Digesting Me Softly - 36
I don’t have very witty titles for my sections in this digest time, but I was feeling tired and not especially full of wit. I do have some good links though 
War, War, and More War
The Fruitcake Trade by Charley Reese
“This is How They Really Feel”
They Met the Resistance in Iraqby Mike Ferner
This piece talks about a documentary that two journalists made about the armed resistance to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. They interviewed actual fighters and the documentary is basically the insurgents telling their stories without having their identities revealed for security reasons. I wasn’t too surprised that many — if not all — of the fighters described themselves as nationalists who felt oppressed or subjugated by the U.S. military presence. You can view a trailer for the documentary here . I have been following and criticizing the Iraq war during its entire duration, as well as protesting against it happening in the first place , so I am excited that investigative journalism has resulted in such an interesting sounding documentary.
Go Ahead On — Start WWIII by Gordon Prather
An attack on Iran by the U.S. could start a third world war with Russia and China backing the Iranian nation. I hope like I’ve never hoped before that I am not right, but I believe it very likely that martial law or some kind of extremely increased repression against the populace by the American government will commence after another terrorist attack on American soil. The attack on Iran could well be the trigger for it.
The Bureaucracy, the March, and the Warby Tom Engelhardt
Busy Bush Has Time to Run the World by Sheldon Richman
Iran, World War III, and the Madness of President George by Doug Bandow
Lots of Laughs
Political Scientists Discover New Form of Government by the The Onion
Cultural Reform - Women
Report on Detention/Abuse of Women in Iraqi Prison Camps by admin of the Feminist Peace Network
Horowitz’s Strange Summons
Conscripting Feminism into the War on Terror by Yifat Susskind
Your Weekly Dose of Economics
Capitalism Is Not Freedom, and Socialism Is Not Love by Glen Allport
The Dream That Was America — or — Moscow on the Potomac by Robert F. Hawes Jr.
Behold! The Bliss Watch List To hell with the FBI’s million-strong Terrorist Watch List. Here is your killer alternative by Mark Morford
One of the best Morford columns in recent times. I’ve been told that he actually registered the domain name blisswatchlist.com too. As some of you may know, Morford was one of my first political influences. He’s no left-libertarian anarchist in some respects, but he gets it right on some important issues. Like how an open hearted attitude towards sexuality is vitally necessary
The Goal Is Freedom: Virtue versus Legal Obligation by Sheldon Richman
Is it a virtuous and great moral act if you give because you’re forced to? As all such redistribution of wealth schemes based on taxation (i.e. money taken at the point of a “gun” because you go to jail if you don’t pay up) entail. One caveat I’d add is that I’m not in favor of dismantling state aid to the poorest elements of society before changing the fundamental context in which they exist. In other words: the first functions of the state to disappear should be the ones that serve to concentrate wealth and make it harder for non-privileged people to make ends meet.
In a stateless economic order, there will be much higher levels of overall wealth and it would be more widely dispersed. Another way of putting it is that the corporate domination and heavy concentration in the American economy is not a product of a genuine free market order.
See Kevin Carson’s article — available as a pamphlet from Red Lion Press — titled The Iron Fist Behind the Invisible Hand for more. And if you are interested in a study that has empirical data to support the contention of free market advocates that the market disperses power, then check out New Left historian Gabriel Kolko’s book titled The Triumph of Conservatism, which is a revisionist history of the Progressive Era that purports to show the dominant trend at the turn of the century was decentralization of economic power, and that the government regulation that came into existence during that era was designed to cartelize industry on behalf of big business interests. In other words: to make it easier for those dominant business interests to maintain their profits and market share in the face of growing competition.
Anyhow, I’ve said enough for now. Check out my website, Life, Love, and Liberty, for future posts on this issue.
Natasha | LeftLibertarian.org, My Net Digests
