“This is How These Soldiers Were Trained to Act”

Here's a great interview from an Iraq Veterans Against the War member, Josh Stieber. Josh discusses the Wikileaks video of the Apache Helicopter killing civilians and two Reuters employees. He takes the position that you're missing the point if you just simply think these soldiers were inhumane and evil. He argues it's a much broader issue then that and as Josh puts it,  "this is how these soldiers were trained to act."

The whole interview is great but if you're short on time start at 22:10...

Palmer on the Broken Window Fallacy

In a lucid explanation of the Frederic Bastiat's broken window fallacy, Cato's Tom Palmer explains why destruction of property and mass murder doesn't stimulate the economy, contra Keynesians like Paul "9/11 could do economic good" Krugman:

Top Cheney Aide Opposes Rand Paul, Says He's "Not one of us on the Global War on Terror."

The aide, Cesar Conda, is forwarding his concerns to Liz Cheney, Bill Kristol, and other "nation security conservatives." Reports The Politico:

Senior Republicans in Kentucky and Washington D.C. are deeply concerned about Senate candidate Trey Grayson’s campaign as he struggles to narrow the gap against GOP primary rival Rand Paul.

Two months before the election, the libertarian-leaning Paul, son of the Texas congressman and quixotic presidential contender, has tapped into anti-Washington grass-roots fervor on the right and staked out an advantage over Grayson, Kentucky’s secretary of state and establishment favorite....

Recognizing the threat, a well-connected former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney convened a conference call last week between Grayson and a group of leading national security conservatives to sound the alarm about Paul.

Another Bi-Partisan Policy

John Nichols at The Nation has a pithy and pointed article on the defeat of Dennis Kucinich's bill to end the war in Afghanistan. The article reminds me of something Tom Woods said at the Rally for the Republic: "We have in this country two parties: the stupid party and the evil party. Occasionally, they get together to do something both stupid and evil, and that is called bipartisanship." Nichols:

The House voted 356-65 to stay the course Bush set in Afghanistan.

Of the 356 members who voted to maintain the occupation, 189 were Democrats and 167 were Republicans.

Equally telling, Nichols notes, was the press' reaction.

Noting that press gallery was virtually empty, [Congressman Patrick] Kennedy observed: "we're talking about war and peace, $3 billion, 1,000 lives and no press? No press!"

"(The) press of the United States is not covering the most significant issue of national importance and that's the laying of lives down in (Afghanistan) for the service of our country," Kennedy roared. "It's despicable, the national press corps right now."

And all the mainstream media outlets still say no one can reach agreement in Washington.