.
The Daily Bell explains that a glut of 40 million unused homes is not a “market failure.”
“[T]his is not a plutocracy of honest businessmen and women. It is a crony capitalist plutocracy linking politicians, bureaucrats, public union leaders, trial lawyers, Wall Street, and many other government dominated and directed industries. It is a crony capitalism that has been created and defended by the very economic policy ideas which [Keynesians espouse].”

Cops:

Cops receive special treatment, even when they commit murder:
Stanley Gibson, a disabled Gulf War veteran, was murdered in a Las Vegas parking lot last December 12. He was shot seven times in the back of the head, without provocation, by a stranger wielding an AR-15 rifle. The killer, 34-year-old Jesus Arevalo, remains at large and is easy to find: He’s an officer with the Las Vegas Metro Police.
Gibson was unarmed. He was not a criminal suspect and posed no threat to anybody. His killing was a clear and unmistakable case of criminal homicide. Yet Arevalo has not been charged with a crime. He is on an extended vacation called “administrative leave,” during which he continues to collect his taxpayer-funded salary and benefits.
Video Shows Cops Tasing a Restrained Woman In Accordance With a Policy That May Not Exist.
Dear Police: Please Stop Tazing Pregnant Women.
Cellphone Video Shows Four Cops Beating Philly Motorist Charged with Aggravated Assault and Resisting Arrest
There’s no way you won’t be angry after reading this account of an innocent young man being forcefully catheterized.
Cop stops motorcyclist without Cause, later arrests him for “obstructed license plate” (which, undoubtedly, is a lie). Helmet cam reveals abundance of assholiness on display, and moreover, the cop actually gives the real reason for the stop: “The reason you’re being pulled over is because I’m gonna take your camera and we’re gonna use it as evidence of the crimes that have been committed by other bikers.” So arrest biker in order to confiscate his video camera, then comb through footage of possible violations of others. Sweet.
“Informal, corrupt deference to cops accused of criminal misconduct is [bad enough]. But the idea that the government agents in charge of enforcing the law would get an official, codified set of rights above and beyond those afforded to the rest of us is really an affront to everything a democratic society is supposed to represent.”
Austin Man Facing 10 Years in Prison After Photographing Cops Making Arrest.
Law Lets New York Cops Keep Their Misconduct Secret.
Eric Peters on Speeding Praetorians Above the Law.
NYPD, like every other armed gang like it, employs a strict anti-snitching culture.
When in Doubt, Handcuff Everybody.
Seventy-Two Cops Were Shot and Killed in the Entire U.S. in 2011; LA County Cops Alone Shot and Killed 54 Suspects the Same Year.
Allan Stevo on why it’s important to have A Healthy Disrespect of the Police.
Surprise, surprise: No Charges for Miami Cop who Shot Unarmed Motorist.
When even the union-dominated California Senate says enough is enough (regarding police secrecy), there may indeed be reason for optimism.
Texas Police Chief Accused of Shooting Two Dogs and a House.

Environment:

Other:

Reason actually has a short piece on leftist delusions about Obama, with 4 Positions Obama Supporters Attribute to the President That He Doesn’t Actually Hold. (The four being 1. Barack Obama will end the war on drugs, eventually, 2. Obama’s support for gay marriage is groundbreaking, 3. Barack Obama’s immigration policies are compassionate and humane, and 4. Barack Obama’s foreign policy is not as destructive as George W. Bush’s was (or Mitt Romney’s would be).)
Karel Beckman on The False Promise of Democracy (Related: my post on The Illegitimacy of Democracy)
A Modern Timeline of Leftists Claiming That Opposition to Obama = Racism
Kevin Gutzman on The Myth of ‘Executive Privilege’.
An interesting poll reveals that pretty much everyone in the Eurozone thinks Germany “works hardest” (except, naturally, the Greeks, who have demonstrated how far up their own asses they like to store their heads) and the “least corrupt.”
Stephan Kinsella points out some leftist hypocrisy on minimum wage - they understand the argument, but only when it suits them.
Here’s one business that knows how to cater to customers’ interests: Comcast Refuses to Help Copyright Holders Sue Its Subscribers.