06/11/09 – Anthony Gregory – The Scott Horton Show

Anthony Gregory, research analyst at the Independent Institute, discusses the DHS's report's (.pdf) overly broad characterization of right wing extremism, ideological profiling that debases individual rights, the conflation of anti-government sentiment with violent extremism and how the best way to prevent mass violence is to limit centralized government power.

06/11/09 – Ben Manski – The Scott Horton Show

Ben Manski, Executive Director of Liberty Tree, discusses the Bring the Guard Home! campaign that seeks to end the illegal use of national guard units deployed abroad, the historical U.S. change from a republican system of state militias to an imperial army and the reassertion of state governor control over the guard.

Water!

WATER! Two thirds of the world surface, over sixty five percent of the human body, falling from the sky, or locked in the ice caps at the poles. it seems so simple but it causes so much trouble. Water is necessary for all agriculture and just about every industry to varying degrees. The growing concern of both states and private individuals, is their ability to continue to suite growing needs with dwindling supplies. It is source of regional conflicts and mass suffering,frozen and locked away...

06/10/09 – Kenneth Ballen – The Scott Horton Show

Kenneth Ballen, president of the non-profit Terror Free Tomorrow: The Center for Public Opinion, discusses the polling results of the Iranian public that show a large majority of Iranians have favorable opinions of Jews and Christians and want a more democratic society.

06/10/09 – Bill Kelsey – The Scott Horton Show

Bill Kelsey, libertarian activist and former NGO-employed international relief pilot, discusses the dangers of overzealous and naive humanitarianism, the political and economic forces that determine which Afghan poppy fields are eradicated and which are left alone, the increasingly impersonal nature of combat with remote controlled drone aircraft and how slow evolutionary social change is more sustainable than quick-fix NGO plans.

06/09/09 – Juan Cole – The Scott Horton Show

Juan Cole, author of Engaging the Muslim World, discusses Hezbollah's electoral defeat in Lebanon, the influence Obama's Cairo speech may have had in getting moderates elected, Hezbollah's popular decline after it put on a domestic show of military force in 2008  and the contrast between Obama's acknowledgment of Iran's right to a civilian nuclear power program and Hillary Clinton's no-nukes bellicosity.

06/09/09 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton, international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper's magazine, discusses the ACLU's ongoing legal action to get torture photos released, another bogus 16 words in Bush's 2002 State of the Union address, the propaganda value of executing Khalid Sheikh Mohammed vs. giving him a full and fair trial and how Dick Cheney browbeat DOJ lawyers into giving permissive torture legal opinions before hiding behind them.

06/09/09 – Shane Bauer – The Scott Horton Show

Shane Bauer, freelance journalist and Arabic speaker living in the Middle East, discusses civilian abuse claims against the Iraq Special Operations Forces (ISOF), the actual Salvadoran paramilitary trainers in Iraq that made the 'Salvador option' more than analogy, the plight of Iraqi refugees abroad and how Maliki is using the ISOF - which is accountable only to him - to consolidate his power.

06/09/09 – Howard Jones – The Scott Horton Show

Howard Jones, history professor at the University of Alabama, discusses the lesson of blowback not learned from the Bay of Pigs fiasco, how JFK's attempt to maintain plausible deniability increased the invasion plan's potential to fail, Castro's post-invasion conversion to communism and alliance with the USSR and the tangled web of JFK assassination theories.

Hegemony or Freedom

At a glance the libertarian world view presents a simple paradox, if every one is free to do as they please, how does one ensure that libertarian society exists. The simple truth however is that for economic freedom to exist there must first be complete and total political freedom. Political freedom in the libertarian sense that any one can freely associate with any group they choose without duress. This stand in direct opposition to the hegemonic impulses and ideals of the current system,...

Dorgan on Colbert

M writes: "I'm probably more suspicious of the free market than you are, but I share all of your anti-war views. "Did you see Byron Dorgan on Colbert the other night? Worth a look." Me: Actually, it's not that I think markets are perfect or anything (people are a mixed bag after all), it's just that I think they are much harder on the biggest criminal corporations than government will ever be. Re: Dorgan: The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cByron Dorgancolbertnation.comColbert Report...

A socialist dream or a practical maxim.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. The famous Marxist saying seems to ring incredibly hollow in today’s ostensibly equal societies. Its implications are relatively strait forward, through the apparatus of the state and by means of ‘Democracy’ whether in the form of western liberal democracy or in workers soviets. All will contribute and all will receive there share of the product of the society, or more precisely of the state. The state in the end produces one...